BEATLES ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL WAS STILL A MAJOR RATINGS HIT WITH NEARLY 14 MILLION VIEWERS

Paul and Ringo reunite to mark the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ historic Feb. 9, 1964, performance on CBS’ "Ed Sullivan Show."

Sunday night's Beatles anniversary special on CBS dropped about 59 million viewers from the original. It was still a hit.The network's 50th-anniversary salute to the Fab Four's first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" averaged 13.95 million viewers, according to preliminary Nielsen ratings.

The original 1964 appearance drew an estimated 73 million viewers, helping trigger Beatlemania in America.

Ed Sullivan, center, stands with The Beatles -- (from l.) Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Sullivan, John Lennon and Paul McCartney -- during a rehearsal for the group's first American appearance.

Sunday's show featured the two surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. Each performed separately, and they played together on "Hey Jude" and "With a Little Help From My Friends."

The special special ran two and a half hours, with Beatles songs performed by contemporary artists like Katy Perry as well as veterans like Stevie Wonder and the reunited Eurythmics.

The special faced stiff competition from the Winter OIympics on NBC, which drew 25.4 million viewers.

The Olympics weren't a factor in 1964. They had ended the night before the Beatles visited Sullivan.