Carson and the whole world had no idea that these 4 young men from Liverpool. England would become the greatest band ever.Great musicians and brilliant songwriters.
@@jeffburns4219 Why would you assume he doesn't know how to spell the word "four" simply because he wanted to save a bit of typing by using the number instead?
The Beatles were already pretty big here, but holy cow… Nobody was prepared for just how massive and seismic their 1964 arrival in the US would be. Changed the face of music and culture forever
Little did Johnny and Edd and the band realize that in a few years, they would let their hair grow, because of the Beatles influence. Plus many of the audience, and tv viewers.
This is simply incredible and fantastic to see! I’m so glad they were somehow recorded and preserved. Any fan of The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson is absolutely thrilled to see these old black and white recordings of the shows from New York. PLEASE keep them coming! 🥳🥳
Yes many video tapes/films of the early Carson years were discarded or taped over after they were through with those shows. It's Miracle this particular clip was saved.
This is reported to be from a Kinescope recording which Carson Entertainment owns and released this clip. It's also reported that while the early years of the show were taped over, destroyed or taken to a landfill , as many as 30 episodes during the Carson first ten years somehow survived in addition to clips that were used for anniversary shows. Only the historians at Carson Entertainment probably know the details for sure
Great upload! You can tell he really thinks something unusual is happening, but no stretch of imagination could've foreseen what was to come after The Beatles landed. History in the making for sure.
went to a Beatles convention Saturday, this guy had a massive collection that took up two rooms and he had basically all of this stuff here and more. It was glorious. I'd love to see that guy's house
@@Fab4Fan1964 The Beatles themselves thought it might be the case which they all said several times during that period. They didn't know how long it would last, that's why they worked so hard.
When I was 9 years old, a friend and I got Beatles wigs and worn them down Main Street in a small town in east Tennessee. The stares, finger pointing, and smiles from the elders was great!
@pronemanoldbutyoung5548 This is a kinescope of the show, but the actual tape was destroyed. We have a few kinescopes like this from the 60's but not many.
NBC wiped (erased) all the shows from the first 10 years (standard practice, as video tape was expensive). Johnny was ticked and had it written into the contract in 1972 that every show from that point on would be preserved. A few shows (mainly kinescope copies) show up on occasion from the archives of Armed Forces Radio/Television (like the legendary Bob Hope/Dean Martin/George Gobel episode) and a few that were saved on videotape. From what I have read, the oldest full episode out there today is from 1964-65.
No,not much Mainly their stepping foot on American soil for the first time at JFK airport and their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. I'm sure there was plenty of evening news coverage and mention of them on American TV variety shows ,as well
@@BackWordsJane - Sorry, a little misunderstanding here. This is more related to @garyrasberryjr.552's comment. Because NBC erased all of the early years of The Tonight Show, what we're seeing here is rare. There's very little video available of Carson's early shows.
What a great blast from the past this little piece of videotape is. Interesting how respectful and subdued the audience is. Just polite clapping, none of the obnoxious hooting and screaming that you have today in every talk show. Also interesting how respectfully Johnny speaks of the Beatles and wishing them luck, not dismissing them out of hand as many adults then did. And of course no one in that studio had any idea that the Beatles were the vanguard of the whole musical and cultural revolution to come. The SIXTIES didn’t really arrive until the Beatles did.
Gets easily overlooked that the Beatles were already at the top of the US charts, they didn't just wander onto the Sullivan show and get discovered in America overnight.
I think that's the main point. Carson is doing this before the Beatles had even arrived. That's why the arrival was such a huge deal. I don't think anyone ever thought that the Beatles became big after they were on Ed Sullivan.
@@BaronVonMunch Disagree. I was 13 when they hit the Sullivan Show, and of course us kids knew who they were cause their songs were being played daily and they held many of the top positions on the charts. But seeing them perform live on stage sealed the deal for us teens for sure. yes, the Sullivan Show DID propel them to to the top as far as us kids with our hysteria. Even though I had piano lessons when I was around 7 or 8...had it not been for these boys, I would never have taken music seriously...they were my hero for sure.
This is awesome and historic! I was fortunate enough to see the beginning of the Beatles and the British invasion. I watched the Beatles live on the Ed Sullivan Show in February of 1964. In my opinion they're the GREATEST Band in Rock history... The items Johnny is showing are collector's items and are worth a lot of money.
@@Bear_58 True, but in all fairness, it's when they were finally invited to perform in America that John Lennon said they knew that they had "made it."
I was ten years old on January 24 1964 and watched the Ed. Sullivan show on Sunday Feb.9 1964 with my mom and dad . I had heard a few songs on the radio in 1963 by THE BEATLES! 👀❤ so i wanted to see them on television . I have been a fan ever since those years . ....... THE BEATLES! FOREVER 👀❤ - So long from Canada - 10/5/2024 🤠
I turned 9 on January 26th and also watched them on Sullivan in February. My father took a picture of me and my two siblings watching them and wrote on the bottom of the Polaroid “kids watching the Beatles”. Obviously never knew how famous they would become.
This is phenomenal! We can now only imagine what it would have been like if The Beatles had been booked on The Tonight show back then or even when they toured again in '65 or '66. Mr Carson would have been the best host to interview them! And then there was May of '68 which was, tragically, a entirely different story all together.
