By Steve Newton
I was two months away from my seventh birthday when the Beatles made their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964.
To a then-record audience of 73 million viewers the Fab Four played “All My Loving”, “Till There Was You”, and “She Loves You”, then returned later in the program to top things off with “I Saw Her Standing There” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”
My six-year-old self was absolutely blown away, but unlike a lot of musicians that I’ve interviewed over the past 40 years, that unforgettable TV moment didn’t cause me to pick up a guitar and become a rock star.
It might have influenced me to write about music, though.
Anybody else who wants to relive those magical days when the Beatles conquered America (and Canada, and everywhere else) should know that Beatles ’64, a new documentary from producer Martin Scorsese and director David Tedeschi, will stream on Disney+ starting November 29.
According to today’s announcement, the film features never-before-seen footage of the band:
“The film includes rare footage filmed by pioneering documentarians Albert and David Maysles,” reads the press release, “beautifully restored in 4K by Park Road Post in New Zealand. The live performances from the Beatles’ first American concert at the Washington, D.C. Coliseum and their Ed Sullivan appearances were demixed by WingNut Films and remixed by Giles Martin.
“Spotlighting this singular cultural moment and its continued resonance today, the music and footage are augmented by newly filmed interviews with Paul and Ringo, as well as fans whose lives were transformed by The Beatles.”
Hey, I’m a fan whose life was transformed by the Beatles. How come nobody interviewed me?!
To prove my undying love of the Fab Four, here’s the Beatles collage I created with my kids from the pages of the paperback book that came with my limited-edition vinyl copy of Let It Be back in 1970. (The glue gave out and the book fell apart, but I’m still crazy about the Beatles.)
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