1965: Beatles Tape Final 'Ed Sullivan' Performance
August 14, 2020
| By TV WW
On this day in 1965, the Beatles traveled to CBS's New York studio to rehearse and tape a segment for CBS' The Ed Sullivan Show. The following night, they kicked off their North American Tour at Shea Stadium.
In front of a live studio audience, the Fab Four performed "I Feel Fine," "I'm Down," "Act Naturally," "Ticket to Ride," "Yesterday" and, says John Lennon in show footage, "the title song from our latest film, 'Help!'"
Their performance was aired on September 12, 1965, which was the Sullivan Show's 18th season premiere. The episode's other guests included British pop star Cilla Black, Soupy Sales, comedy duo Allen and Rossi and Fantasio the Magician. It would be the group's final "live" performance on the show.
According to the Official Ed Sullivan website, at the end of the season-opening show Sullivan announced that the following week, the show would begin broadcasting in color.