Cowboy Pajamas

         Among the many notes I have for memories that I can write up is one that says Beatles, Ed Sullivan. Anyone my age or older probably has a story about the first time the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan. Every Sunday night back in the sixties, Ed Sullivan hosted a variety show. If we were at my grandparents’ on a Sunday night and Sullivan came on, my grandfather would call me to the living room to see the act that was on the TV. I wanted to stay in the kitchen and listen to my mother and grandmother gossip, but I knew it would be wrong to not do what my grandfather was asking, especially since he had a smile on his face and was sure he was sharing something fun with me. And what was happening on the TV? A man spinning plates with poles. Today I would find that man very entertaining – knowing to appreciate the skill it takes to do that and the guts to make a living at it – I totally respect all that now. But as a kid? Don’t call me into the living room to see a juggler when there’s gossip about people I don’t even know going on in the kitchen!

         Anyway, the Beatles had several hit records in England and the U.S. through 1963, and Ed Sullivan invited them on his show in the States in early ’64. This event was later dubbed the beginning of the British Invasion – popular English bands touring the States to thousands of screaming fans.

         So, to be at home in front of the TV the night the Beatles were on Sullivan for the very first time was a very big event. One that some have never forgotten. I myself recall being excited that finally there would be something worth watching on the Ed Sullivan Show. And I do remember the Beatles being introduced, and they started singing. They were so young and cute with their mop haircuts. And as the camera zoomed in on each Beatle, his name came across the bottom of the screen. The audience was screaming so loud, you could not hear the music well at all. When the camera turned to John, the name across the bottom of the screen said John Lennon. Sorry girls, he’s married. The girls kept screaming.

         A few years ago, there was a disc jockey on the country station I listened to in the car, Rhubarb Jones. He was from around here, and although obviously a country music fan,  there was more than one occasion when he mentioned the first time the Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan Show. Rhubarb, clearly quite young back in ’64, said he was wearing his cowboy pajamas and rocking on his rocking horse in front of the TV while watching the Beatles. How precious is that? Well, one time when Rhubarb was talking about the Beatles and his cowboy pajamas, his sidekick started teasing him about it. Then Rhubarb said to his sidekick, “Do you remember what you were wearing the first time you saw Journey on TV?”

         That’s right. Remembering the night Ed Sullivan brought the Beatles to the American stage – that’s big! Journey? Yeah, not so much. Ever since Rhubarb’s remark, I giggle when I hear anything about Journey, and then I picture a little guy in his cowboy pajamas on a rocking horse in front of a black and white TV watching real history being made!

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