@@xz-187 The best would have been the Lennon and McCartney interview that was guest hosted. The two were there to be interviewed by Johnny about their new company Apple and lots of other interesting things would have been discussed but Johnny was on holiday. Missed opportunity and bad timing.
@@hollywoodharriet13 And Paul reminded Johnny that he wasn't the host that night. I don't think Paul was happy about that. On the other hand, rock music isn't Carson's kind of music so I don't think he really cared if he had been on that night in '68.
In Oct. 1962, I was at NBC Studios, NYC, & wanted to see the "Tonight Show" with brand new host, Johnny Carson! Unfortunately, at age 16, I couldn't get in & had to settle. to being in the audience of "The Price is Right" & other shows! I never saw Johnny, but did see Ed McMahon at NBC Studios, Burbank, in 1979 & actually met Johnny's brother, Dick, in Honolulu, Hawaii in '91! Great memories!
What I'd give to walk around NYC in 1962! I wonder what was going on in the Village at that time? Beat poetry at coffee houses? Jazz in the clubs? I may be looking through rose tinted glasses, but I imagine it was a lot better than it is now.
I was at my first NY Tonight taping in February 1970 (I was 14 and my mother took me). The tix said you had to be 18, I think. I put on a jacket and tie and I guess I passed muster. I saw the show taped at least 2 other times, at ages 16 and maybe 17. Always in tie and jacket. I might've gotten kicked out once, but I seemed to be able to sneak in most times.
He was pretty much just reciting the standard script. You note that they are very popular with their particular audience and selling a lot of records, don’t express a personal opinion, make fun of their hair style and maybe their accent, and that’s pretty much it. William F. Buckley wrote that the Beatles are “not merely awful; they’re godawful”. That’s a term I haven’t heard in a good while.
I never got the impression that Carson was much of a Beatles fan. Or a rock fan or pop music fan. Most of the celebs at the time had little interest in rock music or any of the new bands.
Wow! Too see this for the first time in 2024 .... just an amazing clip. I grew up in the 60s with the Beatles, but I was too young to stay up and watch Johnny back then .. hahaha. Those souvenirs are probably fetching a pretty penny on ebay these days!
My buddies and I had at least one Beatles wig, Beatles boots and we traded Beatles cards along with Beatles 45 rpm records. Never had any Beatles shirts though. Love the Johnny from NYC clips.
What a find! Great spot! Johnny and Ed were dynamite! I hope all the lost episodes are recovered somehow! I will pray for America. Please pray for me. God Bless you.
@BaronVonMunch would have to disagree, yes there is a horrible clip that was shot by a fan off his TV that night but the master was wiped by nbc and the host that night was Joe gargola
I don't think the show changed the 90-minute run time until sometime in 1980. During the early days in new york, and I think this show is probably in that era, there was a pre-show that ran for about 15 minutes. I think it was mostly the band and Ed.
The older generation gibes at the Beatles here were mild compared to some from back then. What bemused me was Ed confusing Moe with Curly from the 3 Stooges.
Based on the guests announced by Ed McMahon at the beginning of this clip, this aired on February 6, 1964 - just one day prior to the Beatles’ arrival in New York; which makes it the literal eve of the British Invasion.
Like you, I regret the loss of episodes from the first ten years of the Carson era. However, it's likely that some episodes from that period might not have been worth preserving, on tape or on film. Maybe Johnny's monologues might have fallen flat, or the guests might not have been very interesting.
@@AllenJones-w3p It was network policy (all three networks at that time) to erase the tapes because of cost. At least there is more of an archive, unlike the Dumont Network. Edie Adams said much of the Dumont archive were dumped into the Upper New York Bay to clear space
@@AllenJones-w3pFrom what I remember Johnny didn't realize the tapes were being erased until they were preparing for the 10th anniversary show in 1972 and planned to show some clips from the first ten years. The famous Ed Ames tomahawk clip was one of the few survivors. After that Johnny made sure they were taken care of, even insisting that his tapes were stored in a salt mine for humidity and temperature control.
I like how there was a light applause when Johnny first mentioned The Beatles. Those people who applauded knew what was coming, and what was coming was history
I think he would look at it differently. Many celebs that had been around were very aware of rock music taking over going back to the 50s. They often made fun of it as it wasn't really their kind of music. To them, the Beatles are another rock band. They certainly would see that the Beatles were huge, but to them the '64 Beatles and '68 Beatles wouldn't seem much different.
If Johnny only would have known how big the Beatles would become.. Johnny Carson invited the Beatles to the show. Lennon and McCartney accepted the invitation only to be greeted by Joe Garagiola. Johnny didn`t bother to show up. Johnny met Paul McCartney in the 1980`s when he came on the Carson show to promote a solo album. Carson showed up for that one. I don`t think Carson ever met John Lennon.
@@tomchris60 John Lennon described the Carson experience as one of the most embarrassing thing he had ever done. He thought Joe Garagiola asked really dumb questions. John also felt insulted that Johnny didn`t show. I`m sure Paul agreed with John. John and Paul were the biggest stars in the world in the 1960`s, and Johnny didn`t even bother to show up when they did his show..
