Calendar Search Results: tv
December 15, 1979 The Buggles song "Video Killed The Radio Star" reaches its American chart peak of #40 (in the UK, it hit #1 in September). On August 1, 1981, it becomes the first music video played on MTV. Record stores in areas with high cable penetration are baffled when folks show up looking for the song.
December 8, 1979 Ingrid Michaelson is born in Staten Island, New York. The indie-pop singer finds acclaim through sync placements in commercials for Old Navy ("The Way I Am") and TV shows like Grey's Anatomy ("Keep Breathing") before going on to write the music and lyrics for the Broadway musical The Notebook.
November 23, 1979 The Rod Stewart Special airs on NBC-TV.
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 10, 1979 Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" hits #1 on the Hot 100. It becomes a female-empowerment anthem, but the song was written by two men.More
February 11, 1979 The TV movie Elvis, starring Kurt Russell as the singer, airs on ABC.
October 28, 1978 Kiss star in the TV movie Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park.More
September 22, 1978 Leif Garrett plays dual roles on ABC-TV's Wonder Woman.
September 18, 1978 The albums Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss all hit stores on the same day.More
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 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.
April 28, 1978 The movie FM, about a radio station with a motley collection of DJs, debuts in theaters. Linda Ronstadt, Jimmy Buffett and REO Speedwagon all appear in the film, and Steely Dan does the theme song. FM is the basis for the TV series WKRP in Cincinnati, which appears later in the year.
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.
March 22, 1978 A Beatles parody special called The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash, airs on ABC. The special stars various members of the Monty Python troupe. It also features cameo appearances by George Harrison, Mick Jagger, Paul Simon and many Saturday Night Live cast members. More
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.
November 8, 1977 Suzi Quatro makes her first of seven appearances on the TV series Happy Days, playing tough-yet-adorable Leather Tuscadero, the little sister of Fonzie's ex-girlfriend Pinky. Quatro was raised in Michigan but little known in America; in the UK, she's a star, with two #1 hits: "Devil Gate Drive" and "Can The Can."
October 3, 1977 The TV event Elvis In Concert, filmed just weeks before The King's death, is shown on CBS, with good friend Ann-Margret hosting. It shocks many with the depiction of a bloated and drug-addled Elvis Presley in his final days.
September 13, 1977 Fiona Apple is born in Manhattan to singer Diane McAfee and actor Brandon Maggart.More
September 11, 1977 David Bowie joins Bing Crosby to record the crooner's Merrie Olde Christmas special. Bowie refuses to sing "Little Drummer Boy" with Crosby, so his part is rewritten as "Peace On Earth." Crosby dies a month later before the show airs, and the duet becomes a Christmas classic, growing even more popular when MTV starts playing the clip a few years later.
August 16, 1977 The King is dead. Elvis Presley dies at his home in Graceland as a result of an overdose from prescription drugs.More
June 15, 1977 Former 5th Dimension singers Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. host a summer TV variety series on CBS. They are the first African American married couple to host a network television series.
May 7, 1977 Running 6:08 and loaded with metaphor and guitars, "Hotel California" tops the Hot 100.More
April 21, 1977 ABC airs Frank Sinatra's TV special Frank Sinatra And Friends, featuring guest stars Natalie Cole and John Denver.
April 9, 1977 ABBA goes to #1 on the US singles chart with "Dancing Queen," the group's seventh US Top 40 hit and first #1. The song is also a #1 in the UK and 12 other countries.More
March 22, 1977 The John Denver TV special Thank God, I'm A Country Boy airs on ABC.
February 4, 1977 Singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw is born in South Fallsburg, New York. After moving to New York City, he signs with Clive Davis' J Records and releases his first album, Chariot, in 2003. The first single, "I Don't Want To Be," becomes the theme song to the TV series One Tree Hill.
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