A deal was made; the Beatles were booked for three appearances on his show (for less that $20,000!) Sullivan's show was the first American TV program to host the Beatles, but ABC and NBC had shown concert footage of the group in Nov. 1963.
The Dec. 7, 1963 segment of "The CBS Evening News With Walter Cronkite" featured footage of Beatle fans at a concert, and on Jan. 3, 1964, Jack Paar's show was the first major American TV show to broadcast Beatles footage. At that point Paar was not a fan.
The entire oncoming British Invasion had its beginning in wartime and postwar baby boom (like the U.S.)and in an economic depression(unlike the U.S.) that spawned gangs of British working-class youths. By the late 1950s-early 1960s, these baby boomers had become teenagers.
At the same time, England faced economic hardships. As a result, the country's teens also faced hard times. These idle, working-class teens began to form rival gangs, the Mods and the Rockers. The Mods (short for Modernists) favored Italian-style clothes, had short hair, were pill-poppers, and took being fashionable seriously. (The Who were in this group.)
The Rockers modeled themselves after the British 1950s Teddy Boys, wore black leather jackets, tight pants, and pointed boots or suede shoes. The hair was greased back in a pompadour style, sunglasses were sometimes worn, and they rode motorcycles. (The Beatles were in this one.) The two groups often fought one another for dominance. Many of these warring youths, lacking direction, turned to music as a way out.
In 1956, skiffle (A mix of Dixieland, jazz, and country blues; the name came from New Orleans, used to describe rent parties that were given in poor black areas to raise money.) became a huge craze among the poor and working-class teens; bands could get started with homemade instruments and little musical schooling.
The Beatles began their musical career as a skiffle band. (Other influences were American rockabilly and R + B.) First known as The Quarrymen (John Lennon and friends from school, Quarry Bank Grammer. Paul and George joined the group later. John, Paul, and George all shared a passion for guitars.), then Johnny and The Moondogs, then The Silver Beetles, then Silver Beatles (By now John's friend, Stuart "Stu" Sutcliffe had joined as bass guitarist.), and finally , just The Beatles (Drummer Pete Best is now in), the group hone their sound at The Cavern Club in Liverpool and at club appearances in Hamburg, Germany. (They also backed up singer Tony Sheridan, who helped the group on their first record, "My Bonnie" in 1961.)