There is a complete episode in audio version only on TH-cam of Johnny's first Tonight Show from 1962. There is also a complete video of an episode from 1/14/1964 where is the earliest complete audiovisual of the show I have seen.
They responded to another comment saying "This is a kinescope of the show, but the actual tape was destroyed. We have a few kinescopes like this from the 60's but not many."
This is awesome! Never saw this clip, thanks for posting it! Guess how much money the guys in The Beatles received for all of that massive merchandising? Millions of Beatle wigs, toy guitars, gum, baseball cards, etc. were sold. Zero. Brian Epstein, their manager who was a record store owner and theater buff was brilliant with ideas such as the matching suits but did not have sufficient business experience. When Beatlemania hit the US in 1964 he signed a bad merchandising deal and he and the band got smoked.
I didn't think anything from the New York days of The Tonight Show still existed. That's great. At the time of The Beatles rise to fame in the U.S. Marvelous.
He mentioned their songs at the end saying he heard them and that he thought they were good. Wished them best of luck. Showing the merchandise was for comedic purposes which is what the show would do before bringing out guests. I thought he was very good because at this time no one knew what was about to happen and it was basically the teenagers that were paying the most attention. I grew up during this time period and the adults looked at it as a novelty. Johnny understood something big was about to happen
It was such a big thing when The Beatles came to town. In Los Angeles you could feel the excitement. Everyone was trying to find out where they were staying. Quite the buzz. I imagine it was the same in New York.
The adults also looked at it as a disgusting Commie plot to corrupt youth lol. Long hair indeed..."Get a haircut." that was the adult attitude" "filthy animals in clean suits." Ringo: "Uh no that's not us, that's the other band , Eric Burdon and all."
I am one of those rare people who were around for Beatlemania that DIDN'T watch them on the Sullivan show, but I certainly was bitten by the bug. Inspired by those four lads from Liverpool I became a musician and songwriter myself.
To them it was already a phenomenon. They actually broke up in 6 years so for people not paying too much attention to rock 'n roll, it may not have even seemed that long.
It was just a few months ago that the last Beatles single was released. And even that sounded like a blessing from them for my passed wife. The Beatles have been with me, encouraging and rocking out, for 60 years. Sheesh -- a band offering merch was considered quite bizarre back then. I guess it was considered a teen thing, and not too important. Yet lives were changed! "This is where our country is going.." yep.
No one…including the Beatles themselves, knew how successful they would be…or how they would change the world musically, fashionably or socially. Here we are 60 years later watching this.
These are the days of my youth. I have an album, that’s it. I didn’t go nuts like many. It was wild. Carson- the best. Back when we had real entertainment.
Johnny wasn't doing it to be mean spirited.He was a talk show comedian and just getting some laughs .I'm sure many of the older generations didn't take rock n roll acts seriously. Just some good fun here and I'll be he would've given anything to have gotten them on his show. He did have Ringo and Paul guest appear years later
Yes, the boys should try to make what they can while they can. Meanwhile 60 years later, long after Carson is dead, I’m excited about the Beatles’ American albums being reissued.
I was 13 when the Beatles came to America. When the radio started announcing their arrival most people (adults) didn't know what they looked like. There was a priest who'd visit our Brooklyn parish every month and he'd take the altar boys ice skating, to a movie or some other activity. He also had a warehouse in Queens that was filled with all kinds of stuff, we'd have a blast exploring the place. He'd let us take pretty much anything we wanted, as long as we asked. Four of us took wigs but they were not Beatle wigs, they were platinum blond. We wore them when he took us to the airport and once we wore them in the subway. We were running around talking with a faux British accent and at least one man believed that we were actually the Beatles. We had so much fun in those days!
So many who criticized the Beatles then, now look like fools. But Johnny was such class! Of course he made fun of them, but none of the jabs were mean-spirited. The wigs could have been labeled 1964 and 1965. And anyone still in possession of these items would now say they were a bargain at those prices!!
Ah, the days when rock and roll was ridiculed by mainstream entertainers. Now anything to cash in on the latest hot act is perfectly okay. Commercialism is number one an we're all used to it.
They responded to another comment saying "This is a kinescope of the show, but the actual tape was destroyed. We have a few kinescopes like this from the 60's but not many."
@@thomastimlin1724 During the Beatles first appearance on Ed Sullivan in February at some point Ed said the Beatles were dedicating their performance to Johnny Carson, Randy Parr (Jack's daughter) and Earl Wilson. I never heard the backstory of that, but I suspect Brian did it without the Beatles knowing anything about it.
At 7:43 Johnny sings a lick that sounds very much like a phrase from the song "I Should Have Known Better". That track wouldn't be released until July of 64. Premonition?
This is TOO cool, I've never seen this :). How historic, God bless Johnny because he would have McCartney on years later but man they had no idea what was about to hit America in a month. $4.00 for a T-shirt in '64?
Carson and the whole world had no idea that these 4 young men from Liverpool. England would become the greatest band ever.Great musicians and brilliant songwriters.
I fondly remember the days when people actually knew how to spell “four”.
