Forty years ago today at 8:00pm, on the stage of a theater in New York City during The Ed Sullivan Show, Ed Sullivan uttered five words that were so historic - that they are still seen to this day as the most important event in the history of rock music...

"Ladies and Gentlemen...The Beatles!"

That single performance, which saw them sing only five songs, All My Loving, Till There Was You, She Loves You, I Saw Her Standing There, and I Want To Hold Your Hand - literally brought America to a complete standstill. It is hard to imagine, but an unbelievable 73 million people watched the Beatles' first performance on The Ed Sullivan Show - which would probably total the number of televisions available at the time. And as soon as that performance was over - Beatlemania was born - and will, in my opinion - live forever.

I will confess that I am not a die-hard Beatles fan, meaning I have never seen A Hard Day's Night and I could not tell you for certain if the Walrus was Paul, but I do know and enjoy many of the hundreds of songs they have released. But whether I am a die hard fan or not, I would be foolish to even dare to discount the role "The Fab Four" have played in the evolution of American music. Their rhythms, vocal talents and groundbreaking musical style inspired the likes of Billy Joel, The Doors and Ozzy Osbourne to pursue their musical dreams, bringing us three of the world's greatest rock legends - and many, many more after that. Even to this day, bands with members as young as nineteen who play music ranging from country to hip-hop praise The Beatles for inspiring them. And that is something that, in my opinion, will always continue.

To me, the true definition of a rock legend is a musician or band that survives throughout the years despite changes in musical tastes, competition by newer, younger and "hipper" rock bands - and controversy. In my opinion, The Beatles wrote that definition, by surviving all three.

They survived when America's musical tastes changed from "happy" Rock & Roll such as what The Beatles and The Big Bopper played to "deeper" music written by Pink Floyd and The Doors. They endured competition from every single other rock band that came after them - and most amazingly - they were able to withstand the most brutal of controversy, which included the world turning against The Beatles when John Lennon, in an interview published in The Evening Standard on March 4, 1966, said that The Beatles were, "more popular than Jesus Christ." That statement caused Christians worldwide to embark upon a massive campaign to destroy all Beatles albums and other Beatles paraphernalia. But despite it all - The Beatles remained - and will always be viewed as the best of all time.

Today, exactly forty years after America's most important musical event, the world will once again stand still as it did that famous day to recognize the contribution of four musicians from Liverpool, England that came here to play to an American audience - and instead inadvertently changed the future of American music - and will continue to do so until there are no more songs to write.

Bravo gentlemen - and thank you.