Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

On February 9, 1964, an estimated 73 million Americans tuned their television sets to the Ed Sullivan Show in heated anticipation. The hottest import, in the form of four young, adorable Liverpool lads, had finally touched down in the States to perform. Little did the British band know, this particular performance was about to change the world forever. \nAnd although the Beatles' first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show was broadcasted in black and white, the vibrant color of their personalities showed through the screen, and straight into the heart of American culture. From this moment on, Beatlemania would run rampant throughout every home. \nWhile they shook their trademark mop tops and tapped their feet, the deafening screams from the crowd proved their music and charm were undeniable. According to www.CNN.com, the entire nation was so mesmerized by their five song set the crime rate in U.S. cities dropped dramatically during this particular broadcast. It was also the most-viewed U.S. television program in history at that time. \nIn commemoration of the event, music professor Glenn Gass gave a speech Monday in the Fine Arts building to a full audience. The audience, ranging from younger students to older adults, all joined together to celebrate this historical and musical memory.\nGass fondly recalled how he felt the Sunday night in 1964 watching the Beatles perform for the first time. \n"It was like a bomb going off. The next day at school everyone was going 'Well … Well … ' It was all anyone wanted to talk about. Which one was which? Which one was George? Was he in the middle? Wasn't it great? It was just huge," said Gass.\nSandy Johnston,a Beatles fan, vividly remembers watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. Exactly 40 years later, her daughter, Corey Johnston, a senior at IU, watched the same programming in the Fine Arts building with Gass and the other fans that came together. In a format similar to Gass' history of rock 'n' roll classes, he took the audience step-by-step through some of the history behind the Beatles and their legacy. Together they sang songs in unison and watched a number of live appearances, early press conferences and pictures documenting their lives. \n"The Beatles' music is so ubiquitous that it's so hard to grasp that they weren't even a band in my lifetime. Their music transcends all genres in the generation," said Johnston.\nGass said the Beatles were an escape from the social norms of 1964. After the assassination of President Kennedy, their presence was a hope to the youth of the nation. \n"They did show you a world that was separate from your parents' world, which was also separate from Vietnam and prejudice and all of the social issues that arose," Gass said. "They sort of offered an alternative way of thinking that was hopeful -- not despairing. With the Beatles, there was always hope, always love." \nAfter their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, the Beatles were on the following two shows. Gass explained for a band to have been on the show three consecutive times, was unprecedented before that time. \nGass' multimedia presentation revealed the Beatles were so many different things to so many people. They were poets, musical geniuses, spiritual guides, pacifists, role models, demonstrators, innovators, opinion leaders, brothers, sons, husbands, fathers and most importantly an enormous social force in history. \nThe presentation showed the love people shared for the four men and the lasting legacy that will be left with us forever. The late Derek Taylor, the Beatles' publicist and longtime friend, said it best when he referred to the "Fab Four" as the "20th century's greatest romance"