@@jeffburns4219 How do you spell 4.? Is it foor? Perhaps faw? I used 4 because I wanted to use 4. Get a life.
@@jeffburns4219 Don't be a pedant you old codger. You fondly remember the days black people had to drink from a separate water fountain too, I'm sure.
Sooooo true. IF HE ONLY KNEW WHAT WAS TO COME.
@@jeffburns4219 Why would you assume he doesn't know how to spell the word "four" simply because he wanted to save a bit of typing by using the number instead?
Wow what a gem….ty for listing this …love Johnny and the Beatles
The Beatles were already pretty big here, but holy cow… Nobody was prepared for just how massive and seismic their 1964 arrival in the US would be. Changed the face of music and culture forever
Little did Johnny and Edd and the band realize that in a few years, they would let their hair grow, because of the Beatles influence. Plus many of the audience, and tv viewers.
yep!
This is simply incredible and fantastic to see! I’m so glad they were somehow recorded and preserved. Any fan of The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson is absolutely thrilled to see these old black and white recordings of the shows from New York. PLEASE keep them coming! 🥳🥳
Yes many video tapes/films of the early Carson years were discarded or taped over after they were through with those shows. It's Miracle this particular clip was saved.
Thomas is correct. Never considering the future, the tapes were re-used and taped over. I’ve never seen one so early. ✔️
This is reported to be from a Kinescope recording which Carson Entertainment owns and released this clip. It's also reported that while the early years of the show were taped over, destroyed or taken to a landfill , as many as 30 episodes during the Carson first ten years somehow survived in addition to clips that were used for anniversary shows. Only the historians at Carson Entertainment probably know the details for sure
@@RandallYates-ub4gvthe best one is on TH-cam- Ed Ames tomahawk throw- check it out
Great upload! You can tell he really thinks something unusual is happening, but no stretch of imagination could've foreseen what was to come after The Beatles landed. History in the making for sure.
The Kook wig was more accurate than the official one.
That's what I was thinking.The official looked like a cap
The Beatles are "!kooks"?
Agree!
I came here after you folks, said the same thing. Everyone can tell lol. Why didn't Gimbel's start band called the Kooks?😂
The official one looked more like Chaka from 'Land of the Lost' 😂
This is great history I never saw this before. Thank you.
Yes it's interesting to see them talk about these new guys from England not knowing what an impact on culture they would have.
Hear hear.
Same, and I've seen a lot of Beatles stuff.
I loved the early days of The Tonight Show when Johnny was in New York City! 🗽
went to a Beatles convention Saturday, this guy had a massive collection that took up two rooms and he had basically all of this stuff here and more. It was glorious. I'd love to see that guy's house
"The fellas should make it while they can..." Famous last words!
Probably thought they’d be a flash in the pan, only to disappear within a year or so.
@@Fab4Fan1964 The Beatles themselves thought it might be the case which they all said several times during that period. They didn't know how long it would last, that's why they worked so hard.
@@BaronVonMunchyeah, specially John. Thank God they lasted waaaay more than themselves expected.
Feb. 9, 1964....two days before I turned 14...& the start of the greatest music of the century.......
Fabulous...thank you for putting this up, and leaving the plug in at the end.
Priceless footage
When I was 9 years old, a friend and I got Beatles wigs and worn them down Main Street in a small town in east Tennessee. The stares, finger pointing, and smiles from the elders was great!
How did this survive the NBC tape destruction?
@pronemanoldbutyoung5548 This is a kinescope of the show, but the actual tape was destroyed. We have a few kinescopes like this from the 60's but not many.
@@johnnycarson Thank you for doing that!
Dumbest thing they ever did.....
@@johnnycarson Thanks so much for this gem!
@@johnnycarson Is it true that the show was recorded in color from the beginning? I wonder why, since very few color TV sets were in use until 1966.
There's so little footage available from the early years, this is just fantastic.
NBC wiped (erased) all the shows from the first 10 years (standard practice, as video tape was expensive). Johnny was ticked and had it written into the contract in 1972 that every show from that point on would be preserved. A few shows (mainly kinescope copies) show up on occasion from the archives of Armed Forces Radio/Television (like the legendary Bob Hope/Dean Martin/George Gobel episode) and a few that were saved on videotape. From what I have read, the oldest full episode out there today is from 1964-65.
@@garyrasberryjr.552I think this is the oldest we know of
No,not much Mainly their stepping foot on American soil for the first time at JFK airport and their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.
I'm sure there was plenty of evening news coverage and mention of them on American TV variety shows ,as well
@@BackWordsJane - Sorry, a little misunderstanding here. This is more related to @garyrasberryjr.552's comment. Because NBC erased all of the early years of The Tonight Show, what we're seeing here is rare. There's very little video available of Carson's early shows.
What a great blast from the past this little piece of videotape is. Interesting how respectful and subdued the audience is. Just polite clapping, none of the obnoxious hooting and screaming that you have today in every talk show. Also interesting how respectfully Johnny speaks of the Beatles and wishing them luck, not dismissing them out of hand as many adults then did. And of course no one in that studio had any idea that the Beatles were the vanguard of the whole musical and cultural revolution to come. The SIXTIES didn’t really arrive until the Beatles did.
