by Julia Kramer

Staff Writer

Since I was a child, I have loved The Beatles. So naturally, when I heard about a tribute to The Beatles commemorating the 50th anniversary of the band’s appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964, I was stoked. “The Night That Changed America” premiered Sunday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. on CBS, exactly 50 years after the band’s appearance on the “Ed Sullivan Show.”

LL Cool J hosted the event and  Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr attended with their families and the families of John Lennon and George Harrison.

The show kicked off with a clip of The Beatles performing “All My Loving” on “Ed Sullivan” back in 1964, which transitioned into Maroon 5 on stage finishing the performance of the hit and then covering “Ticket To Ride.”

Though the program was only a couple minutes in, I could tell it was going to be an event for the books. I could feel the energy from the auditorium in my living room; it was nostalgic, exciting and there was a sense of community among the audience. The tribute also included performances by many individual musicians such as Stevie Wonder, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran and Dave Grohl. There were also eclectic groupings such as Joe Walsh, Jeff Lynne and Dhani Harrison who performed “Something”; Keith Urban and John Mayer with “Don’t Let Me Down”; Alicia Keys and John Legend with “Let It Be”; and Pharrell Williams and Brad Paisley performing “Here Comes The Sun.”  McCartney and Starr’s excitement was evident from the looks on their faces. During each performance they were happily clapping and singing along – Yoko Ono, too. However, it wasn’t until Annie Lennox and David Stewart, performed “The Fool On The Hill” from The Beatle’s “Magical Mystery Tour” album in 1967 that they rose for a standing ovation.

Aside from the concert part of the tribute, Starr and McCartney went to visit David Letterman at his show’s studio, formerly home of Ed Sullivan’s show, to reminisce about where it all began in America for The Beatles 50 years ago.

The last 30 minutes of the show held the most anticipated moments: performances by not only Starr and McCartney alone, but  also together. Starr went on first, performing “Matchbox,” “Boys” and “Yellow Submarine,” where  he got the audience involved. His upbeat and quirky energy was infectious and by the end of “Yellow Submarine” I even caught myself singing along and dancing in my living room. McCartney quickly went on stage afterward and performed “Birthday”, “Get Back” and “I Saw Her Standing There,” three McCartney-Lennon collaborations. Starr soon joined him on stage to perform “With A Little Help From My Friends” as a tribute to Lennon and Harrison, and the duo closed the show with an energetic and fantastic “Hey Jude.” Having the talented Cirque du Soleil acrobats flying above the stage didn’t hurt the memorability and impressiveness either.

Starr and McCartney made sure to pay tribute to Lennon and Harrison throughout the night, but especially right before performing together.

“Whenever we play, John and George are always with us,” Starr said. “It was always John, Paul, George and Ringo.”

McCartney said The Beatles had each other, but because band members had each other, it worked.

“The Night That Changed America” was a wonderful tribute to The Beatles and its impact on America that all started half a century ago from their appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters lead singer and guitarist, said before his performance of “Hey Bulldog”, “If it weren’t” for The Beatles, I would not be a musician.”