In May 1968, John Lennon and Paul McCartney appeared on NBC's The Tonight Show to promote Apple, the Beatles' new business venture, but found the usual host Johnny Carson absent, leaving them to be interviewed by stand-in Joe Garagiola, a former baseball catcher turned broadcaster. The mismatch made for an awkward, stilted exchange, as Garagiola struggled to connect with two of the era's biggest countercultural icons, and the episode has become a curious footnote in Beatles history.

The pair had travelled to New York after returning from their widely publicised meditation trip to India, giving a tense press conference on 14 May 1968 before their television appearance. Actress Tallulah Bankhead, another guest that night, occasionally interjected with unrelated questions, while Ed McMahon largely stayed silent. NBC did not preserve a recording, as wiping tapes was standard practice at the time, but a fan's home-made recording preserved the exchange, including Lennon's witty response when asked if McCartney was the group's spokesman. McCartney did not return to the show until 1984, this time with Carson present.