Week-long Beatles tribute underway on Late Show with David Letterman Broken Bells perform a Beatles classic with some help from vintage Ringo Starr video. Feb. 9 marks the 50th anniversary of The Beatles first performance in America on the “Ed Sullivan Show” and the legendary band is receiving a week-long tribute on the very stage where their groundbreaking television appearance was filmed. The Ed Sullivan Theater is now home to CBS’ “Late Show with David Letterman” and all week long, Letterman’s musical guests will be performing covers of Beatles songs to commemorate the occasion, widely accepted as one of the most important moments in both pop music and television history. Broken Bells got things started on Monday with a lovely, minimalist cover of “And I Love Her,” one of The Beatles strongest ballads. With a Ringer Starr drum loop playing on an old black and white television next to them, the duo of Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse) and James Mercer (The Shins) picked quite possibly the perfect song for their talents, with Mercer’s pleading voice well-suited to the mid-tempo classic from “A Hard Day’s Night.” Burton -- who broke onto the music scene in 2004 with The Beatles/ Jay Z mashup “The Grey Album” -- even managed to incorporate a subtle sample of “I am the Walrus” into their cover. Last night saw Sting, along with guest vocalist Ivy Levan and guitarist Mike Einziger of Incubus, follow a much more traditional road with their version of “Drive My Car.” Although the cover hemmed close to the Fab Four’s original, the high-energy performance was nevertheless solid. Beatles week continues tonight with a performance by Lenny Kravitz, followed by The Flaming Lips and Sean Lennon, son of John, performing “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” on Thursday. In what’s sure to be a fascinating performance, Lauryn Hill is scheduled to round out the week of Beatles covers on Friday.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Feb 2014 21:03:54 +0000
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