24. Television: Which TV Show featured performances by The Rolling Stones, The Doors and Bo Diddley which were controversial, or annoyed or upset the host?
From Quiz Cool Zooms, Part XXVIII
Answer:
The Ed Sullivan Show
"The Ed Sullivan Show" was a CBS variety show which ran from 1948 to 1971, hosted by the eponymous Ed Sullivan, an entertainment columnist. Some of his "famous" guest stars included Itzhak Perlman, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Supremes, The Muppets and of course the performers mentioned in the question.
In 1955 guitarist Bo Diddley appeared on Sullivan's show but missed his cue and instead of singing "Sixteen Tons" (the Tennessee Ernie Ford hit), sang his own hit song, "Bo Diddley". Sullivan's response was "You are the first black boy that ever double-crossed me." Diddley never appeared again on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
Ed Sullivan was conscious of both "Beatlemania" and the "British Invasion" in the 1960s. In 1963 he tried to organise a show featuring The Beatles with manager Brian Epstein. However, Epstein was able to parlay this into three consecutive shows in 1964. Their first appearance set a US television audience record and the first song sung was "All My Loving". The Beatles' final live appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" was in 1965.
The Rolling Stones first appeared in 1967, having been told to change the title of their hit single "Let's Spend the Night Together". The band reacted disapprovingly every time they sang the more innocuous "Let's Spend Some Time Together". Mick Jagger was castigated by Sullivan for not wearing a jacket during their performance. Altogether, the Stones appeared six times on "The Ed Sullivan Show".
The Doors also performed in 1967. Network censors insisted that the lyrics of "Light My Fire" be changed from "Girl, we couldn't get much higher" by changing "higher" to "better". Another source suggests that the modification was to "Girl, there's nothing I require". Lead singer Jim Morrison sang the original lyric during a tape for the show. Mediocre and time-consuming editing facilities meant that the network was powerless to change anything and the Doors never performed on the show again.
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