Entertainers would die to get on the "Ed Sullivan Show," but Bob Dylan wasn't one of them.
Ed Sullivan was a Sunday night staple for 23 years. Being on the show could boost a career. More than 70 million people watched The Beatles make their American debut on the show.
Dylan walked out of a dress rehearsal on May 12, 1963, after CBS lawyers told him he couldn't sing our Song of the Day, "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues." They were afraid of a defamation suit against the network.
Dylan had played the song for Sullivan in the audition.
The John Birch Society was formed as an ultra-right wing group in 1958 to fight communism and social change.
Dylan was only 22 and not well-known when he auditioned for the show. His first album had been all-but ignored. His hit second album, "Free Wheelin'" wouldn't come out until later in May 1963.
Peter Paul & Mary had yet to release their hit version of his song "Blowin' In the Wind." So walking out was a big decision.
The song, "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues" shows Dylan's sense of humor. He satirizes a member of the John Birch Society who looks for communists everywhere. He even wonders if Betsy Ross had been a communist because she made the stripes in the flag red.
The song was scheduled to be on the "Free Wheelin'' album, but Columbia Records also owned by CBS, decided to pull it. It wouldn't land on an album until 1991.
Some stories reported the Dylan stormed out of the theater, but Sullivan's executive producer said that wasn't the case. Dylan calmly decided not to perform and left quietly. He would never appear on the show.
Song of the Day is a collaboration between Sheldon Zoldan and WGCU Public Media.
Audio production assistance by Simon Dunham.
