The Ed Sullivan Show aired on TV before Harry Styles‘ time, but he now has a very special connection to all the musical greats who played on the landmark show.
Nardwuar, the lead singer of the band The Evaporators, presented Harry with the gift when he sat down for an interview with the Canadian musician. Nardwuar gifted Harry a Satellite Amps guitar pedal made for his Gibson guitar; he noted the piece was actually “made from a transistor from the Ed Sullivan board!”
Harry was speechless as Nardwuar continued, “So all the bands that played on The Ed Sullivan Show between ’48 and ’71 played through that transistor.”
The myriad of music legends to play Sullivan include Elvis Presley, Tina Turner, Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown, The Beatles, The Jackson 5 and Janis Joplin.
Nardwuar told a grinning Harry that the guitar pedal is extremely rare and only 30 exist in the world. He explained the soundboard used for The Ed Sullivan Show “was cut up and the transistors were saved.”
“That’s a very nice gift,” Harry said, noting that it’s a fuzz pedal, so he’ll be sure to “fuzz it up” on his performances. He also admitted, “I don’t really use that many pedals” because they tend to tangle up his microphone cable during performances and recording sessions.
Nardwuar’s gift is the exception, though. “This,” Harry declared while holding up the rare piece, “I will be adding … For the spicy fuzz, for now on.” He also thanked Satellite Amps’ Adam Grim for salvaging the transistors made from the soundboard and also gave thanks to the late Ed Sullivan.
The Ed Sullivan Show aired from 1948 to 1971, serving as a TV debut for many legendary artists, such as Fred Astaire and Irving Berlin.
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