Top 5 Musical Ed Sullivan Show Controversies










Buddy "Hollard" and the Crickets (Jan. 26, 1958):

Sullivan's mispronunciation of the Lubbock singer's name was no accident, and neither was cutting the microphone on Holly's guitar. The group had insisted on performing "Oh Boy" despite the host's insistence that it was too rowdy for television, but Sullivan didn't really lose it until the backup band no-showed at an afternoon rehearsal.

He allegedly made a comment about the The Crickets' lack of enthusiasm to appear on the show, to which Holly replied, "I hope they're damn more excited than I am." Holly declined a subsequent invitation to perform, saying Sullivan couldn't pay him enough money to come back.

2. Bob Dylan Isn't There (May 12, 1963):

You won't find any video footage of the beatnik bard's performance on The Ed Sullivan Show because it never actually happened. Dylan set out to mock the rising anti-communist hysteria of the time with "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues," a satirization of the infamous red-hunting John Birch Society, but CBS officials deemed it "inappropriate" during afternoon rehearsal and asked that he choose something else. Dylan told them he'd just rather not play at all and walked out.

1. The Doors Get Higher (Sept. 17, 1967):

"Girl I wanna wear a wire," "The situation's not that dire," "I need to find a new supplier" - all incredibly moronic substitutions for The Doors' "Light My Fire" verse, and yet somehow still better than the line CBS censorship officials instructed Morrison to sing instead: "Girl we couldn't get much better." Morrison wasn't too fond of the edit either, and defiantly sang "Girl we couldn't get much higher" despite agreeing to a family-friendly version of the song during rehearsal.

This, of course, infuriated Sullivan, who forbade the band from ever returning to the show.

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