3 Musicians That ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ Turned Into Superstars

Remember The Ed Sullivan Show? If you weren’t around in the 1960s, The Ed Sullivan Show was an American variety show made famous by the CBS network. It launched in the late 1940s and came to an end in the early 1971, and was hosted by entertainment writer Ed Sullivan. Tons of famous musicians played music on the program, and many of them got a serious career boost by appearing on the show. Let’s look at a few legendary acts that got a boost from The Ed Sullivan Show, shall we? 

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The Beatles

We couldn’t leave this one off our list of bands that The Ed Sullivan Show catapulted to fame. Though, it’s worth noting that Beatlemania was already in full swing by the time the Fab Four performed their legendary set on the show in 1964. If anything, though, their appearance on the program just strengthened their grip on the masses in America. Their set might just be the most famous one in the television show’s history, complete with screaming and fainting fans that make it hard to even hear the band perform. What a wild time.

The Doors

This is definitely my favorite Ed Sullivan Show performance. Namely because of how punk rock it was before punk rock was even a glimmer in Johnny Rotten’s eye. The Doors appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show as their career was taking off in 1967. Ahead of their performance, a producer told them they had to change the lyric “Girl, we couldn’t get much higher” to avoid airing a drug reference on television. Jim Morrison, of course, sang the lyric anyway. The Doors were promptly banned from the program.

Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley’s appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show was quite controversial in 1956. According to lore, Ed Sullivan did not like Presley’s on-stage antics and refused to have him on his program. He changed his mind in 1956 when Presley started generating buzz that couldn’t be ignored. And, of course, Presley hit the stage in front of a live audience, gyrating his hips and causing quite a bit of pearl-clutching in his wake. Fortunately for Presley, his appearance on the program only made him more famous.

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