On February 7 in 1964, the Beatles landed at New York’s Kennedy airport, arriving in the United States for the first time and taking the country by storm. Two days later, on February 9, Paul McCartney (21), Ringo Starr (23), John Lennon (23), and George Harrison (20) appeared on The Ed Sullivan Showin front of screaming fans.
The four continued on a short American tour before returning to England on February 22. In the next few months, they had several hits in the U.S. and released their film, A Hard Days Night (1964). And then they returned to the U.S. in August to play sold-out arenas.
On their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, during the first half of the show, the Beatles performed “All My Loving,” “Till There Was You,” and “She Loves You.” They returned later in the program to sing “I Saw Her Standing There” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”
Before the last two songs, Sullivan announced that Elvis Presley and Colonel Tom Parker had sent the group a congratulations telegram.
The video below features the Beatles performing “I Want to Hold Your Hand” at this appearance. So, remember when rock was young while watching The Beatles play during their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show around a half century ago.
What do you think of the performance? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Robert Hegyes, who played Sweathog Juan Epstein on Welcome Back Kotter passed away. I hope he has a note to get into heaven. In other death news, Ian Abercrombie, who played “Mr. Pitt” on Seinfeld, passed away. RIP.
Although the song may work for the listener in many contexts, such as in that movie, much of the perfection of the song comes from the fact that it had personal meaning for Paul Simon:
“Tom, get your plane right on time; I know your part will go fine; Fly down to Mexico.”
Simon and Garfunkel started out in 1957 performing under the name “Tom & Jerry,” so one may see from the opening line that the song is a message to Tom, i.e., Art Garfunkel. In an interview, Simon explained, “That was written about Artie’s going off to make Catch 22 in Mexico.” At the time, Garfunkel had left Simon in New York to act in the movie Catch 22 (1970). One hears Simon’s melancholy at being left behind by his friend and singing partner in the chords of the song.
The song appeared on Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970), the last studio album from the team, and one hears the dissolution of the collaboration and the sadness of a deteriorating friendship that had started in high school. In the original, one hears the sadness in both voices, and you still hear it in Simon’s voice looking back as an older man.
As for this weekend, New York Giant fans hope they will not have sadness in their voices after Sunday’s game.
Post-Super Bowl Update: After the Giants won the game, the song played in the stadium was “Empire State of Mind” by Alicia Keys and Jay-Z. Another good song choice.
What do you think of “The Only Living Boy in New York”? What “New York” song would you pick for this year’s Super Bowl? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Watch a video filled with images explaining possible references in Don McLean’s song “American Pie.”
On this date of February 3 in 1959, a small plane crashed in a cornfield near Clear Lake, Iowa, killing the pilot Roger Peterson along with his famous passengers: Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper. The three were on “The Winter Dance Party” tour throughout the Midwest, a tour that also included Dion and a young bass player named Waylon Jennings. The tour traveled by bus, but for the trip to Moorhead, Minnesota, the three performers chartered a plane.
In the future, Chimesfreedom plans to revisit more of the story, but for today check out this cool video that someone put together for Don McLean‘s song, “American Pie.” The song is celebrating its fortieth anniversary, as around this time in 1972 following the song’s release a few months earlier on Nov. 27, 1971, the song had climbed the charts so you could not turn on the radio without hearing “American Pie.”
Through the years, McLean has been notoriously vague about specific meanings of the imagery in the song, but it is widely accepted that the opening and refrain of the song centers on his memories of hearing about the death of the three singers in the plane crash. In his memory, he wondered what would happen to rock and roll after such a great loss, which led to an era of Pat Boone and Fabian songs.
Of course, now we know, unfortunately, that rock an roll has survived many such losses since then, but these were the early days. Anyway, the video does a good job of explaining some of the imagery, and even if it is not 100% correct about the images, it provides an interesting interpretation to much of the song. Check it out.
What do you think “American Pie” means? What is your favorite song by Buddy Holly or the others? Leave your two cents in the comments.
It is time once again for Chimesfreedom to take a look at songs related to each Super Bowl team. With this year’s battle between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants, we first consider the Patriots, using a song incorporating the New England mascot instead of going with Barry Manilow’s “Weekend in New England.”
Back in the 1980s before there was the Internet where you can find a large amount of music and concert footage of your favorite artist, I was desperate for anything related to Bruce Springsteen for the long years between albums. In one of those periods, I discovered the music of Little Steven and “I Am a Patriot.”
Little Steven, of course, is “Miami Steve” and Silvio Dante and Steven Van Zandt, a guitarist and singer in Springsteen’s E Street Band. While Springsteen’s songs gradually included more political allusions, Little Steven wore his social issues on his sleeve. “I Am a Patriot,” though, he reclaims the word “patriot” from the politicians and asserts its meaning as an advocate for freedom.
And I ain’t no communist, and I ain’t no capitalist; And I ain’t no socialist; and I sure ain’t no imperialist; And I ain’t no Democrat; And I ain’t no Republican either; And I only know one party, And its name is freedom; I am a patriot.
Little Steven recorded several very good albums on his own during the 1980s, including Men Without Women (1982), Voice of America (1984), Freedom No Compromise (1987) and Revolution (1989). He added one last album in the 1990s with Born Again Savage (1999), which was not as successful as his previous albums. “I Am a Patriot” is off of Voice of America, and the song has been covered by Jackson Browne and Eddie Vedder, among others. Browne also has performed the song with Little Steven.
As for this weekend, at the end of the day on Sunday, New Englanders are hoping they can proudly assert the refrain of the song. Meanwhile, check out the Super Bowl song for the New York Giants.
Are you a fan of Little Steven? What other songs are appropriate for the New England Patriots? Leave your two cents in the comments.
