User Reviews

Last week, about several minutes after watching The Beatles' American TV debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on DVD on the actual day of the 50th anniversary of that, I reviewed it here which appeared on the next day. So on the 50th anniversary of their second appearance on that show, I'm doing the same. Originally aired live from the Deauville Hotel in Miami, Ed mentions "last Sunday, on our show in New York, The Beatles played to the greatest TV audience that's ever assembled in the history of American TV" before then saying, "The Beatles, bring them on!" At this point, the Fab Four had rushed on stage because of some troubles encountering crowds blocking the stage entrance (staffer Bill Bohnert remembered Ringo just about to sit at his drums and picking up his sticks as Ed finished his intro) before segueing into "She Loves You", "This Boy" (one of two songs they didn't perform the previous week), and "All My Loving". They seemed more lively this time. Then Ed points out current boxing champ Sonny Liston and former boxing champ Joe Louis in the audience before bringing on the comedy team of Marty Allen & Steve Rossi for a skit about boxing which starts with Allen saying he's the mother of The Beatles! It gets funny from there before Rossi then sings "Strike Up the Band" with Marty dancing while wearing a Beatles wig! Then Ed gives this intro: "The greatest thrill for The Beatles-and we got a big kick out of it-is the fact they were actually going to meet Mitzi Gaynor tonight on our show". Don't know if that was true but Ms. Gaynor sure must've rose some temperatures with her initial performance of Cole Porter's "Too Darn Hot" as she shimmied and lifted her skirt a few times during that number with four men dancing behind her! She then segued to "The More I See You", "St. James Infirmary", "The Birth of the Blues", and "Joshua Fight the Battle of Jericho" before finishing with "When the Saints Go Marching In" again with those same men. Then a taped piece Ed made from the Hialeah Race Track where he showcased the Nerveless Nocks swaying from one hundred foot poles while the wind was blowing ("One of them almost lost their life doing that" Ed mentioned as the segment played). Then Myron Cohen came on whose only joke I found funny concerned a priest, a minister, and a rabbi playing cards. Before Ed once again reintroduced The Fab Four, he addressed Sonny Liston's upcoming fight with Cassius Clay (who would eventually change his name to Muhammad Ali), "Sonny Liston, some of these songs could fit you in your fight-one song is 'From Me to You' (the other song not previously performed on the show). And another could fit Cassius, because that song is 'I Want to Hold Your Hand'." The Beatles' next set actually began with "I Saw Her Standing There" where Paul was noticeably lower in volume because his mic was a little lower so he stooped his face down while John managed to lift his up soon after the intro so his voice was much louder in this version. Paul corrected his mic in starting "FMTY" and then before playing "IWTHYH", he said a few words-like he did at the beginning of the show-which were: "This is one that was recorded by our favorite American group, Sophie Tucker" (If you knew how big she was, you'd get it). After that, when Paul, George, John, and Ringo went to Ed, the host then said to them: "Richard Rodgers, one of America's greatest composers, wanted to congratulate you, and tell the four of you that he is one your most rabid fans. And that goes for me, too. Let's have a fine hand for these fellows!" He then thanked various people from Miami before closing with "Drive carefully!" This was a much more enjoyable show than the previous week's. Next week, I'll review The Beatles' third consecutive time on the show though that one was taped for later broadcast before their actual initial live performance on Ed's show...