Pick a Day

Music History Events: TV Appearances

December 8, 1976 The Carpenters' Very First Special, featuring guest star John Denver, airs on ABC.

November 17, 1976 Olivia Newton-John's first TV special, A Very Special Olivia Newton-John, is broadcast on ABC.

November 16, 1976 Brian Wilson, resident genius of The Beach Boys, comes out of an eight-year seclusion to give an interview to BBC 2's music show Old Grey Whistle Test.

October 2, 1976 Joe Cocker is the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, where he performs "Feelin' Alright" with his nemesis impersonator, John Belushi.

September 27, 1976 After appearing on the The Porter Wagoner Show for seven years, Dolly Parton gets her own TV variety show, Dolly!, which premieres on ABC. The show lasts one season; Parton returns in 1987 with another variety show, this time unexclaimed: Dolly.

September 20, 1976 Captain & Tennille's regular-season ABC-TV show begins its six-month run.

September 14, 1976 Bob Dylan's TV special Hard Rain airs.

August 5, 1976 NBC airs the 15th anniversary Beach Boys special It's OK, featuring cameos by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd.

June 16, 1976 The first episode of the variety show The Jacksons, starring eight of the nine musical Jackson siblings (Jermaine has other commitments) airs on CBS. It runs for 12 episodes.

February 1, 1976 Cher, married to Gregg Allman and pregnant with his child, launches a new variety show with her ex-husband Sonny Bono called The Sonny And Cher Show on CBS. It runs through 1977.

November 18, 1975 Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen are guest stars on tonight's "Glitter With A Bullet" episode of NBC-TV's Police Woman.

November 8, 1975 David Bowie makes his US television debut on the CBS variety show Cher, performing "Fame." Bowie also sings a medley of tracks with Cher.

September 20, 1975 Bay City Rollers make inroads in America when they appear on the debut of Howard Cossell's ill-fated Saturday Night TV show on ABC, appropriately performing their hit "Saturday Night."

September 10, 1975 PBS airs the special The World Of John Hammond, celebrating the Columbia Records executive who signed Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen to the label. Dylan performs three songs in tribute.

May 11, 1975 Cher's new boyfriend, Gregg Allman of The Allman Brothers, appears on her variety show Cher, where he performs "Midnight Rider."

April 28, 1975 Two ex-Beatles are on NBC: Ringo Starr performs "No No Song" on The Smothers Brothers Show; John Lennon guests on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

April 25, 1975 A forebear to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video, the Alice Cooper horror/music special Alice Cooper: The Nightmare (featuring Vincent Price) airs on ABC.

March 22, 1975 Barry Manilow makes his first appearance on US television, appearing on American Bandstand to perform "Mandy" and "It's A Miracle."

February 16, 1975 Cher, who starred with her husband Sonny Bono in The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour from 1971-1974, gets her own show when Cher premieres on CBS. The first guests are Elton John, Bette Midler and Flip Wilson.

January 26, 1975 The BBC airs the David Bowie documentary Cracked Actor. At the time of filming, Bowie was addicted to cocaine and the footage shows Bowie's fragile mental state.

August 31, 1974 The final Partridge Family episode airs on ABC, starring the musical family.

July 27, 1974 After 23 years, Dinah Shore leaves the NBC network when it cancels her morning program Dinah's Place to make room for game shows.

May 24, 1974 NBC-TV's wildly successful variety show The Dean Martin Show signs off after nine years.

May 17, 1974 The Elton John TV special Say Goodbye To Norma Jean And Other Things airs on ABC.

May 17, 1974 NBC-TV's The Midnight Special offers another salute to '50s and '60s rock n' roll, with Frankie Avalon as host and performances by Sam & Dave, Lou Christie, Frankie Ford, The Fleetwoods, Shirley & Lee, and Fabian.

March 29, 1974 The first Kiss TV appearance is broadcast, as they appear on the musical variety show In Concert. Their performance was recorded February 21.

March 5, 1974 Smokey Robinson appears on NBC-TV's Police Story.

November 16, 1973 David Bowie is the host of a special edition of the NBC show Midnight Special. His show is called 1980 Floor Show, and features Bowie doing a duet of "I Got You Babe" with Marianne Faithfull, who wears a nun's habit with an open back.

November 2, 1973 Barbra Streisand hosts a TV special on CBS called Barbra Streisand And Other Musical Instruments. Among the "instruments": Ray Charles.

October 25, 1973 Rick Nelson appears as a former rock-star-turned-murderous-pimp on the "Harem" episode of ABC-TV's Streets Of San Francisco.