Philadelphians remember the Beatles' debut on "Sullivan'

'Ask me what I had for dinner last night and I'll have to think about it," writes Bridget Benjamin of Bellmawr. "But ask me about a particular night, February 9, 1964, and my memory is as clear as if it was just yesterday."

More than 70 million people saw The Ed Sullivan Show that night (then a record for an entertainment program), and many were from our area. Below is an oral history of what they saw and felt, a watershed in pop culture.

Not everybody loved it. James Price, living in Huntingdon Valley then, "wasn't so taken by it all" and preferred the Animals. Some were elsewhere. Carolyn MacMullen, now of Cape May, was a first-year student at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y., "with the entire dormitory of screaming females packed in the rec room around the one and only television in the dorm." And not every fan was a teen or tween. Many parents show degrees of enthusiasm; these e-mails show sweet glimpses of U.S. family life, 1964.

Anne Chevreuil, then 34, watched them in her house in Pedricktown, N.J. "We couldn't believe that these English kids were capable of such a thing," she says. "We loved it, and followed their careers all the way through. We'd all gone crazy the same way over Frank Sinatra."

Daughters are sent to their rooms for screaming. Elders are confident these kids "won't last a week." People discover family members could get up and dance. Others believe Paul McCartney is looking through the TV screen right at them.

It's evident this memory remains fresh, much like the music itself, a half century later. - John Timpane, Inquirer staff writer

   After the Beatles finished their set, my father proclaimed, "Mark my words: These guys won't last six months." We kidded him so many times over the years and had many a laugh. Tom Polard, Glenside

We were screaming so loud that our neighbors all came over to see what all the commotion was. They thought something was wrong. The next two weekends, we took turns at my other friends' homes. Linda Delavella, Philadelphia

I could barely hear them from all the screams. But something happened to me. I found myself sitting on the floor right in front of the old black and white TV with strange feelings going through my body. In a minute, tears were welling up in my eyes and it was all I could do not to join in on the screaming. I could hardly wait until they came back the next week. I went out and bought the Meet the Beatles album and played it every day after school. It's been a 50-year love affair. - Dorothy McCrane, Newtown

I wasn't normally one of those fans who screamed, fainted or cried while seeing the Beatles perform. So I was glued to the TV set with my parents and younger siblings in the living room as the BIG MOMENT approached. As the Beatles started their first number, I couldn't help myself and let out a half a scream. Upon hearing that, my mother promptly yelled at me and sent me to my room, so I pretty much missed the whole performance. This caused great scarring to my tender psyche at the time, and obviously I have never forgotten it. - Melanie Nelson, Haddonfield

My father woke me and my brother . . . to tell us we needed to come and watch the TV. That was certainly an odd and disconcerting thing for a parent to do back then. . . . Needless to say, he allowed us to stay up for the subsequent shows and I've been hooked ever since. - Frank Sergi, Wyncote

I was eight years old when my dad called my sister and myself downstairs to watch. . . . I'll never forget being wide-eyed and mesmerized . . . the music changed my life. My parents let me get a Beatles haircut, Beatles boots, posters, 45s, and albums. - Robin Gorneau, Malvern

My family and I were living in Hyannis, Mass., as my father was a Secret Service officer during the Kennedy administration. Due to the assassination, we were forced to move to central Texas, as Lyndon Johnson had his residence there. Our family of 5 piled into our 1951 Buick Special and headed out for the long trip . . . . Luckily, the moving van pulled in front of our new home in time for me to run and set up the rabbit ears on the TV. We got to watch the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, just in time. - John Schenck, Willingboro

[I]t was the reaction of my cousin Donna, who was 13, I believe, that I'll never forget. She absolutely loved everything about these four guys - their haircuts, their accents, their music - and she was dancing around the living room in a frenzy, oblivious to anything else. I can still picture the perplexed expressions of my aunt and uncle, who obviously thought the music was horrendous.

When my beautiful cousin Donna died of melanoma at 39, I placed a copy of the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night in her casket because of that night. - Dave Lipshutz, Voorhees

It mattered not that my entire family was jabbering away and in the room, crowded around our small black and white TV. Paul and I were focused only on each other. I knew it was real because he looked straight into my eyes as he serenaded me. - Anne Fraser, Havertown

They were wearing matching suits, and had the longest hair my father had ever seen on men. He kept repeating, "Their hair is so long," accompanied with many oy vey's. I said, "Dad, they're so cute." To which he responded, "Look at that hair, it's so long." "But, Dad, I love the song and they're so cute." "Oy vey," my Dad said, over and over. - Michelle Isacoff Rothstein, Furlong

William H. Pugh of Norristown was at the show: We sat behind Terry McDermott, U.S. Olympic speedskating champion, couldn't hear much, knew we were a part of something special. . . . That was only a couple of months after JFK's assassination. The country was kind of in the doldrums at the time, and the Beatles helped us get out of that. I really believe it's true.

For a much expanded version, with more readers' Beatles memories, go to Inquirer.com/oralhistoryEndText