Long before Stephen Colbert took over for David Letterman on The Late Show, and even before Letterman set foot on the stage, the set belonged to someone whose name had become synonymous with showbiz itself: Ed Sullivan. The variety show host made stars out of countless celebs during his reign throughout the 1950s and '60s. Singers, actors, comedians, and even more bizarre entertainers all knew that if they were lucky enough to book a spot on his Sunday night show, they would be seen by thousands of households who've never missed an episode.
While on a trip to London in 1963, Sullivan happened to be leaving from Heathrow Airport at the same time a certain group was making their return home. Noticing the large crowd of emotional teens greeting the lads known as the Beatles, he knew he had to be the one to introduce them to American audiences. On February 9, 1964, they made their first of three consecutive appearances to record-breaking rating numbers.
As a tribute to the band's first phenomenal performance, Colbert invites one of his house musicians to play one of the group's biggest hits, "Blackbird." Jon Batiste begins the emotional ballad with an impressive piano introduction. I think even Paul McCartney himself would have trouble topping this talented man's rendition! Inspired by the civil rights strife in the southern United States in the '60s, McCartney's lyrics paint an empowering image of a bird who learns to fly despite its broken wings.
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