Gets easily overlooked that the Beatles were already at the top of the US charts, they didn't just wander onto the Sullivan show and get discovered in America overnight.
McCartney is on record saying that they wouldn't go to America until they had a number 1 record there.
I think that's the main point. Carson is doing this before the Beatles had even arrived. That's why the arrival was such a huge deal. I don't think anyone ever thought that the Beatles became big after they were on Ed Sullivan.
@@BaronVonMunch Disagree. I was 13 when they hit the Sullivan Show, and of course us kids knew who they were cause their songs were being played daily and they held many of the top positions on the charts. But seeing them perform live on stage sealed the deal for us teens for sure. yes, the Sullivan Show DID propel them to to the top as far as us kids with our hysteria. Even though I had piano lessons when I was around 7 or 8...had it not been for these boys, I would never have taken music seriously...they were my hero for sure.
This is awesome and historic! I was fortunate enough to see the beginning of the Beatles and the British invasion. I watched the Beatles live on the Ed Sullivan Show in February of 1964. In my opinion they're the GREATEST Band in Rock history...
The items Johnny is showing are collector's items and are worth a lot of money.
The Beatles can't be beat.
Feb 1964 is the beginning of the beatles 😂😂😂
@@Streamingstuff-qq3vw uhm no. That's when they came to the USA... Duh...
@@Bear_58
True, but in all fairness, it's when they were finally invited to perform in America that John Lennon said they knew that they had "made it."
@@Streamingstuff-qq3vw
Put a "B" on that, bro! 😂
I was just 5 years old, and have been a fan ever since...
Love hearing the Tonight Show theme, early 60s style. So classy
I was ten years old on January 24 1964 and watched the Ed. Sullivan show on Sunday Feb.9 1964 with my mom and dad . I had heard a few songs on the radio in 1963 by THE BEATLES! 👀❤ so i wanted to see them on television . I have been a fan ever since those years . ....... THE BEATLES! FOREVER 👀❤ - So long from Canada - 10/5/2024 🤠
that would make you 70 today. my dad always watched johnny carson before he went to bed.
I turned 9 on January 26th and also watched them on Sullivan in February. My father took a picture of me and my two siblings watching them and wrote on the bottom of the Polaroid “kids watching the Beatles”. Obviously never knew how famous they would become.
I was 8. Some say I still am lol
I was 11. I remember watching the CBS promo for Ed Sullivan and thinking ‘who are they?’ I soon found out and still love them to this day.
The Beatles stopped being Beatles in 1970. Nothing more to be a fan about after that... just solo stuff that never was any good like the Beatles.
Carson: "Beatles T-Shirt? Four Dollars" Audience "Wow, ohh, boo, unbelievable" 2024 "$90, lasts two washes"
I wonder what the first one goes for today.
That’s $40 today!
That t-shirt alone would he worth a thousand bucks or more today! All that merch woud be worth a small fortune. 😮
My girlfriend just got a Ringo Starr tour jacket… $100
This is phenomenal! We can now only imagine what it would have been like if The Beatles had been booked on The Tonight show back then or even when they toured again in '65 or '66. Mr Carson would have been the best host to interview them! And then there was May of '68 which was, tragically, a entirely different story all together.
He did have Paul McCartney on decades later.
Ringo starr too, 17 years later
@@xz-187 The best would have been the Lennon and McCartney interview that was guest hosted. The two were there to be interviewed by Johnny about their new company Apple and lots of other interesting things would have been discussed but Johnny was on holiday. Missed opportunity and bad timing.
@@hollywoodharriet13 And Paul reminded Johnny that he wasn't the host that night. I don't think Paul was happy about that. On the other hand, rock music isn't Carson's kind of music so I don't think he really cared if he had been on that night in '68.
In Oct. 1962, I was at NBC Studios, NYC, & wanted to see the "Tonight Show" with brand new host,
Johnny Carson! Unfortunately, at age 16, I couldn't get in & had to settle. to being in the audience
of "The Price is Right" & other shows! I never saw Johnny, but did see Ed McMahon at NBC Studios,
Burbank, in 1979 & actually met Johnny's brother, Dick, in Honolulu, Hawaii in '91! Great memories!
Wow! So amazing, What were things like in the early 60s?
What I'd give to walk around NYC in 1962! I wonder what was going on in the Village at that time? Beat poetry at coffee houses? Jazz in the clubs? I may be looking through rose tinted glasses, but I imagine it was a lot better than it is now.
Also, did Johnny take over when Jack Parr walked off the show during a live broadcast?
I was at my first NY Tonight taping in February 1970 (I was 14 and my mother took me). The tix said you had to be 18, I think. I put on a jacket and tie and I guess I passed muster. I saw the show taped at least 2 other times, at ages 16 and maybe 17. Always in tie and jacket. I might've gotten kicked out once, but I seemed to be able to sneak in most times.
This is so great! Such a special moment in time!
Amazing someone captured this. I always wondered what Carson’s take was on the Beatles arriving in America in 64.
He was pretty much just reciting the standard script. You note that they are very popular with their particular audience and selling a lot of records, don’t express a personal opinion, make fun of their hair style and maybe their accent, and that’s pretty much it. William F. Buckley wrote that the Beatles are “not merely awful; they’re godawful”. That’s a term I haven’t heard in a good while.
