Talk about music generating memories: I just started watching the Beatles Special on CBS - the one that was billed as a Grammy Salute.

I haven't gotten too far into it, but I'm enjoying listening again to the songs, and seeing the various contemporary performers handle these old songs -- including Maroon 5, John Legend and Alicia Keys, Katy Perry, John Mayer, Stevie Wonder, Imagine Dragons, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Pharrell Williams.

I hear the show ends with Paul and Ringo taking the stage. Can't wait.

I wasn't the most huge Beatles fan, though I do confess that I and three of my friends lip synced to "I Want to Hold Your Hand" during a grade school talent show shortly after the Fab Four played on the Ed Sullivan Show. I portrayed Ringo.

We styled our hair into "mop tops," wore baby blue sweatshirts that had "the four lads" heads screen printed onto them in black outline, and black stirrup pants, as I recall.

To top it off, we enlisted our younger brothers to sit in the front row of the school auditorium so they could throw jelly beans at us. Somehow, we had heard that the Beatles liked jelly beans...

Watching the tribute show, I am again reminded how the Beatles changed music. Those early songs were so simple. As were most of the songs played on the radio in the early 60s. But as time went on, and their interests and skills evolved, so did their music.

Here's a link to see highlights of the CBS tribute show in case you missed it.