The Beatles Meet Cassius Clay - Miami February 18, 1964

This was the Beatles last appearance of their first 3 on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. It was broadcast from the Deauville Hotel in Miami because Ed Sullivan wanted to see the fight between Sonny Liston and Cassius Clay; soon to become Muhammad Ali.

One of the highlights of the visit to Miami was the introduction of the Beatles to Cassius Clay for some publicity shots. That was on February 18^th. Ali remembers wondering who the hell they were. His world and theirs were; well; worlds apart! But the funny thing is that the Champ later became a fan of the Fab Four. He once opined that while he was the greatest; they were the most beautiful.

Later on he even challenged them to re-form the band in 1970 for a concert to help fight hunger in Africa. This was 15 years before “We are the World” became the accepted concept for rock and roll benefit concerts. This was just after George Harrison had set the template for such concerts with his Concert for Bangla Desh in August of 1970.

The Beatles never did get together again; either for themselves or charity. But, tomorrow never knows and maybe someone else will come along and change the music scene again in the same way that they did. They still have a way of getting under your skin; making you want to grab a ticket to ride and sail across the universe. 

"Romeo and Juliet" - Andy Griffith Style (1962)

The Andy Griffith Show was always one of my favorites. The mixture of comedy with some basic lessons in life was the hallmark of the show, and it wasn't lost on me. I actually "got" it. When Opie killed a bird I knew it was wrong; just as I knew that his father's solution to have Opie care for that bird's hatch-ling was right.

In this classic episode Sheriff Taylor has been a bit humiliated. The night before this scene takes place he was confronted at home by 2 young people wanting to get "hitched" by that Justice of the Peace. Although both were of legal age the sheriff was unable to complete the ceremony when the fathers of the bride and groom showed up with shotguns. It seems that the two families were "a fueding";  in the parlance of the time and place.

Andy needs to recover his "lost face" and begins by explaining his actions; or non-actions; of the night before by making an appropriate comparison between the situation at hand and Romeo and Juliet. This is what made Andy Griffith so famous to begin with. He told stories. His legendary "What It Was Was Football" is the vehicle which took him from the Ed Sullivan Show to headlining on Broadway in "No Time for Sergeants."

From there he hit the screen with an Oscar worthy performance as Lonesome Rhodes in the 1958 film “A Face in the Crowd” which co-starred Patricia Neal. In that film Andy Griffith gives one of the best performances of his career as a drunken guitar playing bum who finds himself catapulted to fame. 

It’s not a pretty picture to watch as he becomes a controlling and nasty individual, pushing away all those who love him. It’s a far cry from the roles he became known for as Sheriff Taylor on TV’s “The Andy Griffith Show” and later as the homey attorney “Matlock.” If you have never seen the film before, you should.

Meantime, enjoy the clip above and hit you tube for a peek at Andy Griffith playing Lonesome Rhodes in “A Face in the Crowd.” You will be astonished. Here’s a clip; make sure you catch the performance at about 3 minutes into the clip. 

"The World According to Me" - Jackie Mason (1988)

Hang on to your seat for this rollicking one hour ride with America's favorite former Rabbi, Jackie Mason as he takes you on a trip throughout his lucid mind. In his skillful way he tackles everything from religion to politics, and even Sweet and Low in this film of his one man show which ran for several years on Broadway before touring some of the major cities across the country.

Everybody knows the story of how he was blacklisted by Ed Sullivan over that mistaken thumb gesture in March 1968. "Here's big one for you" was the line that got him in such hot water. That line was the result of the show's director signaling to him with fingers, how many seconds he had left before they cut away to a news bulletin. I believe it was the night that President Johnson announced he would not seek re-election as President that year.

But there was life for Mr. Mason after Ed Sullivan. He did a bit of time in purgatory, playing all the comedy clubs in Los Angeles before landing a role in the Film "Car Wash". From there he got a big break with Jay Leno and then more film cameos came his way. Before long he was back on top; doing his thing on Broadway; where he even did a follow up to this show in the early 1990's.

If you have never seen this gifted performer before, take special note of the psychiatrist routine. It rivals any of the double talk ever done by Abbott and Costello, or even the Marx brothers. It also is very logical as well as comedic, questioning just who we really are.

Sue and I saw him in an impromptu performance at the Lyric in Baltimore one time. He did a bit of old stuff; realized there were Jews in the audience; his words, not mine; and then proceeded to slay us with another 2 hours of new material which had part of the audience leaving, and the other part laughing. He even warned them beforehand. This is one of my favorite comedians; enjoy the show!

Ed Sullivan - In Disguise (1958)

I thought it would be fun tonight to turn the tables around a bit in salute to Ed Sullivan. Here, on "What's My Line" from 1958, Ed appears in a mask and with a muffled voice, confusing the panel which has just heard him come into the studio to a hero's welcome. Indeed the first question concerns whether or not  he "has a hit record" out. At that point the panelists were all probably thinking Elvis Presley.

This was Ed's 10th year on television, as host of "Toast of the Town", which was renamed the Ed Sullivan Show in 1955. I'm not sure why they refer to it by the former name here, but Ed owned Sunday nights from 8 PM to 9 PM for several decades, spanning all the changes taking place in America. His show was common ground for families on Sunday nights because he had something for everyone.

What makes this clip so much fun to watch is how this man; who entertained all of America for so many years; keeps denying that he is an entertainer, which he was not. But his ability as a showman, with his normally dour persona, is unchallenged in television history. And this is a very human look at one of TV's most endurable icons.

