And now it can be told -- I am the only Baby Boomer in America who didn't actually see it. In point of fact, I was in my bedroom with a 102 degree fever, and my parents forebade me to get up even momentarily. So I had to content myself with hearing the show, which was playing on the 17 inch RCA teevee in our living room down the hall from me.
So fuck the rest of you. With a rusty chainsaw.
26 comments:
I was a 2nd grader at the time. As with anyone else, it totally blew my mind. A big rush. The only other time prior to the Beatles debut that I had a rush like that was when I played "Money Honey" from Elvis' first album on my Sears kiddie record player at age 4 or 5.
Still fresh as paint, those boys.
I had a similar unhappy moment a few months later, when the Animals appeared on Ed Sullivan on the strength of "House of the Rising Sun." I was beside myself with anticipation; that record blew my mind and changed my life. But on the West Coast, unfortunately, that segment of the tape-delayed program was pre-empted by none other than Lyndon Johnson, who addressed the nation live on the so-called Gulf of Tonkin incident. So instead of Alan Price and Eric Burdon, I got the Maddox and the Turner Joy. Not a good trade ... especially considering the bullshit quotient in LBJ's charges, and the nightmare they helped lead us to.
I saw them on tape on the Jack Paar show the week before. My mother told me I had to take a bath just as the Sullivan show started - fastest bath in history was then taken!
This is beside the musical point but, Steve, thanks for using the adverb "momentarily" correctly (meaning "FOR a moment"). These people who use it as though it means "in a moment" or "soon" (as in, for example, "this airplane will be landing momentarily") need a session with that rusty chainsaw, too. Thanks for letting me vent and now we return to more musically relevant posts.
J. Lag
I was going-on 9 years old when I saw the Sullivan show. I already owned "Meet the Beatles" which I bought at an independent record store named after it's owner, Rudi Pock. There was a music store just down the street and I got my first Selmer flute on the same day. I believe it was my first stereo album purchase. My parents got me one of those portable stereos where the turntable pulled down as if out of a suitcase. The stereo speakers were attached to the unit but could be removed and spread out in my bedroom for maximum stereo effect. State of the fucking art:-)
Not only did I watch the Sullivan shows, I audio taped them with our Wollensak tape recorder. That sucker felt like it weighed 500 pounds, it was so ridiculously heavy. I still have the reel-to-reel tape which I kept for posterity. Keep in mind that it was taped in front of the TV with me holding the microphone in front of our console Magnavox. So it's not about the sound. I even filled out an index card with track titles in a handwriting which I've long ago abandoned and seems entirely foreign.
After the first Beatles appearance, I bugged my dad to get me a guitar. I wanted an electric but he bought me a crumby acoustic instead. He told me that if I applied myself, he'd consider the electric. I was a quick learner and by the time The Dave Clark Five released "American Tour" dad bought me a Silvertone.
Here's some pix of the tape I made back in 1964. Who says bootlegging isn't innate?
http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a535/VanessaStone/Beatle%20Tape%201964/Beatles%20Tape%201_zpsixvt4cj8.jpg
http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a535/VanessaStone/Beatle%20Tape%201964/Beatle%20Tape%202_zpskxqtzfdl.jpg
http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a535/VanessaStone/Beatle%20Tape%201964/Beatle%20Tape%203_zps5994f27p.jpg
http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a535/VanessaStone/Beatle%20Tape%201964/Beatle%20Tape%204_zpsl9qzunyy.jpg
The schnazzy photo I scotch-taped to the box was cut out of my dad's "Time" magazine.
VR - I got some WD-40 for that rusty chainsaw. Try to be gentle.
Regarding the Animals being preempted on the West Coast. I don't remember that. I do remember the performance, but perhaps they ran it at a later date. The Animals broadcast was on 1964-10-18. The Gulf of Tonkin speech was on 1964-08-04, I think. The Animals didn't arrive in the US till September 1964 and stayed at the Manhattan Hotel. They did 10 nights at the Paramount in NYC during September. This was a big deal since the venue had been closed for a while. The Ed Sulliivan show I saw featured "House of the Rising Sun" and was also plugging their new single "I'm Crying," which wasn't released until 1964-09-09. How many Tonkin speeches did LBJ make?
VR - recruited by the government for my memory.
but not for being able to keep your trap shut.
Slightly off-topic, and maybe Steve might've already posted about it, but have you guys *ahem* gotten a copy of "Beatles Anthology Revisited" yet?
It's a TWENTY EIGHT hour series of 18 audio-only podcasts that dropped sometime around Xmas, and was available on iTunes, Spotify, et al., before Apple/Universal Music Group (everybody say "BOOO!" for the latter, Comcast-owned half NOW) told them to take it down. Since then, it's popped up at various download sites, taken down, put up again elsewhere, ad infinitum.
And it's also fucking *marvelous*. Whoever put it together borrows some from the original Anthology, but that was only 11 hours. And it sounds gorgeous–the guy must be a professional audio engineer, or just knows his way around ProTools. But the content is just astounding. I got it a few weeks back, and have been doing two episodes on Saturday, two on Sunday mornings. (Great with weekend wake'n'bake.)
Don't say I never did nothin' for ya:
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/beatles-anthology-revisited-new-28-hour-podcast.488584/page-16#post-13740373
PS: each part contains a 1.5 GB .zip file, nine eps. in the first, nine in the second.
Correction:
The schnazzy photo I scotch-taped to the reel-to-reel box was cut out of my dad's "Newsweek" magazine, not "Time". My dad had subscriptions to both, along with U.S. News & World Report.
