RELATED:With a little help from some friendsSpeaking words of wisdomAnalysis: Glad he got us into his lifeThe first night, Feb. 9, 1964, is a landmark in television. An estimated 73 million Americans tuned in, the largest ever for a TV show at the time, or three times the amount of people who watched the latest "American Idol" finale, according to the Nielsen Co.A generation of musicians can trace their career choices to that night. One was Dennis DeYoung, former Styx lead singer, who told the Montreal Gazette that he watched it while at a high school dance."I looked at that and I went, 'Oh, my God! What is that? And how do I apply for that job?'" he recalled. "That was it. There was never any doubt in my mind what I wanted in my life."Film clips of the Beatles on the Sullivan show have been available, but never the whole event until Tuesday's release of "The 4 Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring the Beatles." SOFA Entertainment, which owns the archive of Sullivan shows — a staple on CBS' Sunday night schedule from 1948 to 1971 — is putting it out after getting the OK from the Beatles' Apple Corps Ltd.Sullivan, a competitive former newspaper columnist, clearly knew the high stakes involved that night and gave the Beatles two showcases on the first show.While the Beatles' appearance stands in memory like a thunderclap, their power seemed muted the first time they hit the stage. Their first two songs, "All My Loving" and "Til There Was You," were both Paul McCartney showcases and the band didn't really hit its stride until the powerful "She Loves You." Even then, the cameras seemed to shortchange John Lennon in favor of McCartney.Their performances on the following week's show from Miami are much better. They had repeats: "She Loves You" was played both weeks.Cutaways to the audience show young girls who can barely stay in their seats from the excitement of it all. Older people look bored, annoyed and clueless to the generational change staring back at them.The Beatles' cheekiness, enthusiasm and talent was bracing."It's like they were in color and everybody else was in black and white," said Andrew Solt, CEO of SOFA Entertainment.Watching the magician with the hard luck of following the Beatles to the stage that first night is painful. Fred Kaps' show biz career never really recovered from that moment, Solt said.The sense that television moves much more quickly today is one of the most interesting finds in the DVD time capsule. Mitzi Gaynor, who was once the princess of musical comedy, gave a sweaty performance from Miami. Comic Frank Gorshin's routine with movie star impersonations was interminable.The comic team of McCall & Brill, with a punch line about an "ugly girl," would not have made it past today's taste police.One other performance in that first week came from the cast of the Broadway show "Oliver," including a young Davy Jones, whose life was changed in the wake of the Beatles' performance. A few years later, he was cast as one of the Monkees, a prefab rock band that was a Beatles knockoff.Sullivan "didn't spend too much money on talent that week because he knew he had the audience," Solt said.Producers plainly believed people had an attention span then, certainly much more so than now. Remote controls were not available then, and viewers had only a few channels to pick from.The same is true of the ads. Can you imagine a commercial break with only one commercial?The ads on the show are stunningly unimaginative. What were the Madison Avenue pitch men of the day thinking? Cold water detergent All was called "revolutionary."The DVD also contains Sullivan shows from Feb. 23, 1964 and Sept. 12, 1965 when the Beatles also performed. The band did 20 songs in all on the show, including three versions of "I Want to Hold Your Hand."The DVD also has a short interview Sullivan did with the Beatles in London in May 1964 that hasn't been seen since the day it aired.
New DVD shows Beatles' first 1964 US TV appearance
The Fab Four's enthusiasm and talent is on display on an "Ed Sullivan Show" DVD that is like a time capsule to American life in 1964.
RELATED:With a little help from some friendsSpeaking words of wisdomAnalysis: Glad he got us into his lifeThe first night, Feb. 9, 1964, is a landmark in television. An estimated 73 million Americans tuned in, the largest ever for a TV show at the time, or three times the amount of people who watched the latest "American Idol" finale, according to the Nielsen Co.A generation of musicians can trace their career choices to that night. One was Dennis DeYoung, former Styx lead singer, who told the Montreal Gazette that he watched it while at a high school dance."I looked at that and I went, 'Oh, my God! What is that? And how do I apply for that job?'" he recalled. "That was it. There was never any doubt in my mind what I wanted in my life."Film clips of the Beatles on the Sullivan show have been available, but never the whole event until Tuesday's release of "The 4 Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring the Beatles." SOFA Entertainment, which owns the archive of Sullivan shows — a staple on CBS' Sunday night schedule from 1948 to 1971 — is putting it out after getting the OK from the Beatles' Apple Corps Ltd.Sullivan, a competitive former newspaper columnist, clearly knew the high stakes involved that night and gave the Beatles two showcases on the first show.While the Beatles' appearance stands in memory like a thunderclap, their power seemed muted the first time they hit the stage. Their first two songs, "All My Loving" and "Til There Was You," were both Paul McCartney showcases and the band didn't really hit its stride until the powerful "She Loves You." Even then, the cameras seemed to shortchange John Lennon in favor of McCartney.Their performances on the following week's show from Miami are much better. They had repeats: "She Loves You" was played both weeks.Cutaways to the audience show young girls who can barely stay in their seats from the excitement of it all. Older people look bored, annoyed and clueless to the generational change staring back at them.The Beatles' cheekiness, enthusiasm and talent was bracing."It's like they were in color and everybody else was in black and white," said Andrew Solt, CEO of SOFA Entertainment.Watching the magician with the hard luck of following the Beatles to the stage that first night is painful. Fred Kaps' show biz career never really recovered from that moment, Solt said.The sense that television moves much more quickly today is one of the most interesting finds in the DVD time capsule. Mitzi Gaynor, who was once the princess of musical comedy, gave a sweaty performance from Miami. Comic Frank Gorshin's routine with movie star impersonations was interminable.The comic team of McCall & Brill, with a punch line about an "ugly girl," would not have made it past today's taste police.One other performance in that first week came from the cast of the Broadway show "Oliver," including a young Davy Jones, whose life was changed in the wake of the Beatles' performance. A few years later, he was cast as one of the Monkees, a prefab rock band that was a Beatles knockoff.Sullivan "didn't spend too much money on talent that week because he knew he had the audience," Solt said.Producers plainly believed people had an attention span then, certainly much more so than now. Remote controls were not available then, and viewers had only a few channels to pick from.The same is true of the ads. Can you imagine a commercial break with only one commercial?The ads on the show are stunningly unimaginative. What were the Madison Avenue pitch men of the day thinking? Cold water detergent All was called "revolutionary."The DVD also contains Sullivan shows from Feb. 23, 1964 and Sept. 12, 1965 when the Beatles also performed. The band did 20 songs in all on the show, including three versions of "I Want to Hold Your Hand."The DVD also has a short interview Sullivan did with the Beatles in London in May 1964 that hasn't been seen since the day it aired.