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Meet The Panelist For 50 Years: The Beatles

 

On February 9, 1964, 73 million people turned on The Ed Sullivan Show to watch four boys from Liverpool transform not just music but the world. CBS News Live Experiences will launch with "50 Years: The Beatles," a live, interactive multimedia event marking the 50th anniversary of the band's first American television appearance on CBS's "The Ed Sullivan Show." CBS News Chief correspondent and moderator Anthony Mason will host the event with panelists, Pattie Boyd, Neil Innes, Mick Jones, Tad Kubler, John Oates, Andrew Loog Oldham, Nile Rodger and Julie Taymor. The event will be streamed live on CBSNewYork.com and be made available for on-demand streaming.

Pattie Boyd
Photo Credit: Lesley Aggar

PATTIE BOYD

Pattie Boyd first came to fame as one of London's leading models of the 1960s - photographed by David Bailey, Terence Donovan and other leading photographers of the era - appearing on the covers of multiple magazines worldwide, including Vogue. She met George Harrison on the first day's filming of The Beatles film "A Hard Day's Night" in March 1964. They became romantically involved almost immediately and got married in January 1966. They remained together until 1974 - divorcing in 1977.

Boyd was a first-hand witness to Harrison's life as a Beatle and the halcyon years of his solo career that included his pioneering "Concert For Bangla Desh". She was also a key influence during the Beatles' spiritual quest in the late '60s, inspiring their first visit to a lecture by the Maharishi in Britain. In February 1968, The Beatles and their entourage travelled to India to learn more about transcendental meditation and Indian spiritualism. It was a chapter that opened new creative directions for The Beatles.

Between 1979-1988 Boyd was married to Eric Clapton. Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr attended and played together at their wedding bash. As a muse, Boyd has inspired love songs such as Harrison's "Something" and "I Need You" and Clapton's "Layla "and "Wonderful Tonight". Always a keen photographer, she is a member of the Royal Photographic Society. Exhibits of her work have been held worldwide. Boyd's 2007 memoir - "Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Me" - was a best-seller.

Neil Innes
Photo Credit: Glen Claff

NEIL INNES

Neil Innes was born in Essex, England in 1944. He first came to attention as co-founder and key composer for the comedic rock ensemble The Bonzo Dog Band who Paul McCartney recruited to appear in The Beatles 1967 film "Magical Mystery Tour" performing Innes's song "Death Cab For Cutie" (the title inspired the indie rock band of that name). McCartney subsequently produced the band's hit recording of Innes' song "The Urban Spaceman."

In the 1970s Innes became an integral associate of the Monty Python troupe - writing and performing skits and songs for the fourth series of their "Monty Python's Flying Circus" TV show. He also composed and performed songs in their hit movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail, " and appeared in their stage shows and the movie "Monty Python at the Hollywood Bowl". Two of his key songs from the "Holy Grail" film are cornerstones of the stage musical "Spamalot." He became known as "The Seventh Python" - also the title of a 2008 documentary about him.

In the late 1970, with Eric Idle, Innes co-conceived the affectionate Beatles spoof – The Rutles. Innes wrote, arranged, sang and co-produced all the songs and appeared in the acclaimed TV special "All You Need Is Cash" as the Lennonesque Ron Nasty. He fulfilled the same functions for the 1996 Rutles reunion album "Archeology".

Innes remained a very close friend of George Harrison whom he first met in 1967 and who appeared in The Rutles 1978 film. In addition to his work with the Bonzo Dog Band, Monty Python and The Rutles, Innes has enjoyed a critically-acclaimed solo career with albums, TV series, books and concert tours.

Mick Jones
Photo Courtesy of Foreigner

MICK JONES

Mick Jones was born in Portsmouth, England in 1944. He is an award-winning guitarist, producer and songwriter inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013. He is best-known as the co-founder/guitarist/producer and principal songwriter for the band Foreigner formed in 1976 and still one of the most successful bands of all time - with ten multi-­platinum albums, sixteen Top 30 hits and 75 million albums sold.