@@jeffburns4219what script?
He was a Jazz fan so I don't think he gave them much thought.
I never got the impression that Carson was much of a Beatles fan. Or a rock fan or pop music fan. Most of the celebs at the time had little interest in rock music or any of the new bands.
Disliking the Beatles was standard for people over 30. If he had liked them no one would have bought it.
Wow what a treat! ❣️
This is awesome. Johnny Carson talking about The Beatles!!!! Epic! Wish I has some of ghat vintage Beatles merch!!!!!! ☮️💟
Wow! Too see this for the first time in 2024 .... just an amazing clip. I grew up in the 60s with the Beatles, but I was too young to stay up and watch Johnny back then .. hahaha.
Those souvenirs are probably fetching a pretty penny on ebay these days!
Johnny Carson is the master. All the talk show stars who came after him are students in his school.
That's some weird wild stuff. I did not know that.
He almost said it. The Dana Carvey impression. 🤣
I also instantly thought of Dana Carvey when he said “this is the wildest thing” 😂
My buddies and I had at least one Beatles wig, Beatles boots and we traded Beatles cards along with Beatles 45 rpm records. Never had any Beatles shirts though. Love the Johnny from NYC clips.
I still have my trading cards an I'm not giving them up!!!
Best of luck Beatles. Johnny Carson elevating someone to stardom once again
Elevating. 😊
Sullivan did that, not Carson.
At the time not many knew whether they would make it long in the US.
Success in one part of the world doesn't always translate to another
@@jamesm.3967 correct, good catch
@@BackWordsJane so true
They had no idea the pop culture tsunami that was about to hit and literally change the world forever!
What a find!
Great spot! Johnny and Ed were dynamite!
I hope all the lost episodes are recovered somehow!
I will pray for America.
Please pray for me.
God Bless you.
Glad this was saved especially since the 1968 episode featuring John and Paul was destroyed.
The clip of John and Paul on in '68 is on the internet so it can be seen. Carson wasn't there that night as they had a guest host.
@BaronVonMunch would have to disagree, yes there is a horrible clip that was shot by a fan off his TV that night but the master was wiped by nbc and the host that night was Joe gargola
WOW! This was when The Tonight Show was still in N.Y and ran hour and half! Thanks for showing/ saving this ❣️
Johnny was probably on his 1st wife then 😁
Hour and 45 minutes!
The show still ran 90 minutes when it moved to Burbank, CA.
I don't think the show changed the 90-minute run time until sometime in 1980. During the early days in new york, and I think this show is probably in that era, there was a pre-show that ran for about 15 minutes. I think it was mostly the band and Ed.
@@grggsctt Were I came from, it ran 10:30pm to 12:00am. Until later, when he went to the hour format!
Just checked - an original sweat shirt for sale $550.
And the crowd balked at 5$.
and the T-shirt is $40 in today's dollars
That is the price of a regular T-shirt today, thanks to Joe Bidet.
@@MaineManMike69 $50, and the night shirt is $60
@@billmiller6274 - If you're paying $40 for a T-shirt right now, you must be shopping at the wrong places.
The older generation gibes at the Beatles here were mild compared to some from back then. What bemused me was Ed confusing Moe with Curly from the 3 Stooges.
Shemp
Based on the guests announced by Ed McMahon at the beginning of this clip, this aired on February 6, 1964 - just one day prior to the Beatles’ arrival in New York; which makes it the literal eve of the British Invasion.
Fantastic video! I love it at 5:55 “I think the fellas should make it while they can”! Who knew?
It's great to see the early Carson so many of those tapes were lost
Like you, I regret the loss of episodes from the first ten years of the Carson era. However, it's likely that some episodes from that period might not have been worth preserving, on tape or on film. Maybe Johnny's monologues might have fallen flat, or the guests might not have been very interesting.
@@AllenJones-w3p It was network policy (all three networks at that time) to erase the tapes because of cost. At least there is more of an archive, unlike the Dumont Network. Edie Adams said much of the Dumont archive were dumped into the Upper New York Bay to clear space
@@garyrasberryjr.552Edie Adams story has been disputed.
@@AllenJones-w3pFrom what I remember Johnny didn't realize the tapes were being erased until they were preparing for the 10th anniversary show in 1972 and planned to show some clips from the first ten years. The famous Ed Ames tomahawk clip was one of the few survivors. After that Johnny made sure they were taken care of, even insisting that his tapes were stored in a salt mine for humidity and temperature control.
The Best Rock´n´Roll Band of the Mankind History.....Allways 4ever
I like how there was a light applause when Johnny first mentioned The Beatles. Those people who applauded knew what was coming, and what was coming was history
Johnny had absolutely no idea that the Beatles coming to America would completely change music forever
I think he would look at it differently. Many celebs that had been around were very aware of rock music taking over going back to the 50s. They often made fun of it as it wasn't really their kind of music. To them, the Beatles are another rock band. They certainly would see that the Beatles were huge, but to them the '64 Beatles and '68 Beatles wouldn't seem much different.
