watch rare Ed Sullivan Show videos of Beach Boys, Marvin Gaye, Supremes & more
The Ed Sullivan Show ran from 1948 to 1971 and among other things, it was known for its live music performances, which were considered a big break for any new artist. Elvis Presley, The Supremes, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, The Beach Boys, and more made famous appearances...sometimes infamous too. They would only show Elvis from the waist up, and had The Rolling Stones change the lyrics of "Let's Spend the Night Together" to "Let's Spend Some Time Together." When Jim Morrison decided to sing "Girl we couldn't get much higher" after agreeing to sing an alternate line in "Light My Fire," The Doors were banned from the show.
Many of those classic performances are now being made available via an official Ed Sullivan Show YouTube channel. So far uploads include The Beach Boys performing "Good Vibrations" in 1968, Marvin Gaye doing "Take This Heart Of Mine" in 1966, The Supremes performing "You Can't Hurry Love" in 1966, Neil Diamond doing "Sweet Caroline" in 1969, The Jackson Five playing "Stand!" in 1969, and more. You can watch those, plus The Temptations and Gladys Knight & The Pips, below.
Look for more classic Ed Sullivan performances to be uploaded soon.