The Beatles changed America fifty years ago with their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Everybody watched. Criminals took off. The Beatles Ed Sullivan performance energized a country mourning the death of its most charismatic president, John F. Kennedy. An All-Star lineup came together to celebrate fifty years at The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles.

McCartney and fellow Beatle Ringo Starr were joined by Stevie Wonder, Dave Grohl, Pharrell, Alicia Keys, Gary Clark Jr. and Joe Walsh who all performed inspired versions of Beatles classics. The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles will to air on CBS on February 9th.

The Beatles changed America fifty years ago with their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Everybody watched. Criminals took off. The Beatles Ed Sullivan  performance energized a country mourning the death of its most charismatic president, John F. Kennedy. An All-Star lineup came together to celebrate fifty years at The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles.
The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles opened with Maroon 5 doing "All My Loving" and "Ticket to Ride."  Monty Python's Eric Idle was  commentator "Nigel Spasm" saying it had been fifty years since "the Rutles appeared in America. I think it's remarkable that the Beatles were also there."

Alicia Keys and John Legend sang "Let It Be." Katy Perry McCartney's ballad "Yesterday," one of the most covered songs in history. Imagine Dragons pared down "Revolution" to its acoustic roots. Pharrell and Brad Paisley played "Here Comes the Sun" under a sky filled with acrobats.

The Eurythmics got back to where they once belonged. Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart reunited as Eurythmics for the first time since 2005 to perform "Fool on the Hill" 
at the Fiftieth Anniversary of The Beatles' famed Ed Sullivan debut. Annie Lenox wore a silver gown for the silver anniversary. The Eurythmics were joined by a string quartet. John Mayer and Keith Urban threw down the funky Beatle classic  "Don't Let Me Down".

Dave Grohl and ELO's Jeff Lynne ripped through "Hey Bulldog," Grohl dedicated the performance to "my mom's favorite band, my favorite band, and now my daughter's favorite band." Johnny Depp introduced George Harrison's "Something," which was handled by Jeff Lynne, Joe Walsh and George Harrison's son, Dhani, of the band thenewno2. Walsh and Gary Clark Jr. continued celebrting George on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" with Grohl on drums. Stevie Wonder funked up "We Can Work It Out." 

Ringo hit the stage wih Carl Perkins' "Matchbox," and then jumped behind the drums for the Shirelles' "Boys," which he's been covering since the fifties when he was in Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. Peter Frampton did the guitar solo. 
Paul McCartney closed the night with "Magical Mystery Tour," "Birthday," "Get Back" and "I Saw Her Standing There." "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" segued into "With a Little Help From My Friends" with Ringo Starr reprising his role as "Billy Shears." Starr gave the beat to "Hey Jude," 

"The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute To The Beatles" was taped live at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Jan. 27. 

"The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute To The Beatles" was produced by Ken Ehrlich, who has been bringing us the Grammy Awards. It was Ehrlich's idea to approach the Eurythmics.

In an interview, Ehrlich said "When it came around to booking this show, what I felt was important was to try and find those artists who not only would be able to interpret Beatles songs, but would also have an ... understanding of what they meant."

"The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute To The Beatles" will air on CBS on Feb. 9. Dust off your Beatle wigs, that is exactly 50 years to the day after the Beatles debuted in America on "The Ed Sullivan Show." 73 million people watched Ed that night. It is still a record. George Harrison said that even criminal took the night off to watch the Beatles.

Ehrlich said "They really did change people's lives, so what I'm hoping this show ... gets across is the message that occasionally in history we are touched by certain artists who have a profound effect on us beyond just the music that they make."
The Beatles were just celebrated with a lifetime achievement award at the Recording Academy's Special Merit Awards in Los Angeles.