Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan

Sunday Best is more than a music doc. It's a celebration of talent, resilience, and cultural history. It shines a light on how Ed Sullivan gave Black performers a national stage at a time when so few others did. The archival footage is incredible and the stories are deeply moving. It's beautifully done, thoughtfully edited, and full of heart. You walk away feeling both heartbroken by what these artists endured and grateful that their voices were seen and heard. The performances give you chills. The interviews and context stay with you. This film honors the past while making it feel urgent and alive. I honestly can't recommend it enough.

I grew up watching Ed Sullivan and I knew I would see people who looked like me. I didn't think about it much, I just loved it. When I was older, I could appreciate his bravery in the face of blatant racism. After seeing this, I will always honor his memory. He was a great man who stood tall in his convictions. He deserves respect and glory.

What a great tribute to Ed Sullivan as well as all of the Black artists. I remember watching Ed his last few years and he had a lot of guests that were singers as well as dancers, acrobats, comedians and everything else you can image. I had no idea he was such a champion for the colored artists and that he hand picked every act! It's safe to say that many of the colored artists in the 60's owe Ed their careers.

Barry Gordy Jr and Motown was especially appreciative.

I knew a little about his back ground, getting started as a sports writer and columnist and then moving up the ladder and finally getting chosen by CBS to be the host of his own show and changing the way we spent Sunday nights..

Even though I've heard Ed Sullivan's name for as long as I can remember, when I became aware of this documentary I realized I knew almost nothing about him. After an hour and twenty minutes, I still don't know a lot.

The producers chose to focus almost exclusively on Mr. Sullivan's contribution to tearing down racial barriers in the US. I didn't realize that he had done as much, or had been so resolute about it, so that was indeed enlightening.

But we're talking about a man who introduced The Beatles to the US, and played a big part in Elvis Presley's growing popularity as well. And these are just the two things I knew about him going into the documentary-- I'm sure there are more.

But we didn't get to hear about those. The Beatles and Elvis were given their requisite minute (or less) of screen time, and then it was back to more commentary about racial strife in the country during the time The Ed Sullivan Show was on the air.

If the title of this effort accurately reflected its content, I would call it a good documentary. But I went into it expecting to learn more about the man and his show, and in the end all I learned was how committed he was to ending racial inequality.

From this documentary, it's clear that was very important to him. But that's obviously that's not all the man was about. Sadly, we didn't get to learn about the other aspects of his life from this presentation.

I'm glad I watched it, but I wouldn't watch it again. I came away wishing I knew more about him than was shown here, and to me that makes this effort a somewhat disappointing watch.

As a child, I was raised on the Ed Sullivan Show and it was because of his many Black guests and artists that I realized that I was Black. With only the "Amos and Andy" representation on national television, which I could not relate to and my being light-skin, I thought I was white even though my family represented many cultures and races. Programmed to believe that Black folks did not have nor deserve a presence in this country, Ed Sullivan did something about it. "Leave It To Beaver" was not my brother. "Donna Reed Show" was not my mother. To be brave enough in spite of the naysayers, he accomplished what many were afraid to. Music heals and music, much like a buffet, offered us a variety of complex emotions to just plain feel good vibes. It's all documented in this documentary. I only wish Ed was alive to see this. Thumbs up to this production and its crew.