Music historian available to comment on 50th anniversary of Beatles’ first Ed Sullivan Show appearance

A popular music historian from Western University says that the Beatles’ first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964 was the first indication that television would play a key role in the rise of rock music and youth culture in the 1960s.

Norma Coates, a Western professor jointly appointed to the Don Wright Faculty of Music and the Faculty of Media and Information Studies, is available for media commentary about the landmark event celebrating its 50th anniversary this Sunday.

Coates says, “Without television, rock might not have found its American audience in the days before memes could trend on the Internet almost instantaneously.”

Currently writing a book tentatively titled, “Rocking the Wasteland: A Cultural History of Popular Music on American Network Television from Elvis to MTV” for Duke University Press, Coates continues, “This view flies in the face of rock and roll mythology and common knowledge, but television brought the rock revolution into American living rooms and spread it around the nation.

“It all started on February 9, 1964. Within months, rock and roll artists were all over variety television, formerly the mainstay of the older generation. By the end of the decade, rock and roll-based music took over the musical and television mainstreams.”

Commentary reflects the perspective and scholarly interest of Western faculty members and is not an articulation of official university policy on issues being addressed. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Jeff Renaud, Senior Media Relations Officer, 519-661-2111, ext. 85165, jrenaud9@uwo.ca, @jeffrenaud99

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