The Day the Music Sorta Died

When you don't know what you've truly got until it's gone.

It can be hard to explain to young people what it was like to grow up when the talent pool included Elvis, Little Richard, Sam Cooke, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, The Kingston Trio, Harry Belafonte, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, and Peter, Paul, and Mary.

And how things accelerated with the arrival of The Beatles. Shortly after what was called The British Invasion, it was as if we were drinking from a fire hose: The Rolling Stones, The Byrds, The Animals, The Doors, The Moody Blues, and Creedence Clearwater Revival – all with long hair and formidable talent – began changing music and the culture.

One year, people were dressed as if it were the Fifties and the next it was long-hair, jeans, and sandals. A classic example of rapid societal change.

It should be noted that amid the sharp political divisions of the time, there was one area in which the Right and the Left were in agreement: popular music.

The music was mind-bogglingly good in the Sixties and Seventies.

Granted, clothing fashions became dreadful with atrocities such as bellbottoms, leisure suits, and wide ties, but the music was excellent, the supply was plentiful, and it was widely shared.

For the most part, young people knew the music of their parents. They’d heard Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Peggy Lee, and Perry Como as well as country and western performers. Music was a shared experience because no one had a bedroom television in those days. Families watched most programs together.

And there was one forum that had something for everyone: The Ed Sullivan Show.

It was on once a week, and it had an amazing run from 1948 to 1971.

Ed Sullivan, a booking genius, turned a bland persona into an advantage. He never distracted from his program’s stunning and diverse array of talent.

A partial listing of his guests would include The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, B.B. King, Petula Clark, Buddy Holly, Paul Anka, The Byrds, Janis Joplin, Bobby Darin, The Beach Boys, Maria Callas, Edith Piaf, Tom Jones, Ray Charles, Roy Orbison, Nat King Cole, Neil Diamond, and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

It is estimated that 73 million people watched the first appearance of The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964. That was around 45 percent of the American population.

And it wasn’t a one song and you’re gone moment. They performed “I Want to Hold Your Hand”; “All My Loving”; “Till There Was You”; “She Loves You”; and “I Saw Her Standing There.”

The Beatles were back on the program two more times that month and then returned in August of 1965.

It was television gold in more ways than one.

Now shoot forward to today.

Could a modern Ed Sullivan find the same amount of talent?

We seem to have a drought of musical talent, but I may be wrong. Even if the talent is out there, our society has fallen into so many segments that we are missing a key element.

A common stage.

The closest platforms we have now that have Ed Sullivan Show potential are YouTube and X. Those are opportunities waiting to be seized.

If that happens, it will be a cultural turning point. More people will be exposed to talent outside of their narrower sources.

Perhaps someone will repeat Ed’s famous opening: “And now, ladies and gentlemen, we have a really big show!”

Because it will be the truth.