March 25, 1961 marks the 50th Anniversary of Elvis Presley’s USS Arizona Memorial Benefit Concert in Hawaii. Elvis staged the concert to help raise money to build a memorial at Pearl Harbor dedicated to all of those who had lost their lives in the December 7, 1941 attack. Elvis actually had the idea to host […]
Living in New York City and hosting his show right off Broadway, Ed Sullivan was a big fan of musicals. He often used The Ed Sullivan Show to promote Broadway musicals, giving his audience a front row seat to hit shows. In addition to performers, Ed also liked to showcase the composers of his favorite Broadway […]
March 16th marks the 42nd anniversary of Janis Joplin’s one and only performance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Here is a little background on Janis Joplin on The Ed Sullivan Show. Janis rose to fame with Big Brother Holding Company in 1967 following a rousing performance at The Monterey International Pop Festival. Two years later, […]
This year Elvis Presley will be declared an honorary citizen of Budapest, Hungary and have a city landmark named after him. Mayor Istvan Tarlos and the city council announced plans to bestow this honor on Elvis due to the singer’s sympathy and solidarity with the Hungarian Revolution against the communists in 1956. Elvis actually made […]
This weekend, The 83rd Academy Awards will be held in Hollywood and one of the favorites to take home multiple Oscars is the psychological thriller Black Swan directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman . Black Swan is nominated for 5 Oscars – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Cinematography and Best Film […]
With February being Black History Month, here is a look at how The Ed Sullivan Show helped break through the color barriers of network television and the entertainment industry. One of the most important contributions Ed Sullivan will be remembered for is how he bucked the system and embraced African-American performers helping promote them to […]
In honor of Valentine’s Day, here is a list of love song performances from The Ed Sullivan Show: 1. The Beatles – “I Want To Hold Your Hand” 2. Sonny & Cher – “I Got You Babe” 3. Elvis Presley – “Love Me Tender” 4. Jackie Wilson – “That’s Why (I Love You So)” 5. Smokey Robinson & The […]
Tomorrow marks the 46th anniversary of the passing of one of America’s all-time great singers and performers: Nat King Cole. Nat King Cole was a favorite of The Ed Sullivan Show appearing 13 times during the show’s 23-year run. During that time he also became a close personal friend to Ed Sullivan. With February being […]
This Sunday, Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger will perform live at the Grammy Awards for the first time in his career. For a rock legend with such a storied career, it is hard to believe he has never performed on this stage. Jagger has appeared on a Grammy telecast once before, via satellite with The […]
On this day 47 years ago, The Beatles made their first live American television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. In the weeks leading up to the historic performance, The Beatles had already hit number one on the U.S. charts and the anticipation surrounding their arrival from England had not been seen around The Ed […]