Pick a Day

Music History Events: TV Shows

March 26, 1966 After 14 years on TV (and ten years on radio before that), the last episode of The Adventures Of Ozzie & Harriet, which made Rick Nelson a household name, airs on ABC.

March 12, 1966 The theme song to the TV series Batman reaches its chart peak of #17.

December 9, 1965 A Charlie Brown Christmas makes its debut, airing on CBS in place of The Munsters. The famous score, which becomes synonymous with the Peanuts, is written by the jazz musician Vince Guaraldi and performed by his trio.More

January 1, 1964 BBC-TV premieres a new musical variety show entitled Top Of The Pops, kicked off by The Rolling Stones' "I Wanna Be Your Man," followed by lip-synced performances from Dusty Springfield, The Dave Clark Five, The Hollies and The Swinging Blue Jeans.More

November 23, 1963 The first episode of Dr Who is broadcast; it features the classic electronic music theme.

March 24, 2026 Miley Cyrus revisits Hannah Montana for a Disney+ 20th anniversary special. Former cast members, along with stars like Selena Gomez and Chappell Roan, join Cyrus in sharing memories of the show, which ran from 2006 to 2011 and starred Cyrus as a schoolgirl who was secretly a rock star. Cyrus debuts a new song on the special called "Younger You," written in the form of a letter from her younger self.

December 31, 2025 The TV series Stranger Things wraps up with a finale featuring the rarely licensed Prince songs "When Doves Cry" and "Purple Rain" as part of a plotline where Side 2 of the Purple Rain album triggers a device. Like many '80s tracks used on the show (particularly "Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush), the songs find a new audience and get a huge boost in streaming.

April 6, 2023 The series Beef airs on Netflix with a soundtrack that revives several songs from the '90s and '00s, including "Drive" by Incubus, "Self Esteem" by The Offspring, and "Lonely Day" by System of a Down.

September 12, 2022 The Jennifer Hudson Show debuts in syndication. The first guest on the daytime talk show is Simon Cowell, a judge when Hudson competed on American Idol.

September 11, 2022 The TV series Monarch, starring Trace Adkins as (fittingly) a country singer, debuts on Fox. Susan Sarandon plays his wife and Beth Ditto of The Gossip is one of his daughters. It's cancelled after one season.

April 29, 2022 Dolly Parton appears as an angel in the last episode of the TV series Grace And Frankie, reuniting her with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, her co-stars in the 1980 movie 9 to 5.

March 31, 2017 The coming-of-age drama 13 Reasons Why drops on Netflix with a song called "The Night We Met" captivating viewers in the fifth episode. The song, released two years earlier by a little-known band called Lord Huron, goes viral and reappears in season 2 as a remix with Phoebe Bridgers.

April 2, 2015 Lip Sync Battle debuts on the Spike network. Hosted by LL Cool J, it pits celebrities against each other in miming songs. The performances get more elaborate over the show's five seasons, with the most popular being Tom Holland's re-creation of Rihanna's "Umbrella" video. We also get to see Dwayne Johnson do "Shake It Off," Channing Tatum do "Run the World (Girls)" and Anne Hathaway take on "Wrecking Ball."

June 27, 2014 Girl Meets World debuts on Disney Channel, starring 15-year-old Sabrina Carpenter, who also sings the theme song. Carpenter releases her first two albums during the show's three-year run and develops her skills as a songwriter. In 2022 she breaks through musically with her fifth album, Emails I Can't Send, which earns her a spot opening for Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour.

September 21, 2011 The X Factor, which has been on the air in the UK since 2004, debuts in America, with Nicole Scherzinger, L.A. Reid, Paula Abdul and the show's creator, Simon Cowell, as judges. The following year, Fifth Harmony form on the show, but unlike the UK version (which spawned One Direction), it doesn't mint many new stars.

May 25, 2011 Seventeen-year-old Scotty McCreery becomes the youngest male winner of American Idol when he's crowned champion of the show's 10th season. Shortly after, the "I Love You This Big" singer releases his debut album, Clear As Day, which goes to #1 on the Country chart and the all-genre Billboard 200.

April 26, 2011 The Voice debuts on NBC with coaches Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green and Blake Shelton, who each choose teams of contestants who then compete against each other. Levine's pick, Javier Colon, goes on to win. The series is a hit and draws lots of famous names as coaches in subsequent seasons, including Kelly Clarkson, Pharrell Williams and Usher.

March 2, 2009 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon debuts on NBC. Fallon's house band is familiar to many hip-hop fans: The Roots. It's the first time an established band has joined a late night show, and it's a big win for all involved. The Roots gain lots of exposure and a steady paycheck; Fallon gets a versatile and highly respected band that shines in segments like "Freestylin' with The Roots" and "Classroom Instruments."

November 15, 2007 The first episode of Daryl Hall's show Live From Daryl's House airs on the web, with Hall performing from his home in Millerton, New York. The series gains traction and gets picked up by the Palladia network. Over the years, Smokey Robinson, Joe Walsh, Cee Lo Green, Rob Thomas and many other musical luminaries appear, performing a mix of their own songs, covers and Hall & Oates tracks.

November 11, 2006 The soundtrack to the Disney series Hannah Montana goes to #1, and six of its songs make the Hot 100. Hannah is played by 13-year-old Miley Cyrus, who sings all the songs on the album.More

March 24, 2006 Hannah Montana, starring Miley Cyrus as a middle school student who is secretly a pop star, debuts on Disney Channel. Cyrus, 13 years old and best known as the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, becomes a pop star in real life when the show becomes a huge hit and spawns a #1 soundtrack.More

August 7, 2005 The Showtime cable TV original series Weeds debuts. The series, about a drug-dealing suburban mom, is notable for using the song "Little Boxes," by folk artist Malvina Reynolds, for its theme song. The folk song, originally released in 1962, enjoys a popular revival.

March 27, 2005 The medical drama Grey's Anatomy debuts on ABC with a new approach to music, using little-known songs, complete with lyrics, to soundtrack many scenes. Songs popularized by the series include "How To Save A Life" by The Fray, "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol and "The Story" by Brandi Carlile.

September 4, 2004 Simon Cowell's music competition show The X Factor debuts in the UK. It quickly becomes a star-making machine, with Little Mix, Leona Lewis, Olly Murs and One Direction emerging from the show. The American version of The X Factor debuts in 2011; their biggest success story is Fifth Harmony.

March 4, 2004 Pimp My Ride, hosted by the rapper Xzibit, debuts on MTV. In each episode of the show, which runs for six seasons, a viewer's hoopie is transformed into a tricked-out whip. Xzibit becomes well known as a media personality, and the phrase "pimp my..." enters the lexicon, as in, "I'm going to pimp my fish tank with some live coral."

January 19, 2004 VH1 goes on a mission to bring '80s bands back together with the series Bands Reunited, successfully reanimating A Flock of Seagulls, Scandal, The Alarm, and in this first episode, Berlin. Extreme and New Kids On The Block don't reunite for the show but do a few years later.

September 21, 1999 An HBO live music show called Reverb makes its debut with performances from Alanis Morissette and Everlast.

January 20, 1998 Dawson's Creek, a coming-of-age drama following a group of North Carolina teens, debuts on The WB with Paula Cole's hit "I Don't Want To Wait" as its theme song.More

November 13, 1997 Celine Dion releases "Be The Man," her first single in Japanese. It is released in Japan only and is the theme to the Japanese TV drama Eve.

September 19, 1997 The VH1 show Storytellers airs live for the first time with an episode featuring Elton John from the House of Blues in New Orleans.