Beatles 50th Sullivan Anniversary Count Down…3 Days

This extremely rare photo goes a long way in clearing up some long lost details of the day’s rehearsals on February 9, 1964. This photo was taken at the 2:30 dress rehearsal at Studio 50 for that night’s live show, which was to be followed at 4:30 by the taping of two song sets for insertion into the February 23 show…the third and last Beatles appearance of this visit. With Ringo’s coat off, this photo helps prove that the 2:30 dress was a long and drawn out process. Candice Cushing, who was there, has told me that there were a lot of starts and stops because the sound was just not right. I’d mentioned before that the band had rehearsed that morning, but the story is that someone had erased the grease pencil marks on the audio board before dress rehearsal. The band went into the control room that morning to listen to play backs of the sound check and may have done that again in the 2:30 dress. No one had ever done that before but they did! A full dress rehearsal would have gone till 3:30 with an hour between that and the taping session, but I feel pretty sure that the 2:30 dress lasted until at least 4 or 4:15. The 4:30 taping should have taken half an hour and end by 5 when the day’s first audience would exit. The band left for the hotel after the taping and returned at 7 for the live show at 8. Tomorrow, we’ll discuss the sound problems but if you look at all the photos of the band’s Sullivan appearances, even in Florida, you’ll notice something missing that was the root of the problem.

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