Annotated Bibliography
“THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW: RADICAL CONSERVATISM AND THE BIG TENT”
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Baughman, James L. Same Time, Same Station: Creating American Television, 1948-1961. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 2007.
This book was imperative for an understanding of the birth of television, competition between the fledgling CBS, NBC, and ABC networks, and the nature of experimentation involved in early television, particularly mentioning Toast Of The Town.
Beatles, The. The Beatles Anthology. San Francisco: Chronicle Books LLC, 2000.
Beatles, The. The Beatles Anthology Film. London: Apple Corps Limited, 1995.
This book/film lent an interesting, if brief, retrospective window into the minds of The Beatles during the time of their first Sullivan Show appearance. The film version features George Harrison mentioning the rumor regarding crime rate drops during the Beatles’ time on the air in 1964.
Gibson, Christine. “Elvis On Ed Sullivan: The Real Story.” American Heritage Magazine, September 2005.
This article brought to my attention that Elvis had been on a number of television shows prior to his appearance on Ed Sullivan – and the fact that Steve Allen had forced Presley to sing “Hound Dog” to a ‘top-hat-and-bowtie-clad basset hound’ on the show.
Gorshin, Frank. “‘I Heard Nothing But The Screams’ (The Beatles On ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’).” Newsweek International, 19 July 1999.
This article written by actor/comedian Frank Gorshin recalls his experience backstage during The Beatles’ Ed Sullivan performance. He also appeared on the show that evening.
Ilson, Bernie. Sundays With Sullivan: How The Ed Sullivan Show Brought Elvis, The Beatles, And Culture To America. Lanham: Taylor Trade Publishing, 2009.
Written by a Sullivan Show insider, this book granted some interesting perspective on Sullivan’s variety-show philosophy and the inner workings of the show.
Inglis, Ian, ed. Performance And Popular Music: History, Place And Time. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2006.
This book featured an insanely-detailed second-by-second, shot-by-shot description of The Beatles’ first, record-breaking Sullivan appearance.
Kaplan, Fred. “Teen Spirit” Slate Magazine, 6 February 2004.
Another article, ostensibly, about The Beatles appearance, the web version of this article had various embedded videos with advertisements and performances clips culled directly from The Ed Sullivan Show.
Kooijman, Jaap. “From Elegance To Extravaganza: The Supremes On The Ed Sullivan Show As A Presentation Of Beauty.” Velvet Light Trap, 22 March 2002.
This article featured comments from Oprah Winfrey and dissected the influence of The Supremes on the African-American community via The Ed Sullivan Show.
Korpe, Marie. Shoot The Singer! Music Censorship Today. London: Zed Books, 2004.
Shoot The Singer! features a chapter on Bob Dylan’s turn with censorship on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Lovece, Frank. “Sullivan’s Travels.” Entertainment Weekly, 10 April 1992.
A chronological list of highlights from The Ed Sullivan Show.
Maguire, James. Impresario: The Life And Times Of Ed Sullivan. New York: Billboard Books, 2006.
This was easily the most informative source that I looked at. It gives the entire life history of Ed Sullivan, and of The Ed Sullivan Show. It features insider accounts, detailed descriptions, and well-researched facts about the show.
Marcus, Greil. “Elvis Presley: The Ed Sullivan Shows.” DVD liner notes. Image Entertainment Inc., 2006.
Former Rolling Stone editor Greil Marcus’ liner notes to the “Elvis Presley: The Ed Sullivan Shows” DVD gave a very poetic look back at Presley’s controversial performances.
McMahon, Regan. “A Toast To Bygone Era Of ‘Ed Sullivan Show’.” San Francisco Chronicle, 3 November 2009.
This is an interview with Gerald Nachman, media historian, who talks about the generation gap and the heyday of The Ed Sullivan Show.
New York Times, The. “Ed Sullivan Is Dead at 73; Charmed Millions On TV.” The New York Times, 14 October, 1974
Ed Sullivan’s obituary in The New York Times.
Pritchard, David and Alan Lysaght. The Beatles: An Oral History. Toronto: Stoddart Publishing Co. Limited, 1998.
This book featured Ed Sullivan’s comments about 1963 delays at Heathrow Airport due to The Beatles’ arrival and his decision to book them on the show.
