Abbott & Costello Raising Money In Los Angeles – 1942
The Government Later Shows Their Gratitude With An IRS Audit
Lou Costello (l) and Bud Abbott (r) raise money at a War Bond rally in Los Angeles. Photo: Los Angeles Daily News
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were the number one box office stars in 1942, so who better to go out and rouse the public to buy War Bonds?
The United States entered World War II after Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Abbott and Costello were too old to serve in the armed forces, but they would do their part to aid the war effort.
The comedians each donated their $10,000 weekly personal appearance salary to the Army and Navy relief fund. Traveling the country, Continue reading →
“Is there really a body in there?” is usually not one of the questions you ask yourself when visiting a grave. But this is no ordinary grave. Continue reading →
It Was 55 Years Ago Today – The Beatles Came to The USA
Feb 7, 1964 – The Beatles Leave London For New York – The Beatles singing group is shown at London airport this morning prior to departing for appearances in New York. From left are Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and John Lennon. AP wirephoto via cable from London
Our headline (thank you, Sgt. Pepper) points out that remarkably it has been 55 years, not 20 years ago today that the Beatles left London for New York City. The British Invasion was underway. The world would never be the same, not just musically, but in fashion and pop culture.
If you want to get a sense of what Beatlemania was like when the Fab Four first arrived in New York, there is a forgotten little film Continue reading →
Jack Paar Featured The Beatles One Month Before Sullivan
Ed Sullivan, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and John Lennon
With Beatlemania nostalgia peaking this month, it is interesting to take note of something that seems to be a common misperception, that the Beatles made their prime time American TV debut on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964.
In fact the Beatles were noticed by Jack Paar when he was visiting England in the fall of 1963. A film crew captured them performing and the footage was shown on the Jack Paar Program on January 3, 1964, more than one month before the Ed Sullivan Show.
The big difference was for the Ed Sullivan Show the Beatles came to the United States for the first time and performed live on the program. Beatlemania had hit the United States and the impact reverberates to this day.
Many underestimated the staying power of the Beatles. After their first Sullivan appearance, McCandlish Phillips of the New York Times wrote, “At their present peak, the Beatles face an awful prospect of demise. They are a craze. Anyone at the center of a craze finds that everything he touches turns to money. But since a craze is a source of inflation, it may precede a crash.” He could not have been more wrong. Even Jack Paar thought the the Beatles would be a passing fad when he showed them on his program.
Here is Jack Paar reminiscing about the Beatles with a clip from the original 1964 program.
“Light My Fire” And “Reading Rainbow” On The Ed Sullivan Show
Forty-five years ago, on September 17, 1967, The Doors performed for the first and last time on The Ed Sullivan Show. The variety program which had introduced America to The Beatles three years previously, was consistently one of the most watched shows in America and could help establish a successful career for a comedian, singer, band or any entertainer.
Before singing their hit Light My Fire, live on national television, the band was warned by a Sullivan show staff producer not to sing the word “higher” when the phrase “girl we couldn’t get much higher,” came up. It was suggested Morrison the poet, come up with another word; “flier”, “wire”, it didn’t matter, just not sing “higher.” The band was told the word “higher,” could imply illegal drug use and was inappropriate for a family program like The Sullivan Show. The Doors were furious and argued their point, but eventually relented and told the producer they would alter the lyric. As soon as the producer left the room, The Doors lead singer Jim Morrison declared to the rest of the band “We’re not changing a word.”
The Doors first performed “People Are Strange” and then launched into “Light My Fire.” Morrison of course kept the word “higher” in the song.
Sullivan was livid and offstage, a furious staff producer cornered The Doors and chastised the band telling them they would have been on the Sullivan show six more times but now “you will never appear on The Ed Sullivan Show ever again.” They were banned.
Jim Morrison looked at the producer and said, “Hey man, we just did the Sullivan show.”
Classic.
Jimmy Fallon has the ability to imitate a wide range of musicians from Neil Young to Bob Dylan. So give him the chance to reproduce The Doors set from The Sullivan Show; get musicians wearing the exact same costumes and playing the exact same instruments and do a “Doors” version of, what is to me, an obscure PBS TV show theme song, Reading Rainbow, and you have a recipe for brilliance and hilarity.
Here is Jimmy Fallon as Jim Morrison performing a Doors song that never existed, “Reading Rainbow.”
And below is the original song for Reading Rainbow.
