The Beatles continue to be loved 50 years after their arrival to the United States on February 7 and their first American TV appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9. It was then that America fell in love with four mop-top guys from Liverpool in 1964, and that love affair has continued even now, through this current generation.

Elvis Presley shook teenagers in the 1950s, but once he joined the army, teenage girls had no musician to scream out their lungs for. That would change, however, because in 1964, the baby boomers would experience the same love and excitement for not one musician, but four.

It wasn’t just that teenagers needed a music icon; Americans needed a distraction, an escape from the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy. “Many critics have written that The Beatles showed up at the right time,” said Tony Deziel, 49, a guitarist, singer, and songwriter from Watertown, Connecticut. “For the Korean [War] had ended, and the Vietnam War was getting rolling, JFK was assassinated…and America needed something fresh and cheerful.”

Americans would not have gotten their distraction if it weren’t for Ed Sullivan’s discovery of the band. According to EdSullivan.com, he had heard about the group when he and his wife arrived at London’s Heathrow Airport in 1963, where they encountered 1,000 “youngters,” and he asked them what all the commotion was about. Their response: The Beatles. They were waiting for the band to return home after a tour in Sweden. Sullivan later scheduled the band to make three appearances on his show in 1964. 

Prior to the Fab Four’s U.S. TV debut, the band had already begun to receive American love and acceptance of their music. Their “I Want to Hold Your Hand” record was leaked to U.S. radio stations before its planned U.S. release date. It sold 250,000 copies the first three days, and by Jan. 10, 1964, it had sold over one million copies. According to Sullivan’s website, the titular song was number one on the Billboard charts by the end of the month. Though the Beatles had not been formally introduced to America, their songs were often played on the radio, and teenagers sang and danced to the music, which would warm them up for the big TV debut.

On February 7, 1964, The Beatles arrived at New York’s newly renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport where they were greeted by reporters and 3,000 screaming fans. Two days later at 8 p.m. on CBS, 73 million watched the Fab Four’s performance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Through the screaming of the audience, the band performed “All My Loving,” “Till There Was You,” “She Loves You,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”

Linda Reig from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, was 12 years old when she attended the performance. Her 19-year-old brother, who “hated The Beatles,” drove and accompanied her to the show, Reig told the New York Post. “Every time I got up to stand and scream, my brother would make me sit down,” she told the New York Post. She said her brother told her, “You’re embarrassing me.”

The audience and TV viewers loved the four young lads who wore mod suits, had good sound, energy, charisma, wrote their own songs, played their own instruments, and, of course, had a British accent.

Although Tony Deziel was born two weeks after the performance, he had enjoyed the music of the band that had also gained the love of many other Americans. “My mother said I was really kicking around inside of her that night! And then when I was born, whenever a Beatles song came on the radio, they said my feet and hands would just start moving all about,” Deziel said in an interview with GERM.  “So, I’ve been a big fan my whole life.” Deziel had been inspired by the Fab Four to learn how to play music, write, and sing, and he has made his own covers of their songs, such as “Something” and “Don’t Let Me Down.”

The love for The Beatles continues through different generations even after 50 years. The band’s Facebook page has more than 38 million likes with 18 to 24-year-olds as the popular age group.

Eighteen-year-old Suzy Davoodi from Glendale, California, was familiar with the band’s well-known songs like “Hello, Goodbye” for most of her life. “I really started getting into their music when I was 13,” Davoodi said in her GERM interview. “I still continue to be a fan because their music varies a lot with every album, so I haven’t gotten bored of their music yet.” Davoodi expresses her love for The Beatles on mccartneymaddness.tumblr.com where she posts anything related to the band.

Kacey Frederick, 14, from Fort Smith, Arkansas, knew who the Beatles were but hadn’t listened to their music until last year. Now, she is inspired by them to become a musician. “I think they really helped me discover who I am…They helped me discover what I’m passionate about, and it’s music, music is my life now,” Frederick said. Frederick runs thebeatleseveryday.tumblr.com, where she posts Beatles related content and said that The Beatles still gain love and fans because they weren’t the typical boy band. They were “artists, poets; they were loved by everyone.”

Deziel said the Beatles continue to be loved, especially by new generations, and he remains a fan because they wrote the “best songs ever.”

To celebrate 50 years of the first time The Beatles captivated and earned the love of America, CBS will air a two hour special titled “The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles” at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. CST).

 “Their songs are timeless and universal in nature, and their recordings and production of those records stands up to everything that has been made since,” Deziel said. “They were all excellent on the many instruments that they all played, and they really played, and really sang.”

Why do you think The Beatles are still loved by old and new fans despite the pass of time? Will they still be loved another 50 years from now?