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On this day, February 9, in 1964, The Beatles made their first visit to the USA and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. The live showcase had the Fab Four playing a string of songs to American

audiences, but just before they hit the stage, they received a telegram from the King of Rock and Roll himself, Elvis Presley. The hour-long special began with Sullivan introducing the Fab

Four and announcing he had just received a note from Elvis and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. This was no doubt an exciting moment for the likes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who

worshipped Elvis throughout their teenage years. The former even said that "without Elvis, there would be no Beatles". Sullivan read out Elvis' message on TV to the 73.3

million viewers: "Congratulations on your appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show and your visit to America. We hope your engagement will be a successful one and your visit pleasant. Give

our best to Mr Sullivan. Sincerely, Elvis and The Colonel." This lovely message was perhaps what The Beatles needed to spur them on, as they proceeded to play five songs from their

repertoire. Their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show was shown across three weeks, and reportedly broke viewing records as it was beamed out to more than 23 million homes in the USA alone.

McCartney looked back on the momentous occasion in the Beatles Anthology. He described the event as one of the "largest viewing audiences ever in the States". He continued by

joking that it was the band's hairstyles that sent them into stardom: "It was very important. We came out of nowhere with funny hair, looking like marionettes or something. That

was very influential. I think that was really one of the big things that broke us – the hairdo more than the music, originally. A lot of people’s fathers had wanted to turn us off. They told

their kids, ‘Don’t be fooled, they’re wearing wigs.’" "A lot of fathers did turn it off," McCartney went on. "But a lot of mothers and children made them keep it on. All

these kids are now grown-up, and telling us they remember it." McCartney likened The Beatles' first Ed Sullivan performance to when President Kennedy was assassinated, before

adding: "I get people like Dan Aykroyd saying: ‘Oh man, I remember that Sunday night; we didn’t know what had hit us – just sitting there watching Ed Sullivan’s show.’ Up until then

there were jugglers and comedians like Jerry Lewis, and then, suddenly, The Beatles! SOURCE / SOURCE