Pick a Day

Music History Events: TV Appearances

November 7, 1981 The Kingston Trio play a reunion concert at the Magic Mountain theme park in Los Angeles that is recorded for a PBS special.

August 13, 1981 Soft Cell perform their hit "Tainted Love" on the UK show Top Of The Pops with lead singer Marc Almond wearing makeup and jewelry. It's a striking visual that sets new fashion standards in electronic music and paves the way for Culture Club.

March 1, 1981 NBC airs Elvis And The Beauty Queen, starring Don Johnson as Elvis Presley. The TV special tells the story of his last years and his affair with Linda Thompson.

February 24, 1981 Peter Noone (of Herman's Hermits) and Stephen Bishop guest star on the Laverne & Shirley episode "I Do, I Do."

February 7, 1981 ABC begins airing the first installment of the mini-series Elvis and Me, based on ex-wife Priscilla Presley's book of the same name.

January 16, 1981 The TV series Harper Valley P.T.A., inspired by the Jeannie C. Riley song and the 1978 movie of the same name, debuts on NBC. Barbara Eden, who played scandalous single mom Stella Johnson in the movie, reprises her role. The show lasts two seasons.

December 12, 1980 Marie Osmond's solo variety series, Marie, premieres on NBC.

May 17, 1980 Weeks after being detained in Tokyo on drug charges, Paul and Linda McCartney appear as musical guests on Saturday Night Live.

May 16, 1980 The Carpenters' last TV special, Music, Music, Music, airs on ABC. Guest stars include Ella Fitzgerald, John Davidson, and Nelson Riddle.

January 26, 1980 Prince performs on American Bandstand, where he's interviewed on national TV for the first time. Host Dick Clark has a hard time getting more than a few words out of him. When he asks how many instruments Prince plays, he pauses before answering, "a thousand."

January 8, 1980 Prince makes his national television debut, performing "I Wanna Be Your Lover" and "Why You Want To Treat Me So Bad" on the NBC variety show Midnight Special.

December 28, 1979 The Kate Bush Christmas Special, also known as Kate, airs on the BBC. The singer performs songs from her first three albums and introduces the holiday tune "December Will Be Magic Again." Peter Gabriel guest stars, singing "Here Comes The Flood" and, with Bush, a duet of Roy Harper's "Another Day."

November 23, 1979 The Rod Stewart Special airs on NBC-TV.

May 23, 1979 The Third Barry Manilow Special airs on ABC. A mix of music and comedy, it includes an appearance by John Denver, who commiserates with Manilow on how critics can't stand them despite their legions of fans.

March 17, 1979 Talking Heads make their first major TV appearance, performing "Take Me to the River" on American Bandstand. The lip-synced performance goes well, but the interview is a little awkward.More

March 16, 1979 CBS airs the Wings Over the World documentary, chronicling the adventures of Paul McCartney's band Wings on their 1975-1976 tour.

March 9, 1979 ABC airs the John Denver And The Ladies special, featuring Tina Turner, Valerie Harper, Cheryl Tiegs, Erma Bombeck and Cheryl Ladd.

February 11, 1979 The TV movie Elvis, starring Kurt Russell as the singer, airs on ABC.

December 19, 1978 The Carpenters: A Christmas Portrait airs on ABC.

November 4, 1978 Van Morrison is the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, where he plays "Wavelength" and "Kingdom Hall."

October 7, 1978 The Rolling Stones play their new single "Beast Of Burden" on Saturday Night Live.

September 22, 1978 Leif Garrett plays dual roles on ABC-TV's Wonder Woman.

May 28, 1978 David Cassidy is the guest star on an episode of NBC's TV show Police Story. He does so well that he is given his own show called David Cassidy: Man Undercover, which tanks hard.

May 17, 1978 The TV special The Carpenters: Space Encounters airs on ABC.

May 13, 1978 Just days after breaking his leg in a softball game, Jimmy Buffett appears on Saturday Night Live for the first and only time, singing "Son Of A Son Of A Sailor" with his injured limb propped up on an old boat.

April 26, 1978 Ringo Starr's TV special Ringo airs on NBC.

April 6, 1978 Peter Frampton guest-stars on NBC-TV's Black Sheep Squadron.

February 3, 1978 The TV-movie Dead Man's Curve, the first to deal with the tragic Jan & Dean story, premieres on ABC.

November 19, 1977 The Frank Sinatra TV-movie Contract On Cherry Street airs on NBC.

November 15, 1977 Suzi Quatro, in character as the rocker Leather Tuscadero, performs "Devil Gate Drive" on the TV series Happy Days. The song was a #1 hit in the UK three years earlier but never caught on in America, even though Quatro is from Michigan.