On this day in 1964, The Beatles made their live American TV debut on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Beatlemania had already hit the United States, and 73 million people tuned in to watch the band perform five songs live, including “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” According to eyewitness reports, the screaming from younger members of the audience was so loud, that no one in the studio, not even the Beatles, could hear the music being played.
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Today is Groundhog Day, which means that America’s favorite marmot, Punxsutawney Phil, will either emerge from his burrow to cloudy skies – and announce the arrival of an early spring! – or to sunshine – causing Phil to retreat back into his burrow in fear of his shadow, suggesting we’ll have to endure six more weeks of winter. Whatever happens, this day will always take us back to 1993, when comedy icon Bill Murray starred in a little film called Groundhog Day, directed by Harold Ramis. Since then, this day has become synonymous with one song and one song only: Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe.” Listen on repeat for the full Groundhog Day effect.
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“I Got You Babe”:
On this day in 1940, Frank Sinatra made his first public appearance with the Tommy Dorsey Band at the Coronado Theater in Rockford, IL. Prior to launching one of the most successful solo careers of the 20th century, Sinatra sang with Dorsey during the Big Band era of Swing, recording over forty hits like “Polka Dots and Moonbeams,” and “Imagination.” Sinatra had signed a contract with Dorsey for $125 a week, and sang with the band through 1942, until he decided to go solo. However, a tough legal battle ensued over Sinatra’s contract with Dorsey, which had given Dorsey 43% of Sinatra’s lifetime earnings in the entertainment industry. Dorsey eventually let Sinatra out of his contract, thanks to a thousand dollar bribe and a loaded gun from one of Sinatra’s rumored mobster connections.
On this day in 1980, Pink Floyd’s eleventh studio album “The Wall,” began it’s 15-week residence atop the Billboard charts. The rock opera, which explores abandonment and isolation, was released on November 30, 1979 and sold over 19 million copies worldwide between its release and 1990. Following the release of the album, Pink Floyd kicked off The Wall Tour, where, during each performance, a 40-ft high wall was constructed between the band and the audience, and torn down during the show’s finale. “The Wall” remains one of the most profitable albums in the U.S., but is Pink Floyd’s second best-selling album, behind “Dark Side of the Moon” (1973). In 2003, Rolling Stone awarded “The Wall” the #87 spot on its “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” list.
48 years ago, Led Zeppelin’s debut album, Led Zeppelin, was released in the United States by Atlantic Records. The album, which brought us “Good Times Bad Times,” peaked at No. 10 on Billboard. Critical reception to the album was lukewarm, but was a commercial success due to the band’s hard-rock sound which was gradually being adopted by the American and British counterculture. In 2004, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and is currently ranked at #29 on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”
