Pick a Day

Music History Events: TV Appearances

February 23, 1964 For the third week in a row, The Beatles appear on the Ed Sullivan Show.

February 16, 1964 The Beatles' performance at the Deauville Hotel's Mau Mau Club in Miami Beach, Florida, is broadcast live on the Ed Sullivan Show. A week earlier, the group made their historic first appearance on Sullivan's show at his New York studio.

February 10, 1964 Beatlemania is in full swing following The Beatles' Ed Sullivan Show appearance the night before, with the group giving another press conference and many young men suddenly sporting Beatles haircuts.

December 28, 1963 The magazine The New Yorker publishes an interview with Beatles manager Brian Epstein in their "Talk Of The Town" column about the band's upcoming Ed Sullivan gig - the first major press the group has received in the US.

December 10, 1963 Five-year-old Donny Osmond performs with The Osmonds for the first time when they appear on The Andy Williams Show.

December 7, 1963 The Beatles appear as panelists on the BBC show Juke Box Jury to rate records. Elvis' new single, "Kiss Me Quick," is declared a "hit."

November 17, 1963 Singer Tommy Sands joins his wife, Nancy Sinatra, to perform "Old Straw Hat" and "Hey Good Lookin'" on CBS-TV's Ed Sullivan Show.

November 2, 1963 Dion performs "Donna The Prima Donna" on the British TV show Ready Steady Go!, but gets irritated when audience members dance around him. He walks out on the show even though he is slated for another song.

October 13, 1963 The largest audience in British television history watch The Beatles perform on "Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium."

September 19, 1963 Ann-Margret lends her voice to an episode of The Flintstones, where she appears as "Ann-Margrock."

September 14, 1963 Pete Seeger, who has been blacklisted from network TV after being found in contempt by the the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1955, agrees to appear on the ABC variety show Hootenanny but refuses when the network asks him to sign a loyalty oath.

August 9, 1963 The musical variety show Ready! Steady! Go! premieres in the UK with performances by The Searchers, Pat Boone and The Tremoloes. It becomes a showcase for top musical acts, running until 1966.

June 9, 1963 Andy Williams is the mystery guest on TV's What's My Line.

June 7, 1963 The Rolling Stones make their British TV debut on Thank Your Lucky Stars.

June 4, 1963 Pop Goes The Beatles debuts on the BBC. the band is a big draw on the network, but this is the first time they get their own show, where they perform, take requests, and crack jokes. They record a rock version of "Pop Goes The Weasel" for the theme song. It lasts 16 episodes.

May 30, 1963 Lesley Gore makes her first TV appearance, performing "It's My Party" on American Bandstand.

April 18, 1963 After a Beatles performance at Royal Albert Hall in London for the radio show Swingin' Sound '63, Paul McCartney meets the actress Jane Asher. They become one of the most popular couples in England and get engaged, but they never marry and split up in 1968. This relationship inspires several Beatles songs, including "All My Loving" and "I'm Looking Through You."

February 1, 1963 Linda Scott appears on Arthur Godfrey's Sounds Of New York TV special on CBS.

January 13, 1963 A pre-famous Bob Dylan appears in a British television play called The Madhouse on Castle Street, playing an itinerant musician. No recording exists, but Dylan supposedly played "Blowin' In The Wind" during the show, marking the first broadcast of the song.

December 20, 1962 The Osmond Brothers (later The Osmonds), minus 5-year-old Donny, make their first appearance on the Andy Williams Show.

October 25, 1962 Cast member Paul Petersen sings his hit single "My Dad" on The Donna Reed Show.

June 16, 1962 Gary U.S. Bonds appears on US TV for the first time, performing his hit "Quarter To Three" on American Bandstand.

March 13, 1962 James Darren guests on ABC-TV's Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea in the episode "The Mechanical Man."

January 22, 1962 Gene Chandler makes his television debut with a performance on American Bandstand.

December 12, 1961 Mike Douglas begins his TV variety/talk show in Cleveland, Ohio.

November 20, 1961 Billboard reports on the stunning popularity of the "Twist" craze: Three separate films, starring Chubby Checker, Joey Dee and the Starlighters, and Dion, are scheduled for production, and New York television station WOR is airing hourly twist lessons of between one and five minutes, also featuring Checker.

October 22, 1961 Chubby Checker performs a medley of "The Twist" and "Let's Twist Again" on TV's Ed Sullivan Show, sparking chart revivals for both tunes ("The Twist" even returns to #1).

October 2, 1961 Ben Casey (with would-be singer Vince Everett) premieres on ABC-TV (running 5 seasons).

May 15, 1961 Brenda Lee guests on Make Room For Daddy on CBS-TV.

July 21, 1960 Brian Hyland appears as a guest on CBS' popular TV game show To Tell The Truth.