Pick a Day

Music History Events: TV Appearances

May 16, 1980 The Carpenters' last TV special, Music, Music, Music, airs on ABC. Guest stars include Ella Fitzgerald, John Davidson, and Nelson Riddle.

January 26, 1980 Prince performs on American Bandstand, where he's interviewed on national TV for the first time. Host Dick Clark has a hard time getting more than a few words out of him. When he asks how many instruments Prince plays, he pauses before answering, "a thousand."

January 8, 1980 Prince makes his national television debut, performing "I Wanna Be Your Lover" and "Why You Want To Treat Me So Bad" on the NBC variety show Midnight Special.

December 28, 1979 The Kate Bush Christmas Special, also known as Kate, airs on the BBC. The singer performs songs from her first three albums and introduces the holiday tune "December Will Be Magic Again." Peter Gabriel guest stars, singing "Here Comes The Flood" and, with Bush, a duet of Roy Harper's "Another Day."

November 23, 1979 The Rod Stewart Special airs on NBC-TV.

May 23, 1979 The Third Barry Manilow Special airs on ABC. A mix of music and comedy, it includes an appearance by John Denver, who commiserates with Manilow on how critics can't stand them despite their legions of fans.

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 16, 1979 CBS airs the Wings Over the World documentary, chronicling the adventures of Paul McCartney's band Wings on their 1975-1976 tour.

March 9, 1979 ABC airs the John Denver And The Ladies special, featuring Tina Turner, Valerie Harper, Cheryl Tiegs, Erma Bombeck and Cheryl Ladd.

February 11, 1979 The TV movie Elvis, starring Kurt Russell as the singer, airs on ABC.

December 19, 1978 The Carpenters: A Christmas Portrait airs on ABC.

November 4, 1978 Van Morrison is the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, where he plays "Wavelength" and "Kingdom Hall."

October 7, 1978 The Rolling Stones play their new single "Beast Of Burden" on Saturday Night Live.

September 22, 1978 Leif Garrett plays dual roles on ABC-TV's Wonder Woman.

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.

May 13, 1978 Just days after breaking his leg in a softball game, Jimmy Buffett appears on Saturday Night Live for the first and only time, singing "Son Of A Son Of A Sailor" with his injured limb propped up on an old boat.

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.

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.

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.

April 21, 1977 ABC airs Frank Sinatra's TV special Frank Sinatra And Friends, featuring guest stars Natalie Cole and John Denver.

April 5, 1977 David Bowie and Iggy Pop perform together on Dinah Shore's daytime show on NBC.

March 22, 1977 The John Denver TV special Thank God, I'm A Country Boy airs on ABC.

February 21, 1977 Neil Diamond plays a televised concert at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. The show is released as the live album Love At The Greek.

February 4, 1977 American Bandstand gets a primetime special in honor of the show's 25th anniversary. The show features one of the first "all-star jams," as Chuck Berry is joined by Greg Allman, Junior Walker, The Pointer Sisters, Charlie Daniels and several others on a performance of "Roll Over Beethoven."