48 Years Ago – The Rolling Stones Banned from the Ed Sullivan Show

by: Dave Swanson 3 hours ago

Forty eight years ago, the Rolling Stones made their first appearance on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show.’ The date was October 25, 1964 and Sullivan was on a roll. Earlier in the year he brought the Beatles into our living rooms, followed by the Dave Clark Five. Soon enough, every invading British rock band was making their way to the CBS studios for their moment in the spotlight.
Though the show became synonymous with new young rock and roll acts, it was a variety show, meaning the Stones had to share the evening with violinist Itzhak Perlman, comedy duo Stiller and Meara, and a family acrobatic act to name a few. The band performed two songs from their ’12 X 5′ album, ‘Time Is On My Side’ and ‘Around And Around.’ Sullivan had to repeatedly quiet down the screaming teens in the audience during the not so rocking acts. The pandemonium caused by the band led the Sullivan show to ban them from any future appearances. The ban was short lived, and they were back the following year.
The band’s appearance was, needless to say, loved by the ‘youngsters’ (as Ed would call them), but loathed by parental units everywhere. The show received several complaints including a telegram that read: ” (You) Should be ashamed of yourself putting on such trash as the Rolling Stones. A Disappointed Viewer. Claude Lopez.”
This didn’t stop the band from return visits over the next five years. Ed, as you can tell from the various appearances, really took a shine to the band and even joked to the audience “You’re yelling much better this year” during their third appearance on the show.

edsullivan.com