Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

That CAN'T be Paul.....wasn't he dead then?

Naa... he was bumped off a few years later, but Billy Shears was already in training.

On September 12, 1965 the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. Here's the program:

1. ED’S OPENING
2. SOUPY SALES - REMINISCES WITH ED
3. CILLA BLACK - “SEPTEMBER IN THE RAIN”
4. FANTASIO - SLIGHT-OF-HAND ARTIST
5. THE BEATLES - “I FEEL FINE”
6. THE BEATLES - “I’M DOWN”
7. THE BEATLES - “ACT NATURALLY”
8. ALLEN & ROSSI - “TRY TO REMEMBER”
9. CILLA BLACK - “GOIN’ OUT OF MY HEAD”
10. SOUPY SALES - “THE MOUSE”
11. THE BEATLES - “TICKET TO RIDE”
12. THE BEATLES - “YESTERDAY”
13. THE BEATLES - “HELP!”

What is not generally known is that Soupy Sales wrote the song "The Mouse" WITH THE AID OF GEORGE HARRISON AND PAUL MCCARTNEY the previous day during rehearsals. Here's Soupy... but only listen if you can stand his incredibly horrible vocals:

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/transcripts_020604_soupy.html

"Do da Mouse"!!!

Was Soupy Sales ever funny? Was the Ed Sullivan show ever entertaining when rock and roll guys weren't on it?

Because those 4 Ed Sullivan shows I have on the DVD are basically awful. "Comedians" who get zero reaction from the audience, giant dancing puppets, and the spinning plate guy (OK, I don't think he's actually on any of those 4 shows but you know what I mean).

I think you have a good point there, Alan. But back in those days The Ed Sullivan Show was (for better or worse) a Sunday night institution.

Ed was a throw back to vaudeville era I suspect and his show was masked under the guise of family entertainment. The odd circus act, magicians, rock star(s) and big band era singers made for a weird line up. There was actually something quite "wholesome" about it in many respects.

It, much like the London Palladium show in England showcased a lot of great up and coming "young" talent.

yup throw back to vaudeville era is exactly right .... if I can stretch my memory back that far, I can hear my mother telling me that bedtime was right after Ed Sullivan.

Of course my older sister was more hip to current happenings and she insisted that we watch a certain singing group on Ed Sullivan in Feb of '64. Apparently these guys sang and played guitar but the only people I was aware of who did that sort of thing were singing cowboys (I was apparently oblivious to Elvis and the Everly Brothers). After the show my sister was on cloud 9 and I (of course) had to tease her because the songs were about "LOVE"... na na na na na na.... but I do remember that it was obviously new and different and I wondered why one of the guitars had only 4 strings. The next day in school (4th grade?) EVERYTHING was different and (led by the girls who seemed to know a lot about stuff that us boys were oblivious to) EVERYTHING was now Beatle-this and Beatle-that. Nothing was ever the same again. Anyways, I ramble... back to work.

My Dad says that the Ed Sullivan Show was all about whatever it was Ed liked.

I can believe it.

He was the big boss, thats for sure. Sort of the George Steinbrenner of entertainment acts.

A little known factoid about Ed Sullivan is that he's related to Ringo. Ed's uncle's cousin was Ringo's great-grandfather's brother.

Ed played a solo on which Beatle song?

Ed Sullivan wasn't the guitar virtuoso that Ringo was (is), but I think Ed did some tasty maracca work on "You Know My Name, Look Up The Number". I have it on good authority that it was Ed who came up with the name "Dennis O'Dell", who was a Hollywood Producer/Director and one of Ed's business partners.

Actually Ed played packing cases while extremely inebriated on "Words of Love". Ringo was credited with that innovation.