I recall seeing the show (I was just 13 at the time) and was eager to talk about the performance the following day with my friends. Two of my friends said that they wanted to be in a band like The Beatles. I said I'd rather be Ed Sullivan.
I saw it. I had the VeeJay lp.
I hope you caught them the following week.
VR apparently suffers from that disease where a person remembers every little detail, no matter how trivial or uninteresting. Seriously, WHO GIVES A FUCK IF IT WAS FROM TIME OR NEWSWEEK?
And, by the way, NOBODY in the U.S. puts dates in that order. I smell a cut and paste.
Hey, 'nonny 'nonny...*I've* often used that procedure for dates. It makes sorting files a lot easier on computers. Guess I'm not a true Amurkin.
And...really. Did her self-correction cause you that much distress? If so, either Xanax or Valium might be of some assistance.
***
Re: my comment on "Beatles Anthology Revisited"–seriously, if you're a Beatle fan, you NEED those podcasts. Just listened to ep. 7 last night–marvelous stuff. And no, I had nothing to do with the project...just passing the goodness along.
Or lithium
Anna said...
Hey, 'nonny 'nonny...*I've* often used that procedure for dates. It makes sorting files a lot easier on computers. Guess I'm not a true Amurkin.
My understand is that you are a Brit. And she wasn't "sorting files" ---
VR is a narcissistic pain in the ass, in case you haven't noticed.
Your "understand" (remedial English classes are available NOW!) is wrong. Born in Michigan. And no, in her comment, she wasn't sorting files, but maybe that's just the way she does things, re: date nomenclature, perhaps because of doing it that way on computers.
VR goes into peripheral detail often, yes. I don't much care. She often brings a lot of trenchant facts to the conversation, too.
My advice? If it's signed by VR, don't read it. See how easy?
Thanks Anna. I appreciate that. And for the heads up on the Beatles.
I have been a taper for years and have used this method of dating tapes since the 1970's. Remember, the idols of my youth were Vicki Vinyl and Betty Cantor, along with Shirley Muldowney. And it totally makes sense with computers, which has made it more popular.
With regard to the Animals on Sullivan and the Gulf of Tonkin speech: The date of LBJ's speech was 1964-08-04 (or 8-4-64 or 08-04-1964 or 8/4/64 or 08/04/1964 or whatever floats yer boat) at 11:30 PM EST. This would be 8:30 PM on the west coast. But it was a Tuesday. The Ed Sullivan show was broadcast on Sunday nights, as we all know. Red Skelton was broadcast on Tuesdays, but I think CBS had a summer replacement series for his show.
I'm takin' the Stairway to Cleveland.
VR - (FYWDWWW)
i suggest that vicki and anna are the same male person.
...uh, Nonny? You're beating a dead horse, and wrong to boot. I can't remember which post on PowerPop it was, but there was a back & forth conversation between us re: an 80s bootlegger we both knew. So either Anna and Vicki are the same person with severe identity disorder, or we're two different people.
As to our gender, what does that have to do with the price of tea in China? *I* suggest that you're a geek virgin living in his (or her) mom's basement. Or may as well be.
Jesus fucking Christ...just let it go. Or go to Brooklyn Vegan, find a post about some female band/singer, and make lewd remarks about what you'd do to them. You'll find *plenty* of like-minded company there who'll love you, which is why I never read their comments. Generally, people here at PowerPop are civil and sane. I haven't seen *anything* out of you that's either.
'anonymous' isn't a name...there are at least 3 people, and i'd guess it's more like 4 or 5, who have posted in this thread anonymously. and that includes 'vicki', who is of course you.
I'M ANONYMOUS!
Jesus' dick on a popsicle stick! There is now absolutely no doubt that some seriously fucked-up psychology is at work here. Hateful obsession, paranoia and delusional thinking have gotten the better of someone. Hope you get well soon. Or sober.
You appear to be a coward with major issues. Please get me out of your head, I can't stand it in there. Seek some help.
The suggestion that Anna and me are both the same person is ludicrous. I've never met her, even though I think we may have both been at the same Zombies concert. To assert that I'm a male is absurd. I gave birth to three kids and raised another four. That's right! When me and Sandy hooked up with our current guy, we eventually had a ten-member household (His-Hers-Mine and Ours) in a 5,000 sq. ft. home. I've got the bikini cut C-section scar to prove it. Just this past November I broke down and got my first tattoo. I told the artist to put a zipper on my scar. Pretty stupid, I know. What was I thinking? I feel as guilty about it as a Catholic girl who has just gotten an abortion. Fuck, I'm not Doris Day anymore.
Ordinarily I don't reply to this recurring wretched, un-enlightening, negative bull-crap. It isn't worth dignifying with a response. Your raging insults and imbecilic theories have nothing to do with the subject at hand. But now you've involved another person. A nice person who had the guts to stick up for me and put their name to it.
I did a little show-and-tell with the tape I made of the Beatles' Ed Sullivan appearances and described the setting in which it occurred. I questioned a commenter's memory regarding the Animals and the Gulf of Tonkin speech. Big deal.
I'd accuse you of making ad hominem attacks, but you're not even capable of doing that properly. Please stop making a foolish spectacle of yourself. For your sake.
VR - BTW Sabbath were highly fun tonight doing all their power pop standards:-) It was so much fun that we're gonna see 'em again in Vegas on the weekend. Doesn't that make you wanna hate me more? Just let it go already.
The 'lady' doth protest too much, me, anonymous, thinks.
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