Among the many hits Jones has written or co-written are "Feels Like the First Time", "Cold as Ice", "Urgent", "Waiting for a Girl Like You" and his most successful composition, the worldwide #1 hit "I Want to Know What Love Is". Jones has worked with many of his peers such as Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton, Bill Wyman and George Harrison - playing on his 1974 album "Dark Horse." As a producer, Jones' work includes Billy Joel's multi-Grammy nominated "We Didn't Start The Fire."

Very early in his career, Jones played the same concert bill as The Beatles - immediately prior to their first US visit. In January 1964, The Beatles had a three-week engagement at the Olympia Theater in Paris, France. It was there that they received a telegram from New York notifying them that their single "I Want To Hold Your Hand" had leapt from #43 to the #1 in the US charts.

But as relative unknowns in Paris, The Beatles were playing two (sometimes three) sets daily - for 18 days. They were one of three headline acts. The other two were American singer Trini Lopez ("If I Had a Hammer") and a 19-year-old pop singer Sylvie Vartan who was to 1960s France what Katy Perry is to today's music fans. The guitarist in Sylvie Vartan's stage band was the young Mick Jones, working in Paris as a session musician and songwriter. As fellow Englishmen in Paris, Jones and the Beatles socialized during their shared residency.

Tad Kubler
Photo Credit: Danny Clinch

TAD KUBLER

Tad Kubler is the guitarist and songwriter of The Hold Steady, a widely acclaimed American rock band formed in 2003 which is releasing their sixth album Teeth Dreams next month. Tad is a native of Wisconsin and has called NYC home for the past 12 years. Besides co-writing every song in The Hold Steady catalog, Tad is deeply involved in the creation of the band's music from demo to pre-production to recording to final mixing.

Tad's work outside of The Hold Steady includes:
--the theme song for Fox-TV's Enlisted
--Seth Meyers Hulu cartoon The Awesomes
--The Hold Steady's contribution to HBO's Game of Thrones
--film composing with directors Brian Koppelman and David Levine
--music production for creative agencies and music houses Mother, Neophonic, Human, Martin Williams, PMH and Frisbie NYC
--the music for a documentary short film on the Harlem Success Academy narrated by Liev Schrieber

Tad lives in Brooklyn with his girlfriend and their daughter.

John Oates
Photo Credit: Joel Maus

JOHN OATES

John Oates was born in New York City in 1949. He is half of Hall & Oates, one of the most successful duos in rock history. Entering the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April, they were inducted into the American Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004. Raised in the Philadelphia area, Oates absorbed multiple musical influences including folk, blues, R&B, rockabilly, soul and doo-wop. He was greatly influenced by the revolutionary changes the Beatles brought to songwriting and recording in the 1960s. Oates met George Harrison in the late 1970s bonding over their mutual love of Formula One motor racing. Harrison contributed guitar on Hall & Oates' 1978 album "Along The Red Ledge".

Oates and Daryl Hall first teamed up in the early 1970s as fellow Temple University students, fashioning a distinctive blend of rock and blue-eyed soul. They have recorded 21 albums, scoring over twenty Top 40 hits, ten number one records and selling over 80 million units worldwide. Oates continues his musical partnership with Daryl Hall and also enjoys a respected solo career both live and on record. He divides his time between homes in Nashville and the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

Andew Loog Oldham
Photo Credit: Betina La Plante

ANDREW LOOG OLDHAM

Born in London in 1944, Andrew Loog Oldham started his working life as a gofer for fashion designer Mary Quant. From 1962 to mid-1963 he undertook public relations for UK tours by Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Chris Montez, Little Eva, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas. He also served as publicist for Bob Dylan's first visit to the UK. In 1963, after a stint as publicist for The Beatles, Oldham, "uncovered", (as he dryly quips), then managed and produced the Rolling Stones - initially positioning them as arch-rivals to the Fab Four. He rolled with the Stones between 1963-1967 during which time he also managed and produced Marianne Faithfull.

