On This Day, February 9, 1964

The Beatles made their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, which was their first exposure to an American audience. 

The band performed the songs “All My Loving,” “Till There Was You,” and “She Loves You” and then later returned to perform “I Saw Her Standing There” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” 

The performance was seen by a then-record 73 million viewers, and helped Sullivan top the nightly ratings for the first time in seven years.

The show is considered one of the seminal moments in pop culture and launched Beatlemania in America.

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