Ed Sullivan's Influence On Popular Culture

After five cutting-edge singles, Elvis’s contract was sold to RCA Records and then his career rapidly took off (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame). His first number one single was “Heartbreak Hotel,” and his first album was Elvis Presley (biography.com). By 1956 Presley was an international sensation. Although many of the teenagers of Elvis’s time was very intrigued by his diverse musical styles, sexy dance moves and good looks, much of the older generations were outraged by his gyrating hips and music (biography.com). One of Elvis’s most controversial instances was on the Ed Sullivan Show where he sang “Hound Dog,” for the first time on television (Comprehensive History of Elvis Presley’s Dynamic Life). He was already considered to be a rebel and no one knew what

This time however, Elvis did not become discouraged, if anything, it lit a fire inside him and drove him to prove everyone in the Grand Ole wrong. In October of that same year, his music had begun playing regularly on “The Louisiana Hayride”, which was a popular radio program at the time. He later made his television debut on a televised version of “The Louisiana Hayride” in March of 1955. While this happened, his previous song grew rapidly in popularity in the Memphis

The famous band, The Beatles, became popular during this era and won the hearts of the youth of America, just like Elvis had done earlier in

The power of television is strong and inevitable. Television has the ability to draw people in and view the world through a perspective one would think unimaginable. After the second world war ended in 1945, electronic sales boomed and more families started to gather around the tv at night to view widely famous television shows. Specifically, The Ed Sullivan Show was known for its plethora of celebrities and up and coming entertainers. The shows popularity was able to take a small town artist and make he or she into an enormous success, specifically, Elvis Presley who was, “something new under the Sun” (Altschuler 30). Teenagers, however, viewed the television as an escape and a look into the unknown and intriguing world of African

     What role does television play in society? For decades we have seen many parts of our world rapidly going through changes in technology. Today’s society has been transformed by means of communication and the available information through mass media. Most Americans rely on television for news, sports, and entertainment. Television is just one of the many examples of how technology has changed our lives. Since the invention of the television in the early 1900’s, it has played a very important role in our lives. Having a television set in the home has become very essential in today’s society. We depend on it to entertain us with its sitcoms and to inform us about current world issues. The

Kennedy was assassinated. A little after that show aired a viewer by the name of Marsha Albert wrote a letter to a dj Carroll James asking in the letter why couldn’t americans have music like britain did. Later on in December James had Albert introduce the song “ I Want to Hold Your Hand ” on the radio live. Next thing records shops knew they were getting requests for albums that they didn’t have because of the song airing on live radio. The following week James sent the record out to other djs around the nation which caused the same reaction everywhere. December 26th the album was released three weeks ahead of the scheduled time. The beatles would go to get 30 different listings on the Hot 100. Although the Beatles were the major contributor to the british invasion there were also other bands whose music spread across the nation. Take Dusty Springfield who released a solo album and her song “ I Only Want to be With You ” hit the hot 100 list. Dusty was also described as “the finest white soul singer of her era”. A lot of other british invasion bands made it big in america like Peter Gordon and the Animals, Manfred Mann, Freddie

Beatlemania broke out in Britain in late 1963 with the release of the songs “She Loves You” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand” with each single selling over a million copies (Unterberger, 2005). The “British Invasion” in the United States began in late 1963 when Capitol records first released “I Want to Hold Your Hand”. In a short time the song was at the top of the record charts. Many would say that Beatlemania officially occurred in the United States when the Beatles made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 (Unterberger, 2005). It didn’t take long for their popularity to soar in the U. S. with best-selling singles and albums. This dominance of the music industry was unparalleled by any artist at the time and probably even today.

