Ed Sullivan, Variety Show Legend…
In 1948, Ed Sullivan was hired by the CBS television network to host ‘Toast of the Town’. The show was eventually renamed ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ and still holds the record for the longest running variety show ever aired. The show was broadcast from CBS Studio 50 in New York, which was renamed the ‘Ed Sullivan Theater’ in 1967. The studio has stayed true to its purpose and today is the home of the ‘Late Show with David Letterman’. Born in Harlem and raised in New York, Sullivan worked as a sports writer and theater columnist for the New York Evening Graphic before he broke into show business. The theater column was also carried by the New York Daily News.
Hosting many celebrities over the years, the show aired many a memorable moment. One such moment occurred when Jim Morrison of The Doors, rebuked Sullivan by singing the controversial lyric ‘Girl we couldn’t get much higher’ from their hit song ‘Light My Fire’. Sullivan had asked Morrison to replace the word ‘higher’ with ‘better’. After the performance, Sullivan banned The Doors from ever appearing on the show again.
Remember When
Creedence Clearwater Revival performs LIVE at Woodstock | 1969
WOODSTOCK ROCKS
Bethel, New York
August 15 – 17, 1969
The largest rock concert ever, arrived and left, and we will never be the same again. The police estimated that there were a million people on the road trying to get to the festival. Controlling the overwhelming crowd was next to impossible.
The festival actually took place on Max Yasgur's farm about fifty miles away. Woodstock was the original location since that was where Bob Dylan was currently residing.
There were no clear headliners; the lineup included: Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Band, Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Santana, The Who, Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, Richie Havens, Sly and the Family Stone, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Sha-Na-Na, Joe Cocker, Jimi Hendrix, and many more.
Jimi Hendrix’s guitar solo of the "Star Spangled Banner" might be the most memorable musical event of the festival. Woodstock was a peaceful gathering for one million young citizens who were virtually left on their own and discovered the words Sharing, Helping, Consideration, and Respect. Thousands left the Woodstock event with a totally different outlook on life, and rock music moved to the forefront of American pop culture.