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Pick a Day

Music History Events: TV Shows

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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

November 14, 1992 With lead vocals by Jamie Walters, "How Do You Talk To An Angel," the theme song to Aaron Spelling's new drama The Heights, hits #1 for the first of two weeks. More

May 21, 1992 MTV airs the first episode of The Real World, which gets huge ratings and begins a shift in programming away from music videos. It also encourages other networks to try this "Reality TV" thing.

September 26, 1990 Cop Rock, a musical police drama with a theme song by Randy Newman, debuts on ABC. Stung by scathing reviews and terrible ratings, it is cancelled after 11 episodes.More

September 10, 1990 Starring a young rapper named Will Smith, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air debuts on NBC. Smith hones his acting skills during his six seasons on the show, which features guest appearances by his musical partner, DJ Jazzy Jeff.More

September 8, 1990 The New Kids On The Block cartoon series makes its debut. Lasting just one season on ABC, the animated New Kids travel the world and face challenges like getting to concerts on time.

December 17, 1989 The Simpsons debuts on Fox with the episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire." The show quickly attracts big-name guest stars, including many musicians. In Season 3, Michael Jackson, Sting and Aerosmith appear.

November 26, 1989 MTV's acoustic showcase Unplugged premieres with an episode featuring Squeeze. Jules Shear hosts the first season.More

August 31, 1987 MTV debuts Club MTV, their contemporary and far more lascivious version of American Bandstand.More

April 18, 1987 MTV finally acknowledges the existence of heavy metal with the debut of Headbangers Ball, a weekly show dedicated to the genre.

February 22, 1986 MTV, which has bought the rights to 45 episodes of The Monkees TV series, airs them all in the "Pleasant Valley Sunday" marathon in honor of the group's 20th anniversary. The shows launch a Monkees revival, and the group reforms to tour later in the year.More

November 9, 1985 The Miami Vice Theme hits #1 on the Hot 100, the last instrumental song to top the tally.More

November 2, 1985 The Miami Vice soundtrack album, featuring the #1-hit theme song, tops the albums chart in America, ushering in a new age of TV soundtracks.More

October 9, 1984 The extraordinarily popular children's show Thomas The Tank Engine And Friends begins its run on BBC-TV, featuring a narrator by the name of Ringo Starr.

September 16, 1984 The TV series Miami Vice makes its debut with a two-hour episode that includes a scene featuring the Phil Collins hit "In The Air Tonight."More

September 17, 1983 Star Search debuts on CBS. Hosted by Ed McMahon, the TV talent competition introduces scores of future superstars, many from the music realm, including Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Alanis Morissette, Jessica Simpson, Christina Aguilera, Tiffany, LeAnn Rimes, Usher, Aaliyah, and Destiny's Child.

February 1, 1982 Bill Murray is the first guest on Late Night with David Letterman, hosted by an irreverent comedian with funny teeth. He sings the hit song "Physical," doing an aerobic routine along with his performance.More

February 11, 1980 WKRP in Cincinnati, a TV series that takes place at a rock radio station, runs an episode devoted to the tragic events of December 3, 1979 when 11 fans were killed at a Who concert at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati.

September 18, 1978 WKRP in Cincinnati, a TV series about a radio station that switches format from easy listening to rock, makes its debut on CBS. It lasts four seasons, enjoying support from real radio professionals who recognize the quirky characters (incompetent general manager Arthur Carlson, disheveled morning jock Johnny Fever) in their co-workers.

May 8, 1976 John Sebastian's "Welcome Back," the theme song to the TV series Welcome Back, Kotter, hits #1 in America. The series was originally called Kotter, but after Sebastian wrote the song, the title was changed to accommodate (Sebastian tried writing a song called "Kotter," but could only rhyme that word with "otter").

November 16, 1975 The variety show Donny & Marie, starring Donny and Marie Osmond, debuts on ABC. Their theme song is "May Tomorrow Be A Perfect Day," but the show becomes synonymous with a different tune: "A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock N' Roll." More

October 11, 1975 Saturday Night - a title later changed to Saturday Night Live - makes its debut on NBC. Music is a big part of the show, and the first episode features two musical guests performing two songs each: Janis Ian doing "At Seventeen" and "In the Winter," and Billy Preston playing "Nothing from Nothing" and "Fancy Lady."More

September 9, 1975 The TV series Welcome Back, Kotter debuts on ABC. The theme song, written by John Sebastian of The Lovin' Spoonful fame, goes to #1 in America in 1976. Kotter also gives John Travolta, who plays a high school delinquent on the show, his big break; he goes on to star in Saturday Night Fever and Grease.

April 20, 1974 The Soul Train theme song ("TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" by MFSB featuring The Three Degrees) hits #1 in America. MFSB, which stands for Mother Father Sister Brother, is a studio group established by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff at Philadelphia International Records.

August 19, 1972 The Midnight Special debuts on NBC. At first just a one-off special presentation, the next year it is launched as a regular show, with Wolfman Jack serving as announcer. The first performance is "Slippin' Into Darkness" by War.

September 11, 1971 The Jackson 5 cartoon series, called The Jackson 5ive, debuts on ABC. Each episode shows various adventures with animated versions of the group, along with Michael's pet mice Ray and Charles, and his snake Rosie. The cartoon runs from 1971-1973.

February 25, 1970 Ernie sings "Rubber Duckie" on Sesame Street. It goes over so well that the song is released as a single, which in September reaches #16 on the Hot 100.More

November 10, 1969 Sesame Street debuts on American public television. Many of the lessons are taught with songs, and in later seasons, musicians drop by to help out: Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Ray Charles, Dixie Chicks and Alicia Keys are among the many to appear on the show. The two big names that turn down offers: Bruce Springsteen and Barbra Streisand.More

January 29, 1969 The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour debuts on CBS. A homey variety show with Steve Martin on board as a writer, it lasts three seasons and draws impressive ratings. Campbell, who had been a regular guest on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, gets even more exposure later in 1969 when he stars in the John Wayne movie True Grit.

September 12, 1966 The Monkees TV show makes its debut, with four actors chosen to portray a pop band based on The Beatles. While The Monkees are a fictional band, they become very real and eventually play on their own recordings instead of studio musicians.More

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