Just over one week following the passing of his beloved sister Anna. Motown founder Berry Gordy joined other music legends to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show that catapulted the Beatles towards global stardom.
At the event, broadcast from the Plaza Hotel that housed the Fab Four on their trip to New York for their now-legendary TV appearance, Gordy shared personal anecdotes from Motown’s music industry revolution in 1964, revealed what he thought when the Beatles popularised little-known Motown-penned tunes like ‘Please Mr. Postman,’ ‘Money,’ and ‘You Really Got A Hold On Me,’ and discussed why creating Motown the Musical is one of his most treasured memories.
Gordy joked: “I certainly saw them [perform] many, many times! Their impact on me was very big! First of all, they did three of our songs on their second album, so I loved them after that. Recently, Paul McCartney came to the Motown Museum, and refurbished an old piano we had.”
The main event – ‘50 Years: The Beatles’ – took place Sunday, February 9 at the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York City, 50 years to the day since the historic telecast and in the legendary theatre where it happened. The program was also live streamed on CBSNews.com
Anna Gordy Gaye, sister of Berry and former wife of Marvin Gaye, was found dead in her home on January 31. Anna, who was 92, married Gaye in 1964 after meeting him at the turn of the decade while he was a $5 per week session drummer for Berry Gordy’s fledgling ‘Hitsville’ studio.
She was the inspiration for the melancholy album Here, My Dear, which an embittered Gaye recorded to settle alimony payments due after the pair divorced in 1977.
