Fifty years ago, four young and gifted men made an appearance that forever changed the music industry. On February 9, 1964, The Beatles made their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, with over 73 million fans watching.

To commemorate this day, CBS presented a television special dedicated to the Beatles. The show featured background information on each of the Beatles and how they all came to be a part of this incredibly iconic band.

The lives of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr were each individually explored: starting with anecdotes from their childhoods, complete with endearing photos, to recognition of their talents, and finally becoming a part of The Beatles.

Many musicians also paid tribute to the band with different versions of the classic Beatles songs, including Stevie Wonder’s “funky” version of “We Can Work It Out”, and Ed Sheeran’s acoustic take on “In My Life”.

“I love the Beatles’ music,” said junior Julia Swoish, “and I was excited to hear different renditions of their songs by artists who are popular today.”

Extra special performances by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr themselves were the show’s grand finale. Starr took the stage first, with performances of “Matchbox”, “Boys”, and “Yellow Submarine”.

McCartney came on next, and performed a variety of songs, including “I Saw Her Standing There”, “Sgt.Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, and “Get Back”. He was then joined by Starr to perform “With a Little Help From My Friends”, and “Hey Jude”.

“I find it really amazing that so many people still love and idolize the Beatles even after 50 years,” said Swoish. “It’s cool to see how big of an impact one band can have on so many people and I think this was a great tribute to the band.”