"The Ed Sullivan Show" - Live (1961)

Just kick back and watch this complete Ed Sullivan show from 1961. It’s what most families did on a Sunday night back then. Back then Friday nights were for flirting, Saturday nights were for dating, and Sunday nights were for the Ed Sullivan Show. Each week for 3 decades, Mr. Sullivan, a former newspaper columnist, showed that he had his fingers on the entertainment pulse of America. An invitation to perform on his show could make or break an act in the space of just a few minutes.

Usually broadcast live from New York City, this episode is a bit different, as it is live from Las Vegas. In the years ahead Ed Sullivan would also broadcast an occasional show from Miami, as he did when the Beatles made their second US appearance on his show in 1964.

In this show, Ed brings out the usual variety of acts, consisting of comedian Jerry Lewis, some dancers, Phil Harris, and even the standard introduction of a celebrity in the audience. The sun in Vegas must have done him some good, as even in this old black and white tape you can see that the usually pallid Mr. Sullivan has been spending some time by the pool.

Shows like this don’t exist anymore. We all have our little niches of satellite radio and cable TV to filter out the things in which we are not interested. It’s convenient, but it narrows our scope and tolerance for things that may be a bit different from what we like personally, drawing us all a bit further apart in the process. As the old saying goes, “They just don’t make them like they used to.” And we are the less for that loss.

The Beatles - February 1964

On February 7, 1964, the Beatles were heading over the Atlantic, towards America, on Pan Am Flight 101. With them were their manager, Brian Epstein; roadies/friends Mal Evans and Neil Aspinall; also the infamous Phil Spector and his wife Ronnie, and The Ronettes. They were accompanied by a few journalists. None of them had any idea of what was awaiting for them upon their arrival.

Surprisingly, they had only received word the previous week that they had the Number 1 Record on America's Billboard chart for several weeks already. This lack of knowledge, on their part, was one of the main reasons that Brian Epstein had signed The Beatles for 4 shows, contracted at Union Scale, on the Ed Sullivan Show. In between they would be making a limited amount of stops in America, "testing the waters", as it were. And those waters were boiling!

I only mention this because history has a way of repeating itself. I have been on a Dean Martin binge for a few weeks now. That, in itself, is not unusual, as I am a huge Dean Martin fan. His voice is like a single malt whiskey; pure and aged in oak, and then aged again, making it extra mellow. It's the timing that is surprising.

Just as he did in 1964, Dean Martin has done it again. At the height of Beatlemania, in 1964, he upstaged them with the number one hit "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime", which became his iconic, signature song, even replacing "That's Amore" in popularity, as well as sales. And now, 48 years later, my Dino binge eclipsed the anniversary of the Beatles arrival in America.

But, "give the devil its due", the Beatles were a lasting influence on an entire generation, and so it would be wrong to fail to mention them this week. It was 48 years ago when these guys stormed America. I still remember watching them, sitting in the living room, on the Ed Sullivan Show. Those were still the days of one TV households, and we all watched the show together. My parents and brother said they were a fad, with long hair and collarless, or "cardigan", jackets. Except for me, and millions of other kids; we felt the magic; so enjoy the above video of the Beatles doing "I Saw Here Standing There", and "Long Tall Sally", from Swedish TV in October of 1963, several months before they came to America. The energy is fantastic.

And here is one of the Beatles doing "Revolution" in the studio "live" in 1968 for the David Frost Show in England. It was later re-broadcast here on the Smothers Brothers Show in September of that year, along with "Hey Jude." Not bad, for a "fad."

George Harrison - They Say It's His Birthday!

It's hard to believe that George Harrison, my favorite Beatle, has been dead almost ten years this coming December. Always known as the "serious" Beatle, Mr. Harrison contributed quite a lot to the sucess of the band. And after they broke up, his last recording with The Beatles was done in July of 1969 for the "Abbey Road" album, he went on to establish a quiet, and varied career, touring the world with many different incarnations of a band. His most notable sucess came in the late 1980's when he teamed up with Jeff Lynne, of The Electric Light Orchestra, and old friend Bob Dylan, along with new friend Tom Petty, and an old influence, Roy Orbison, with whom the Beatles had toured Germany in 1962, to form The Traveling Wilbury's. They made two albums, one before Mr. Orbison passed away, for which he received a Best Vocalist Award, and the second one without him.

This song, "Handle me with Care", takes a hard look at the price of fame and fortune. The vocals are tight, and yet both Roy Orbison and George Harrison each come off as distinctly different vocalists in this song. That was the beauty of this band, it's sheer wealth of writing and performance talents, coupled with no egos. This was also a very unique band, centered as it was,around George Harrison, the man whose curiosity about a sitar on the set of the movie "Help" began a radical shift in pop music, as well as a resurgence in the Art of Yoga. We were lucky to have him for awhile. He would have been 68 years old today. Happy Birthday, George!

I hope that if you have the time, and inclination, you will take a few moments today to view the wealth of music that this quiet man left as a legacy. Here's a link to get you in the slip stream. It features George on his favorite instrument, the ukelele. The song is "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" by Ted Koehler. Mr. Harrison was a big fan of 1930's music, once responding to a news reporters question about what he had been listening to in his car that day with a very unexpected answer; "Barnacle Bill the Sailor and some Hoagie Carmichael." When asked if he was joking, he looked slightly annoyed as he answered, "No. are you?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5CkIniOcqs&feature=related