# Did all the music acts lip-sync on the Ed Sullivan show? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [December 9, 2025, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-all-the-music-acts-lip-sync-on-the-ed-sullivan-show/1025572 "2025-12-09T23:05:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-all-the-music-acts-lip-sync-on-the-ed-sullivan-show/1025572/21 "2025-12-12T23:38:47Z")
In one of my favorite clips from Sullivan, with Paul Revere and the Raiders, it’s very obvious that Mark Lindsay is singing live by the way his voice fades in and out as he moves his mic around. It’s also obvious the Raiders are playing to a pre-recorded track. For one thing, there are no cords coming from the electric instruments, and for another, there’s a very poorly made chop at the end of “Him or Me.” The chop at the end of “Kicks” is better, but still sounds like it was added by someone else. This is the problem when all your records were done by the Wrecking Crew, and people expect your live performances to have the same sound. ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/f9kP5vtz8RU/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/f9kP5vtz8RU?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=RDf9kP5vtz8RU ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-all-the-music-acts-lip-sync-on-the-ed-sullivan-show/1025572/22 "2025-12-13T00:16:31Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > At one time Top Of The Pops required bands to record a new version of the song and then mime to that for their performance. Some bands didn’t appreciate that and shenanigans ensued during the show, most notably when The Who went off-script in 1973 [at the end of 5:15](https://youtu.be/FlL-FFQZd2I?si=Kq09XMiA424tgIgk&t=250). Pete’s tantrum earned them a ban from performing on the BBC that lasted several years. The Who got a ban from the BBC for _that_? That was business as usual for the band in the days, and the BBC must have known it before. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-all-the-music-acts-lip-sync-on-the-ed-sullivan-show/1025572/23 "2025-12-13T00:47:22Z")
Ever wonder what lip-syncing bands sound like without the playback? [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xYc4DT18EJg/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AHeA4AC6AKKAgwIABABGGEgYShhMA8=&rs=AOn4CLCqmhcJc2jfy2LPEmVhJd-Ot2zHdQ "The Beach Boys Shred I Get Around") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYc4DT18EJg) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2025, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-all-the-music-acts-lip-sync-on-the-ed-sullivan-show/1025572/24 "2025-12-14T01:46:56Z")
I remembered a thread like this and then found I had started it! > [@Best mocking of lip syncing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-mocking-of-lip-syncing/659030): > > I just ran across this [Buffalo Springfield](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V8VvEzuQ6Y) medley from the 60s Hollywood Palace show. Their bass player had been busted for pot. What do they do? They stick a bass into the hands of their road manager and have him sit on a stool with his back to the audience so the camera can compose arty over-the-shoulder shots of the band. The bass line goes on, and so does the guitar line. Is that Richie Furay playing Young’s part? Doesn’t the music obviously keep going when they lift their hands to clap? Wh… ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-all-the-music-acts-lip-sync-on-the-ed-sullivan-show/1025572/25 "2025-12-15T14:45:28Z")
One of the most bizarre lip-syncing combinations was The Dregs on American Bandstand. You’ll probably never see a better group of musicians pretending to play their instruments. Might be the only time Mark O’Conner finger-synced his fiddle. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Hl-2KqhtJl4/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AHeA4AC6AKKAgwIABABGHIgWihAMA8=&rs=AOn4CLDrNjXuknW56cOMzPHC-wMqQjAYTA "The Dregs on American Bandstand with Dick Clark in 1982") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl-2KqhtJl4) ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-all-the-music-acts-lip-sync-on-the-ed-sullivan-show/1025572/26 "2025-12-21T15:18:31Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The Dregs the first 10 or so seconds of this vid would be impossible today (I watched it with audio off - fwiw) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-all-the-music-acts-lip-sync-on-the-ed-sullivan-show/1025572.md?page=1)