Oldham brokered Lennon & McCartney's giving the Stones their first hit "I Wanna Be Your Man" in December 1963. The bands became friendly rivals who socialized with Oldham frequently at the center of the maelstrom. With poetic symmetry, Oldham's years as the Stones' producer was bookended by another Beatles visit in 1967. John and Paul arrived at London's Olympic Studios to add their voices to "We Love You." It was the single that marked the grand finale of Oldham's formidable contributions to the Stones' recording canon.

Immediate Records - the independent record label Oldham formed in 1965 - gave the world crucial recordings by the Small Faces, Humble Pie, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Rod Stewart, Chris Farlowe, the Nice, P.P. Arnold, Nico, John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, the Amen Corner, the McCoys, the Strangeloves and the Keith Richard Aranbee Orchestra. He has also recorded Donovan, Jimmy Cliff, Francesco di Gregori, Los Ratones Paranoicos and The Andrew Oldham Orchestra.

In April 2014, Oldham will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with the late Beatles' manager Brian Epstein. Both will receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award for Lifetime Achievement. Since 2005 he has brought his wit and wisdom to a daily radio show heard on Little Steven's Underground Garage channel on Sirius XM satellite radio. Oldham is the also author of four acclaimed memoirs: "Stoned", "2Stoned", "Rolling Stoned" and "Stone Free". He divides his time between his homes in Bogota, Colombia and Vancouver, Canada.

Nile Rodgers
Photo Credit: Nile Rodgers Productions

NILE RODGERS

Nile Rodgers is a Grammy Award winning musician, composer, arranger, guitarist and co-founder of the band CHIC. He is considered one of the most influential producers in the history of popular music and has produced some of the biggest hits in the careers of Madonna, David Bowie, Duran Duran, Diana Ross and most recently, Daft Punk.With Nile's iconic stature as a true "hitmaker" he has brought the world such classic songs as "Dance, Dance, Dance", "Everybody Dance", "I Want Your Love", "Le Freak (Aw Freak Out!)", "Good Times", "Greatest Dancer", "We Are Family", "I'm Coming Out", "Upside Down", "Like A Virgin", "Let's Dance", among others. Nile won 3 Grammy Awards for his work with Daft Punk on their global hit album Random Access Memories as well as their hit single, "Get Lucky", which has broken records for being the first song in history to go #1 on iTunes in 106 markets around the world.

Julie Taymor
Photo Credit: Marco Grob

JULIE TAYMOR

Julie Taymor is an award-winning theatre, opera and film director. In 1998, she became the first woman to win the Tony® Award for Best Direction of a Musical for her production of The Lion King. The show also won a Tony® for Best Costumes. The musical has gone on to become Broadway's all-time highest grossing show and the fifth longest-running show in Broadway history.

Among her film credits are Director/Writer of "Across the Universe" (2007) , which incorporated 34 Beatles compositions and starred Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess with cameo appearances by Bono, Eddie Izzard, Joe Cocker, and Salma Hayek. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe® for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and an Academy Award® nomination for Best Costume Design.

Taymor's other feature films include Titus, starring Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange and Alan Cumming; the biographical film Frida, starring Salma Hayek and Alfred Molina, which earned six Academy Award® nominations, winning two; and The Tempest, starring Helen Mirren. Other Broadway theatre credits include Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Juan Darien: A Carnival Mass, which earned five Tony nominations, and The Green Bird. Off-Broadway, she has directed Titus Andronicus, The Tempest, The Taming of the Shrew, The Transposed Heads, and Liberty's Taken.

Watch online February 9th at 6:30pm EST live from The Ed Sullivan Theater at CBSNewYork.com/50YearsLater.
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