The fourth and final appearance of the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show was taped on Saturday, 8.14.65. Rehearsals took place from 11 am to 2 pm, as the lads were unhappy with the initial sound balance; they tinkered until it was right. A dress rehearsal took place at 2.30 pm in front of a studio audience of 700. The show itself began recording at 8:30 pm.
The initial plan was for that episode to be color. That summer had been spent converting the studio into color, the goal being that the Beatles would be the stars of Ed’s first color episode. But tech issues interfered. Sullivan had no choice but to tape the show in black and white.
