Pick a Day

Music History Events: TV Appearances

November 10, 2002 Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, Lenny Kravitz, and Brian Setzer guest star on The Simpsons in an episode where they run a rock and roll fantasy camp. The first rule of the camp: There are no rules! Second rule: No outside food.More

September 4, 2002 Kelly Clarkson beats Justin Guarini to become the first winner of American Idol.More

July 21, 2002 Steve Earle appears on the HBO series The Wire playing a recovering drug addict in what becomes a recurring role. He has no trouble playing the part, having struggled with addiction for much of his life.

June 11, 2002 American Idol premieres on the FOX network. A singing competition judged by three hosts, it becomes one of the most popular network reality shows and launches a number of careers, with many contestants - and not just winners - becoming stars.More

September 21, 2001 The benefit concert America: A Tribute To Heroes, airs on most major TV networks, raising over $128 million for victims of the September 11 attacks. Performers include Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Tom Petty, and Willie Nelson.

July 25, 2001 Aaliyah gives her final performance, singing "More Than a Woman" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Exactly one month later, she is flying back from a video shoot in the Bahamas when the overloaded plane crashes and explodes on the runway, killing everyone on board.

November 21, 2000 Backstreet Boys release their fourth album, Black & Blue. Catering to the screaming teenage girl demographic, they promote it with an appearance on MTV's Total Request Live. The album is one of biggest debuts in history, with initial shipments of about 6 million.More

November 17, 2000 Cher makes her first appearance on the TV show Will and Grace, in the episode "Gypsies, Tramps and Weed."

May 12, 2000 Following the launch of Metallica's legal case against the popular online file-sharing service Napster, Chuck D of Public Enemy and Lars Ulrich of Metallica appear on The Charlie Rose Show, where they debate whether MP3 downloading is a vehicle for piracy or a return of power to the people.More

December 12, 1998 Luciano Pavarotti becomes the first classical musician to perform on Saturday Night Live when he sings ''Adeste Fideles'' with Vanessa Williams.

September 30, 1998 On The Drew Carey Show episode "In Ramada Da Vida," Slash, Lisa Loeb, Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, Dave Mustaine, Jonny Lang, Joey Ramone, Joe Walsh and Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen audition for Drew's band, which has a gig at the Ramada Inn. Walsh gets the job.

April 14, 1998 The very first VH1 Divas special debuts on the music channel as a benefit concert for VH1's Save The Music Foundation. Headliners are Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Gloria Estefan, and Shania Twain, with a guest appearance by Carole King.More

January 5, 1997 Johnny Cash plays Coyote, Homer Simpson's imaginary guru, on The Simpsons. Coyote tells Homer to buy more material possessions.

November 2, 1995 Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders guest stars on the Friends episode "The One with the Baby on the Bus." She sings "Angel of the Morning" and learns "Smelly Cat" from Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow).

October 15, 1995 Paul McCartney and his wife Linda appear on an episode of The Simpsons where they help Lisa become a vegetarian. Paul explains that if you play "Maybe I'm Amazed" backwards, you'll hear a recipe for lentil soup.

July 3, 1995 Jewel lands her first television gig, appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, where she is spotted by actor Sean Penn. The two begin dating shortly after.

June 14, 1995 Diane Sawyer conducts a live interview with Michael Jackson and his wife Lisa Marie Presley on the ABC news program Primetime Live. Topics include the validity of their marriage, Jackson's surgeries, and if he's a Scientologist.More

May 18, 1995 Bette Midler stars in the Seinfeld episode "The Understudy."

November 4, 1994 Dick Dale, riding a wave of surf-rock revival, appears on The Late Show with David Letterman.

September 8, 1994 Nearly four months after tying the knot in a secret ceremony in the Dominican Republic, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley make their first public appearance as a married couple at the MTV Video Music Awards, where Jackson infamously plants a sloppy smooch on his bride.More

January 15, 1994 Counting Crows are the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, performing "Mr. Jones" and "Round Here." The appearance sparks sales of their debut album and sends radio stations scrambling to add the songs to their playlists. Despite this breakthrough appearance, the band is never asked back for the show.

December 16, 1993 Nirvana's Unplugged concert airs on MTV. A rare look at the band in an acoustic setting, it is one of Kurt Cobain's last performances, as he is found dead less than four months later.

November 18, 1993 Nirvana records an MTV Unplugged concert in New York. The show is shot in one take - imperfections and all - and is aired one month later.More

October 27, 1993 Glenn Frey's TV series South of Sunset makes its debut on CBS. Frey plays Cody McMahon, a security chief/bodyguard who starts a detective agency in Hollywood.More

September 30, 1993 George Harrison and David Crosby play their animated selves on the Season 5 premiere of The Simpsons, "Homer's Barbershop Quartet."

August 30, 1993 Billy Joel is the first musical guest on David Letterman's first show after moving to CBS.More

June 1, 1993 10,000 Maniacs become the first act to appear twice on MTV Unplugged. The network has a policy against return engagements, but when they learn that Natalie Merchant will be leaving the band, they book them.More

November 21, 1992 Adam Sandler sings "The Thanksgiving Song" on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update.More

May 21, 1992 Bette Midler is Johnny Carson's last guest on The Tonight Show (his final show, the following night, has no guests). She serenades him with "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)."

May 9, 1992 Bruce Springsteen performs on US TV for the first time when he finally accepts a longstanding offer to be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. He plays three songs from Human Touch and Lucky Town, the albums he released simultaneously five weeks earlier.