Pick a Day

Music History Events: TV Appearances

February 23, 1970 Ringo Starr guests on Laugh In, making his first solo TV appearance.

February 19, 1970 Monkees songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart appear on the Bewitched episode "Serena Stops The Show."

December 21, 1969 On The Ed Sullivan Show, Diana Ross appears with The Supremes for the last time, where they perform "Someday, We'll Be Together."

December 17, 1969 Tiny Tim marries Miss Vicki Budinger on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. The program receives the second largest ratings of any show up to that time.

December 6, 1969 Cab Calloway stars in NBC's "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentation of The Littlest Angel.

November 30, 1969 Neil Diamond makes his only appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, where he performs "Sweet Caroline" and "Holly Holy."

November 12, 1969 The Supremes and The Temptations' second joint TV special, G.I.T. On Broadway, airs on NBC. (The title stands for "Gettin' It Together"; the show consists of both groups performing show tunes.)

October 18, 1969 The Jackson 5 make their national TV debut, performing "I Want You Back" on the ABC variety show Hollywood Palace. In January 1970, the song tops the Hot 100.

October 14, 1969 The University of Michigan student newspaper publishes a satirical story called "McCartney Dead; New Evidence Brought to Light," which adds to the rumors that Paul McCartney is dead.

October 2, 1969 Bobby Darin appears for the first time on TV as "Bob" Darin when he performs on Tom Jones' TV show.

September 17, 1969 Tiny Tim announces his forthcoming marriage to "Miss Vicki" Budinger, which would break records for TV viewership when the ceremony is broadcast on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. The two are separated three years later and divorce in 1977.

September 4, 1969 The Youngbloods, a rare rock band scheduled to appear on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, are scratched. Carson says it's because they were being disrespectful; the band says they were slated to play two songs: a new one and their hit "Get Together," but when the show went long, the producers nixed the new song, so they walked.

August 16, 1969 CBS premieres the sitcom The Debbie Reynolds Show, starring the Singin' in the Rain actress.

July 21, 1969 The day after the Apollo 11 moon landing (the first time man walked on the moon), Duke Ellington performs a song he wrote for the occasion called "Moon Maiden" as part of ABC's coverage of the historic event.

July 10, 1969 The Temptations Show, a Motown special featuring the group, airs in syndication. They perform, among other hits, "Get Ready," "Cloud Nine," and "Runaway Child, Running Wild."

July 5, 1969 Jerry Butler and The Impressions "reunite" on American Bandstand, singing separately.

June 10, 1969 With his father Jerry Lewis as guest host, Gary Lewis performs "This Diamond Ring" on The Tonight Show with his band Gary Lewis and the Playboys.

June 7, 1969 The Johnny Cash Show makes its debut on ABC, with Bob Dylan duetting with Cash on "Girl From the North Country" and Joni Mitchell performing "Both Sides Now." The show runs until 1971, a total of 58 episodes.

May 24, 1969 The Guess Who make their debut on American television, singing "These Eyes" and "Laughing" on American Bandstand.

April 27, 1969 Joe Cocker makes his TV debut, singing "Feelin' Alright" on The Ed Sullivan Show.

April 13, 1969 Diana Ross makes her first television appearance as a solo act, performing on Dinah Shore's NBC special Like Hep.

April 6, 1969 Joanie Sommers guests on the syndicated Frankie Avalon Easter (TV) Special.

April 4, 1969 CBS cancels the highly rated but controversial Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Artists to appear on the show include The Who, The Doors and Jefferson Airplane.

March 31, 1969 A short John Lennon film entitled Rape appears on Australian TV.

March 26, 1969 Pat Boone guest stars on the TV show The Beverly Hillbillies.

February 7, 1969 Tom Jones' UK variety show This Is Tom Jones premieres on ABC after the network pays out over $20 million for the rights.

January 31, 1969 Bobby Darin walks off the set of The Jackie Gleason Show when he is not allowed to perform his song "Long Line Rider," which deals with prisoner abuse.

December 9, 1968 The TV special TCB (Takin' Care Of Business), starring Supremes and The Temptations, airs on NBC.

November 25, 1968 The Frank Sinatra special Francis Albert Sinatra Does His Thing, featuring Diahann Carroll and The 5th Dimension, airs on CBS.

November 23, 1968 The Cowsills: A Family Thing special airs on NBC-TV.