Gary Shannon Remembers The Beatles on Sullivan [VIDEO]

I remember it vividly. Sunday night, February 7, 1964. My friends and I had talked of little else at school that week and everyone was excited to see the band behind these songs that were coming out of our radios.

As luck would have it, my younger cousin and his folks had come to visit and I was afraid I might not get to see the show,but I threatened my cousin with loss of life and limb if he so much as breathed while the Beatles were on.

I can remember sitting on the floor right in front of the TV so I wouldn't miss a note of the performance. I also remember having a rather larger, black and white Motorola TV in my room so I could watch without my dad's comments about their hair and such.

When Sullivan brought they guys on stage you could feel the electricity all the way from New York to my home in Beaumont, Texas. It was an exciting show and an exciting night, but none of us knew that we were witnessing something that would change the world.

As you can plainly see, they had no influence on me at all

Those times now seem so quaint and innocent. Was there really such a time?

Here's a look back at that night so many years ago.