Pick a Day

Music History Events: TV Appearances

October 1, 1962 Johnny Carson's Tonight Show makes its debut. The theme song ("Johnny's Theme") is written by Paul Anka, but as part of the deal, Carson writes some lyrics for the song that are published, but never used, earning him half of the royalties from the song, which are substantial, as the song runs throughout Carson's 30-year tenure on the show.

August 2, 1962 Aretha Franklin makes her television debut, singing "Don't Cry Baby" and "Try A Little Tenderness" on American Bandstand.

August 6, 1960 Chubby Checker performs "The Twist" for the first time on TV when he does it on Dick Clark's Saturday Night Beechnut Show. The song goes to #1 and starts a huge dance craze.

December 1, 1957 It's a big night on Ed Sullivan Show: Buddy Holly and the Crickets (performing "That'll Be The Day"), Sam Cooke (performing "You Send Me"), and The Rays (performing "Silhouettes") all perform for the first time on national TV.

January 19, 1957 Johnny Cash appears for the first time on national TV when he appears on The Jackie Gleason Show.

January 6, 1957 Elvis Presley makes his third and final appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, where he performs seven songs in three segments, including "Hound Dog," "Don't Be Cruel" and "Heartbreak Hotel." He is only seen from the waist up, leaving viewers to speculate as to what the screams in the audience are about.

July 1, 1956 The family-friendly Steve Allen Show doesn't want Elvis Presley shaking his legendary pelvis, so he sings "Hound Dog" to a basset hound. Both Elvis and the pooch are dressed in formal wear.More

November 10, 1938 On her radio show, Kate Smith sings the Irving Berlin song "God Bless America" for the first time, introducing it to the country. Berlin composed the song for a 1918 musical he wrote, but decided not to use it.More

February 4, 2026 Sabrina Carpenter is the guest star on a Muppet Show special that reunites Kermit and the gang to celebrate their 50th anniversary. She performs "Manchild" to some of the more dimwitted monsters, and has beef (or would it be pork?) with Miss Piggy.

January 16, 2026 "So Sick" superstar Ne-Yo offers details of his polyamorous lifestyle during an appearance on Sherri, where he tells the host he has three girlfriends. When Sherri says it sounds like a lot of work, Ne-Yo replies, "I've never been afraid of hard work."

May 7, 2025 Gretchen Wilson of "Redneck Woman" fame makes a comeback with a win on The Masked Singer, where she sings as a crustacean called Pearl. Wilson beats out Andy Grammer and Brian Kelley of Florida Georgia Line for the victory.

January 13, 2025 SZA appears on The Drew Barrymore Show, where she breaks down her 2017 song "Drew Barrymore." She tells the host that she inspired the song and was a big influence on her because Drew embraced her imperfections and was "unapologetically yourself."

May 9, 2022 Patti Labelle plays Cedric The Entertainer's overbearing mother in the episode of The Neighborhood, "Welcome To The Mama Drama." At the end, they all sing her hit "Lady Marmalade."

May 7, 2017 Spider-Man actor Tom Holland takes the art of lip synching to a new level with his performance of "Umbrella" on the show Lip Sync Battle, where he dresses like Rihanna and confidently pulls off her choreography, complete with rain machine. It's the most memorable moment from the show, which lasts five seasons.

January 31, 2016 Fox airs a live version of Grease, the hit Broadway musical-turned-movie, starring Julianne Hough.More

December 3, 2015 A live adaptation of The Wiz airs on NBC. Based on the book (but not the film) The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Wiz began as a stage production in 1975, and was made into a movie (with Michael Jackson and Diana Ross) in 1978.More

February 23, 2015 Warren G and Kenny G (no relation) team up to perform a saxy version of Warren's hit "Regulate" on Jimmy Kimmel Live. It's part of Kimmel's "Mash Up Mondays" series that also pairs Aloe Blacc with Blackstreet ("Aloe Blaccstreet"), Weezer with ZZ Top ("Wee-Z Top") and Morris Day And The Time with Haim ("Morris Day And The Haim").

August 1, 2014 The BBC screens Elvis: That's Alright Mama 60 Years On to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the recording of the song: July 5, 1954.

May 14, 2014 On American Idol, The Chainsmokers perform their hit "#Selfie" in a bit where they take selfies with the judges. After the performance, EDM notables trash them.More

October 31, 2012 Fifth Harmony, whose members each tried out for the show individually, make their debut as a group on The X Factor. They come in third but are given a record deal by two of the show's judges, Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid.

January 20, 2011 Appearing on the Bravo show Watch What Happens Live, Tiffany talks about dating Jonathan Knight of New Kids on the Block in the '80s, and inadvertently outs him, saying, "He became gay later."More

September 2, 2009 Shinedown lead singer Brent Smith is fat shamed on the Today show by host Kathy Lee Gifford, who says, "I thought he was Meat Loaf." He gets through their performance of "Second Chance" but is hurt by the comment. A few years later Smith uses it as motivation to quit drinking and start an intense fitness regimen that gets him in excellent health.

November 21, 2008 Bruce Springsteen's title track from his forthcoming Working On A Dream album hits radio.

May 21, 2008 David Cook seems shocked to become the Season 7 winner of American Idol, beating 17-year-old David Archuleta. Cook got 56% of the record 97.5 million votes.

April 4, 2008 New Kids on the Block announce their upcoming reunion tour during NBC's Today show in New York City.

March 27, 2008 The Los Angeles Times publishes — and later retracts — a story that Diddy had a hand in the shooting that killed Tupac Shakur. In the end, it is all fiction conjured by an imprisoned con man.

September 23, 2007 Lionel Richie appears on The Simpsons in the episode "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs."

August 15, 2007 The Osmonds reunite for the first time in over two decades to perform their 50th anniversary concert for PBS.

August 5, 2007 Proctor and Gamble, maker of Luvs brand diapers, upsets Beatles fans around the world with their licensing of the song "All You Need Is Love" for a new television ad.

October 2, 2006 Snoop Dogg guest stars on an episode of the Showtime series Weeds, where he jumpstarts Mary-Louise Parker's pot-growing business by placing a big order and doing a freestyle about it.