<P> British rock broke through to mainstream popularity in the United States in January 1964 with the success of the Beatles . `` I Want to Hold Your Hand '' was the band 's first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart , starting the British Invasion of the American music charts . The song entered the chart on January 18 , 1964 , at No. 45 before it became the No. 1 single for 7 weeks and went on to last a total of 15 weeks in the chart . Their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show February 9 is considered a milestone in American pop culture . The broadcast drew an estimated 73 million viewers , at the time a record for an American television program . The Beatles went on to become the biggest selling rock band of all time and they were followed by numerous British bands . </P>
<P> British rock broke through to mainstream popularity in the United States in January 1964 with the success of the Beatles . `` I Want to Hold Your Hand '' was the band 's first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart , starting the British Invasion of the American music charts . The song entered the chart on January 18 , 1964 , at No. 45 before it became the No. 1 single for 7 weeks and went on to last a total of 15 weeks in the chart . Their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show February 9 is considered a milestone in American pop culture . The broadcast drew an estimated 73 million viewers , at the time a record for an American television program . The Beatles went on to become the biggest selling rock band of all time and they were followed by numerous British bands . </P>
many rock and soul acts of the late 1960s first reached a large audience at
many rock and soul acts of the late 1960s first reached a large audience at
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show