Fifty-Three Years Ago, Censorship Almost Prevented the Rolling Stones From Appearing on “Ed Sullivan”

On January 15, 1967, the Rolling Stones appeared on television's, "The Ed Sullivan Show". Big news for the Stones who had never been seen by many Americans. But it almost didn't happen...

The Stones were all set to perform their song, "Let's Spend the Night Together", when they were informed by the show's producers and Ed himself that they had to change the lyrics to "Let's spend some time together". According to legend, Ed supposedly told the Stones, "Either the song goes, or you go."

Now, keep in mind that times were different then. A bit more conservative, let's say. Television programs wouldn't even show Elvis from the waist down due to the King's "wild gyrations". But the Stones(who were the "bad" boys of rock and roll), weren't afraid to show their displeasure, even though they were willing to change the lyrics. Let's face it, Mick and Keef aren't stupid. They were fully aware that millions of Americans watched the show, so they conceded to the demands.

You can watch the clip here and see for yourself. Jagger's eye-rolling and obvious displeasure at singing the changed words is very evident. So angry. So rock 'n' roll.