Funny stuff 😂 Poking fun at the hoopla being made over the Beatles
That sweatshirt and tee shirt well preserved is worth alot of money today
The Beatles never saw a cent t of that money.. Epstein screwed up a lot of merchandise deals for them.
If Johnny only would have known how big the Beatles would become.. Johnny Carson invited the Beatles to the show. Lennon and McCartney accepted the invitation only to be greeted by Joe Garagiola. Johnny didn`t bother to show up. Johnny met Paul McCartney in the 1980`s when he came on the Carson show to promote a solo album. Carson showed up for that one. I don`t think Carson ever met John Lennon.
I remember when McCartney was a guest on Tonight. There seemed to be tension between the two as McCartney ribbed Carson about his Beatles "No show."
@@tomchris60 John Lennon described the Carson experience as one of the most embarrassing thing he had ever done. He thought Joe Garagiola asked really dumb questions. John also felt insulted that Johnny didn`t show. I`m sure Paul agreed with John. John and Paul were the biggest stars in the world in the 1960`s, and Johnny didn`t even bother to show up when they did his show..
Surprisingly classless of Johnny imo.@@yellyman5483
@@tomchris60 Paul pointed out on that show that Johnny was not popular in England. Tension indeed.
Johnny said in the interview with Paul he met John and Ringo.
There is a complete episode in audio version only on TH-cam of Johnny's first Tonight Show from 1962. There is also a complete video of an episode from 1/14/1964 where is the earliest complete audiovisual of the show I have seen.
The “kook” wig was way better than the “official” Beatles wig.
Where can I order?
eBay probably.
I remember that I had a Beatle wig! I was 11 years old when they came to the USA. 🎶
Oh wow. Super rare to see show footage from that early. I thought it was all gone.
They responded to another comment saying "This is a kinescope of the show, but the actual tape was destroyed. We have a few kinescopes like this from the 60's but not many."
A great slice of American musical history! Thanks for uploading - I liked it and subscribed.
Wish we could go back in time ! This was great to see 😊
This is awesome! Never saw this clip, thanks for posting it! Guess how much money the guys in The Beatles received for all of that massive merchandising? Millions of Beatle wigs, toy guitars, gum, baseball cards, etc. were sold. Zero. Brian Epstein, their manager who was a record store owner and theater buff was brilliant with ideas such as the matching suits but did not have sufficient business experience. When Beatlemania hit the US in 1964 he signed a bad merchandising deal and he and the band got smoked.
Wow. If Johnny only knew then what we know now. The greatest band ever. So cool to see this. History in the making.
Wish I had kept all my Beatle goodies!😊
If you were a true fan you would have.
Ed Sullivan mentioned that the Beatles dedicated their performance to Johnny Carson. It's all on the dvd of The Beatles 1st 4 performance s.
I didn't think anything from the New York days of The Tonight Show still existed. That's great. At the time of The Beatles rise to fame in the U.S. Marvelous.
He mentioned their songs at the end saying he heard them and that he thought they were good. Wished them best of luck. Showing the merchandise was for comedic purposes which is what the show would do before bringing out guests. I thought he was very good because at this time no one knew what was about to happen and it was basically the teenagers that were paying the most attention. I grew up during this time period and the adults looked at it as a novelty. Johnny understood something big was about to happen
It was such a big thing when The Beatles came to town. In Los Angeles you could feel the excitement. Everyone was trying to find out where they were staying. Quite the buzz. I imagine it was the same in New York.
The adults also looked at it as a disgusting Commie plot to corrupt youth lol. Long hair indeed..."Get a haircut." that was the adult attitude" "filthy animals in clean suits." Ringo: "Uh no that's not us, that's the other band , Eric Burdon and all."
The Beatles were not Carson’s type of music. Don’t think he particularly thought that the Beatles were necessarily going to be a phenomenon.
The first video uploaded in many months to show an original opening theme sequence. Hopefully more to come.
3:42 That price tag is giving me Minnie Pearl flashbacks.
I've never seen the Beatles, but l have seen Minnie Pearl. And Roy Acuff of course. 🎶🎵🎶🪕🎻🎤
🤪
I am one of those rare people who were around for Beatlemania that DIDN'T watch them on the Sullivan show, but I certainly was bitten by the bug. Inspired by those four lads from Liverpool I became a musician and songwriter myself.
"Make it while they can". Wow, if they only knew back then what a phenomenon The Beatles would be and are even to this day.
To them it was already a phenomenon. They actually broke up in 6 years so for people not paying too much attention to rock 'n roll, it may not have even seemed that long.
It was just a few months ago that the last Beatles single was released. And even that sounded like a blessing from them for my passed wife. The Beatles have been with me, encouraging and rocking out, for 60 years. Sheesh -- a band offering merch was considered quite bizarre back then. I guess it was considered a teen thing, and not too important. Yet lives were changed! "This is where our country is going.." yep.
Ed thought Curley was the one with the bowl haircut? Unbelievable.
Thanks for posting Johnny Carson account. Please try to post PRE anniversaries. CLASSIC stuff. SO appreciated!
The cook wig looks better.
Kook
Man to house cook: "Here, put this wig on when you cook meals, it'll keep the grease out of your real hair...
