On this day in 1964, British rock group the Rolling Stones appear on Ed Sullivan’s TV variety show. It was the first time American audiences had seen the Stones. Founding Stones Mick Jagger and Keith Richards met during grade school and ran into each other when Jagger was studying at the London School of Economics and Richards was at art school. They formed the Rolling Stones in 1962 and were soon playing a steady series of nightclubs and bars in London. They released their first single in Britain in 1963. Before long, the Stones became known as the anti-Beatles: They were long-haired, grungy, and wild, while the Beatles seemed wholesome and safe. A string of drug-related arrests plagued various band members–Brian Jones’ drug problems probably led to his death in 1969, and Keith Richards struggled with heroin addiction before getting clean in 1977.

Meanwhile, the band steadily released hit albums and songs that became instant classics. Richards and Jagger began writing songs together, and after 1966 they wrote almost all the group’s material. The group first topped the U.S. charts in 1965 with “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” Hit singles in 1966 included “Paint It Black,” “19th Nervous Breakdown,” and “Get Off My Cloud.” They released hit-packed albums throughout the 1970s and managed to maintain their following even as they approached middle age. In the 1980s, Jagger and Richards both released various solo albums but continued to work together. Steel Wheels, the group’s 1989 album, sold two million copies, and the tour grossed $140 million. The band’s 1994 album, Voodoo Lounge, won Best Rock Album, the Stones’ first Grammy.