Fifty years ago to the minute on CBS, The Beatles played live on U.S. television for the first time, and changed pretty much everything. For my take on the topic, see
Bianculli’s Blog, and visit the
Fresh Air website to hear a special Beatles-related
Fresh Air with Terry Gross program, on which I host, offer a review, and replay Terry’s interviews with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. That same duo will be interviewed, more currently, on this new CBS special, by David Letterman, in the very theater where Ed Sullivan hosted The Beatles half a century ago. (That interview was taped earlier this week, without an audience but in that very significant location.) But mostly, tonight’s Grammy special, produced by tasteful TV showman Ken Ehrlich, is about music. Artists from the recent Grammys step up to perform some of their favorite Beatles tunes, including Katy Perry singing “Yesterday,” Eurythmics doing “The Fool on the Hill,” and Stevie Wonder, revisiting one of the best Beatle covers of all time, his version of “We Can Work It Out.” And, yes, Paul and Ringo perform as well, separately and together, including on the inevitable “With a Little Help from My Friends.” For a full rundown, and a peek at the vintage CBS press release detailing that historic
Ed Sullivan Show from Feb. 9, 1964, see (Sunday’s new entry of)
Bianculli’s Blog.