Look how young Ed looked. 😊
And how sober lol
The knock off wig looked alot better and more authentic than the official one.
The first one looked like an early haircut and the second from around ‘65 😂
No one…including the Beatles themselves, knew how successful they would be…or how they would change the world musically, fashionably or socially. Here we are 60 years later watching this.
These are the days of my youth. I have an album, that’s it. I didn’t go nuts like many. It was wild.
Carson- the best. Back when we had real entertainment.
No one knew how big they would be, and 60 years later, we still talk about them. The fact that they still are selling albums
Very illuminating. Illustrates the expectation created before they even arrived.
they weren't laughing for long..... and give that girl in the audience credit for her (very early) support!
Johnny wasn't doing it to be mean spirited.He was a talk show comedian and just getting some laughs .I'm sure many of the older generations didn't take rock n roll acts seriously.
Just some good fun here and I'll be he would've given anything to have gotten them on his show.
He did have Ringo and Paul guest appear years later
Good to see ya Johnny
BeatleMania was legitimately everywhere in 1964.
Yes, the boys should try to make what they can while they can. Meanwhile 60 years later, long after Carson is dead, I’m excited about the Beatles’ American albums being reissued.
All us young folks grew up with the UK versions
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!!!
I was 13 when the Beatles came to America. When the radio started announcing their arrival most people (adults) didn't know what they looked like. There was a priest who'd visit our Brooklyn parish every month and he'd take the altar boys ice skating, to a movie or some other activity. He also had a warehouse in Queens that was filled with all kinds of stuff, we'd have a blast exploring the place. He'd let us take pretty much anything we wanted, as long as we asked. Four of us took wigs but they were not Beatle wigs, they were platinum blond. We wore them when he took us to the airport and once we wore them in the subway. We were running around talking with a faux British accent and at least one man believed that we were actually the Beatles. We had so much fun in those days!
This is quite educational on how much the Beatles were already being promoted before they even landed on US soil.
So many who criticized the Beatles then, now look like fools. But Johnny was such class! Of course he made fun of them, but none of the jabs were mean-spirited.
The wigs could have been labeled 1964 and 1965. And anyone still in possession of these items would now say they were a bargain at those prices!!
5:24 crowd: "A t-shirt with a band logo on it?! Well, now I've seen everything!"
Ah, the days when rock and roll was ridiculed by mainstream entertainers. Now anything to cash in on the latest hot act is perfectly okay. Commercialism is number one an we're all used to it.
The talk shows back then, including this one had paid product placements by the host of the show. Commercialisation is not a new thing.
Yeah a lot of people poked fun...for a while . Liberace called them the singers with the hair umbrellas....
You’d think Johnny would’ve corrected Ed when he said he looked like Curly… when you know Johnny knew Curly was the bald stooge. He meant Moe. 😂
My 3rd GF's dad was the drummer on this show at that time.
What is known to be the earliest surviving video from his run?
I've definitely seen one from some time in 1963 in b/w. There's a color video with Stan Zabkin up on YT from 1964.
Not Curly - Moe! Spread out Ed. This was so cute. I forgot about the sweatshirts. Guess The Beatles started rock and roll t-shirts too!
It's Moe not Curly...you got it wrong "Porcupine!" Konk! "Ohohohoh"
Insane that this clip survived! A piece of history.
Someone was swift enough to save it, they had some intuition this was going to be linked to something special
They responded to another comment saying "This is a kinescope of the show, but the actual tape was destroyed. We have a few kinescopes like this from the 60's but not many."
This Johnny Carson Show was broadcast the same month that I was born: January, 1964.
Damn, you old !
I think Jack Parr showed the first clip of the Beatles on American TV on Jan. 3 1964.
Yes I think Jack had a separate show because he had left the Tonight show in 1962.
@@thomastimlin1724 During the Beatles first appearance on Ed Sullivan in February at some point Ed said the Beatles were dedicating their performance to Johnny Carson, Randy Parr (Jack's daughter) and Earl Wilson. I never heard the backstory of that, but I suspect Brian did it without the Beatles knowing anything about it.
@@svjim1who is Brian?
@@cheric35 Brian Epstein the Beatles manager.
Yes Ed, with that wig, he looks exactly like Curly from the Three Stooges. 😂
More like MOE
At 7:43 Johnny sings a lick that sounds very much like a phrase from the song "I Should Have Known Better". That track wouldn't be released until July of 64. Premonition?
February 6,:1964.
My 7th birthday
Those shirts and wigs are worth thousands of dollars in 2024.
The Beatles were the biggest music act of the 1960"s.
Of all time. No one ever has come close to that. They only were together for a few years, toured for less. Pop social phenomena.
Yes! You are correct sir!!
Five dollars for a sweatshirt was a rip off and it was only worth about $.89 at the time. Unbelievable how our dollar has been destroyed.
On purpose
This is TOO cool, I've never seen this :). How historic, God bless Johnny because he would have McCartney on years later but man they had no idea what was about to hit America in a month. $4.00 for a T-shirt in '64?
Sweatshirts cost 39¢ at that time! Wow!
You mean that crappy Beatle sweatshirt cost over ten times an ordinary one? Talk about rip-off!