"J. Clarke" > wrote
>
> FWIW, the Beatles' first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show was in
> February 1964, and was the highest rated (in the Nielsen sense, not the
> Ebert sense) television episode up to that time and still the 26th
> highest rated. This was _after_ "I Want to Hold Your Hand" hit the top
> of the charts, which happened on February 1. The show would not have
> drawn that many viewers if the Beatles were not already well known. To
> suggest that Ed Sullivan was responsible for their success (and the rest
> of the British Invasion) simply does not make sense.

I think Sullivan just made them bigger, faster. He had a wide ranging
audience so it was probably the first exposure to many over 30 at the time.