Vaudeville was very popular from the late 1800s to the early 1900s in North America. Vaudeville shows were made up of many random acts that were placed together in a common play bill. Some acts were, for example, plays, clowns, jugglers, comedians, etc. Once the radio was introduced, vaudeville’s started to become less popular as the radio’s popularity started to increase. The radio started out with maximum five programs but as the demand for radios increased so did the amount of programs, which went up to almost 500. Radios was the place families and friends gathered to hear the news, sporting events, music, entertainment, etc. One show millions of people listened to was The Burns and Allen Show, starring George Burns and Gracie Allen.

On February 9, 1964, Over 45% of America (roughly 73 million people) watched the Beatles’ debut US performance on the Ed Sullivan show. By the next morning, they had become the next big thing in America. Celebrities and schoolchildren alike were wearing Beatles wigs so that they could imitate their new favorite musical act. They had brought a cheeky sense of humor, long recognizable hair, and a new upbeat pop sound that appealed to the general public. By April 6, they owned the top five hits on the billboard hot 100 list. At one point, the Beatles sang 14 of the Billboard top 100 songs in the country. On the Billboard top selling albums list, they owned the top two albums on the billboard charts at the same time. They won two Grammy’s for 1964: one for best new artist and one for best group performance. They toured in Britain, Australia, and a blockbuster North American tour. Women wanted them and men wanted to be like them. Their fame was completely unrivaled. And that was their success simply in the sphere of music. (Kaplan, 2004).

The foundations of today’s popular music were built by an unlikely source: a poor white

Have you ever heard of the Beatles or Elvis Presley? Well, I bet you have. Do you know who it was who helped give both the Beatles and Elvis Presley their debut in the music industry, and played a key role in the Beatles great success? Well, it was Ed Sullivan and if you want to find out more about this iconic figure in the history of entertainment then keep on reading. Ed Sullivan got his start by working as a newspaper columnist and then later getting chosen as the host of the variety show Toast of the Town which largely influenced popular culture and the entire music industry through its telecasts of Elvis Presley and the Beatles and by having all forms of entertainment appear on the show.

In today’s society, media is present in our lives 24/7 allowing it to have a major influence on our culture in both positive and negative ways.

As America headed into the 1980s, two decades of social and political upheaval have left the nation rattled and the economy weakened. The Iran hostage crisis shook America's confidence and many looked for a new kind of leader to steer the country into the new decade. Ronald Reagan led America into a new era of prosperity leaving the soul-searching of the 60s and 70s behind. The nation was ready to enjoy itself and with plenty of new toys to play like VCRs and video games, Americans spent more time at home and soon something called cable TV would make it even harder to leave the living room. With the new innovation of the TV, one of the ideas for a channel was a marriage between music and television. This new idea for a channel devoted to something called music videos would end up revolutionizing and often scandalizing an industry that had no choice but to embrace the fact that music in the 1980s had to have a face with videos. By having these music videos, they would change the way we look at music and the way we look at the world. This cutting- edge idea was a new medium perfectly suited to a new generation and that idea was called, MTV. This leads to the question: How did MTV influence pop culture of the 1980’s? This topic is worthy of investigation because the coming of MTV has had a significant impact on the way people see pop culture. Before researching the topic, the writer had limited knowledge on MTV and only knew about the music itself. In the paper, the writer was

Right after the birth, John went off on holiday with Brian Epstein. His marriage and son were kept a secret from fans, which resulted in Julian being pushed off by John, similar to how his own father treated him. He continued to live his life as a Beatle, answering fan mail and touring. In 1963 the Beatles took over Britain, and in 1964 they conquered domination across the globe. In February of 1964, the band made their way to the US for the first time, and performed on the Ed Sullivan Show. Two days after the Ed Sullivan Show, the band played their first US concert in Washington D.C.(Gallagher, 23-25) A large part of the year was spent touring, but John still found time to write, and published his first book of poems called In His Own Write. It sold surprisingly well, even gaining a response out of the publishers boss,

Thesis: Frank Sinatra influenced American Pop Culture with his brilliant voice, his unique acting style, and his lasting legacy in the entertainment industry.