The Beatles were one of the few superstar music acts that never appeared on American Bandstand.

But that won't keep the group from playing on American Dreams, the NBC drama that uses the classic dance show to tell stories about a Philadelphia family in the 1960s.

American Dreams creator and executive producer Jonathan Prince says a clip of the Beatles' historic first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 will be in a January episode.

Footage of big-name '60s music acts has helped make American Dreams a Sunday night hit.

Up to now, the series has drawn performances from the Bandstand archives owned by Dick Clark, an executive producer of American Dreams.

"You can't tell this story without telling the story of the Beatles," Prince says.

To get the Ed Sullivan footage, Prince says he had to make a pitch to Apple Corp., the company that manages Beatles-related business for the group's former members and their estates.

Prince convinced Apple the clip would introduce the group's music to younger viewers.

"We said there will be a new base of fans - and we must reward our other fans who are expecting this to happen," Prince says.

The effort to keep it real musically on American Dreams has paid off.

Stacey Lynn Koerner, an analyst for ad-buying firm Initiative Media, said the show has tapped into the public's nostalgic yearnings after last year's terrorist attacks - even though it deals with the turbulent '60s.

"It represents all of the themes that really came out of that post-9/11 experience - more concentration on family, a celebration of American pop culture in Bandstand, and a harking back to a more innocent time," she said.

But the show has also become an outlet for contemporary artists. Usher recently played Motown legend Marvin Gaye. The Christmas episode will feature Ashanti as Dionne Warwick.

Soon American Dreams fans will be able to listen to those performances anytime - NBC is working on a deal to release a CD next year.

A DVD of the series with uncut musical performances could follow.

More of today's music stars are being lined up for American Dreams, says Prince, who believes they give the show its cross-generational appeal.

"A lot of kids will say, 'That's Ashanti,'" he said.

"And the parents will say, 'That's Dionne Warwick. Who's Ashanti?'"