A really big show

(from left) Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Ed Sullivan, John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

The Ed Sullivan Show had been on the air about 15-and-a-half years and introduced many musical artists and other entertainers to the American public.

But none would spark a phenomenon like The Beatles did on Feb. 9, 1964.

The quartet of John, Paul, George and Ringo had already sparked "Beatlemania" across the pond in England, but transcended their success worldwide during their performance.

The show was broadcast to approximately 74 million viewers, which surpassed the 60 million believed to have seen Elvis Presley nearly eight years earlier.

The Beatles are a mainstay in the history of music and fans seemed to follow their every movement.

For me, their best albums were "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", "The Beatles" (aka "The White Album") and "Abbey Road." These three albums are the best examples of the group's ability to be innovative and change with the times.

My favorite story regarding The Beatles is about how only days after Sgt. Pepper was released George Harrison and Paul McCartney attended a Jimi Hendrix concert where he performed the album's title track, which amazed both Harrison and McCartney because of Hendrix's unique rendition of the song and his ability to learn it so quickly.

The Beatles have also had a minor effect on some of the language we use today.

I have known people to call their friends' annoying girlfriend "Yoko," in reference to the belief that Yoko Ono's relationship to John Lennon was a contributing factor to the breakup of the group.

However, all four went on to have successful solo careers as well. Each of The Beatles had at least one single go to the top of the charts in the United States, and Ringo Starr was the lone member not to have a number one single in the U.K.

Broadcaster Howard Cosell had the unenviable position of announcing that Lennon had been shot during Monday Night Football, and Harrison has since passed as well, but it has not diminished the memories of their legacy on music history.

Starr and McCartney continue to record albums and hit the news -- although not always for the most positive of reasons -- nearly 40 years after the group parted ways, further lamenting their impact on the musical world.

Although I was not alive to experience "Beatlemania" first hand, I recognize that many of the musical acts of today would not have gotten their start without The Beatles. Today's acts may not be directly influenced by the "Fab Four," but chances are that one of their influences were.

It's enough to make one wonder why a "Six degrees of The Beatles" was never created.