Music History

Helen McKay sang “Here's Looking At You” with music by Duke Ellington during a test transmission by the BBC television service. According to the source, it was the first song ever broadcast on television.

The Frank Sinatra Show premiered on CBS as a variety program and Frank Sinatra's first television show. Despite Sinatra having a five-year contract, the program lasted only two seasons.

The daily dance program Bandstand premiered on WFIL-TV in Philadelphia, hosted by Bob Horn. In 1956, Dick Clark took over the program, later renamed it American Bandstand, and it became a nationally renowned institution of rock and roll culture.

The Mickey Mouse Club premiered on ABC on October 3, featuring its twelve-year-old star Annette Funicello prominently.

The television program Lawrence Welk’s Top Tunes and New Talent premiered.

The Johnny Burnette Trio appeared on Ted Mack's Amateur Hour TV show. Johnny Burnette, Dorsey Burnette and Paul Burlison won three weeks in a row, earning a series of tour dates.

The dance television program The Buddy Deane Show premiered in Baltimore, Maryland. The two-hour rock 'n' roll show allowed viewers to call in and speak with celebrity guests, eventually overwhelming the telephone lines to the point that the telephone company asked Buddy Deane to stop.

At the age of 23, Pat Boone began hosting the variety show The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom on ABC-TV. The program featured performers including The Four Lads, Ella Fitzgerald and Johnny Mathis, and its writers included Woody Allen. After three seasons, the show was canceled after losing the ratings battle to Bachelor Father starring John Forsythe on NBC. ABC subsequently replaced it with the sitcom My Three Sons starring Fred MacMurray. The program later appeared in Michael Moore's documentary film Roger & Me. At the time, TV Guide described it unflatteringly as a show “about as exciting as a milkshake with two straws.”

CBS aired the one-hour special The Edsel Show, promoting the new Ford Edsel automobile. The show featured Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, Louis Armstrong, and Lindsay Crosby with The Four Preps. It was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Program of the Year but did not win.

Jerry Butler & the Impressions made their first national television appearance on American Bandstand.

The Betty Freezor Show on WBTV-TV in Charlotte, North Carolina, became the first television program to be broadcast in color from videotape.

Georgia Gibbs performed "The Hula-Hoop Song" on The Ed Sullivan Show, helping to fuel the craze surrounding the hula hoop. Twenty-five million plastic hoops were sold in less than four months, and sales exceeded 100 million within two years.

Forty-year-old Georgia Gibbs performed “The Hula-Hoop Song” on The Ed Sullivan Show, helping fuel the hula-hoop craze that swept North America. The recording reached No. 32 on the Billboard Pop chart and was her final Top 40 entry. It followed a successful run of 1950s hits including “Kiss of Fire” (No. 1 in 1952), “Tweedle Dee” (No. 2 in 1955) and “Dance With Me Henry” (No. 1 in 1955).

Georgia Gibbs performed “The Hula-Hoop Song” on The Ed Sullivan Show, helping to further popularize the hula hoop.

Jimmy Driftwood, writer of “The Battle of New Orleans”, appeared as a guest on the CBS television program To Tell the Truth.

The television series The Twilight Zone premiered on CBS-TV. The original orchestral opening used during the first season was composed by Bernard Herrmann; it was later replaced by the now-iconic theme by French composer Marius Constant.

The detective series Hawaiian Eye premiered on ABC, with Connie Stevens as Cricket Blake. The series ran for four seasons.

Connie Francis appeared as a celebrity “mystery guest” on the CBS television program “What's My Line”.

The television series Ben Casey, featuring future singer Vince Everett, premiered on ABC-TV. The series ran for five seasons.

Alvin & The Chipmunks got their own television show, The Alvin Show, on CBS. They had previously enjoyed successful hits including The Chipmunk Song, Alvin's Harmonica, and Ragtime Cowboy Joe. The show was canceled after one season in prime time, but later enjoyed a second life through Saturday morning reruns until 1965.

Granada TV filmed The Beatles' lunchtime performance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, including the song “Some Other Guy”, which was the first time the group was filmed by television cameras. However, because of the grainy picture and poor sound quality, Granada did not broadcast the footage at the time and placed it in its archive. It was first broadcast on November 6, 1963, on the program “Scene at 6:30”. In the meantime, The Beatles' actual television debut took place live from a studio in Manchester on October 17, 1962, on the program “People and Places”.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson premiered on NBC. Its famous instrumental opening theme, “Johnny's Theme”, was written by Paul Anka. According to the source variants, Johnny Carson contributed either an unused section of lyrics or the opening drum part, and an agreement gave him half of the royalties. According to one source variant, the theme earned each of them approximately $200,000 a year over the years. The program subsequently became one of the most important television formats of its era.

The Kingston Trio appeared as celebrity and mystery guests on the CBS-TV program What's My Line?

The Rolling Stones made their first appearance on the British television programme “Ready, Steady, Go!”, where they performed their debut single “Come On”. Between 1963 and 1966, they appeared on the programme a total of twenty times.

The Beatles made their first appearance on the British television program Ready Steady Go!, where they were interviewed by Dusty Springfield. They performed “Twist and Shout,” “I’ll Get You,” and “She Loves You,” and appeared in grey collarless suits.

The Ed Sullivan Show featured surf guitarist Dick Dale performing “Surfin’ and a Swingin’” and The Angels performing “My Boyfriend’s Back.” Kate Smith, Totie Fields, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, and The Three Stooges also appeared.

The Beatles headlined the live television broadcast of Sunday Night at the London Palladium on the British ITV network. They performed “From Me to You,” “She Loves You,” “Twist and Shout,” and “I’ll Get You.” Approximately 15 million viewers watched the broadcast, and the performance helped spark Beatlemania in the UK. Crowds of fans gathered outside the theater, and clashes with police occurred.

The Beatles appeared via recording on the American television program Shindig!, whose special episode was devoted to the British Invasion. From London, they performed I'm a Loser, Boys, and Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!.

They filmed a performance for the CBS-TV program The Ed Sullivan Show at Studio 50 in New York. They performed “I Feel Fine”, “I’m Down”, “Act Naturally”, “Ticket to Ride”, “Yesterday” and “Help!”. The recording was broadcast on September 12, 1965, and was their fourth appearance on the show. Their fifth album Help! also began a nine-week run at number one on the UK chart.

Security staff at Granada Television's studio in Manchester used fire hoses against around two hundred screaming teenagers after they broke through security barriers while waiting for The Rolling Stones to arrive. Despite the chaotic atmosphere, the group successfully filmed its television segment, which included a performance of “(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction”.

James Brown, Booker T. & the M.G.’s and The Kinks appeared on the television program Shindig!. James Brown performed “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” which was No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time.

The Rolling Stones appeared on the British television program Ready Steady Go! Mick Jagger and Andrew Loog Oldham performed a parody of the Sonny & Cher song “I Got You Babe”.

The ABC-TV program Shindig! featured The Who's first U.S. television appearance. The same program also featured The Four Tops and Gerry and the Pacemakers; according to one version, Billie Joe Royal and Ray Peterson also appeared.

The Supremes made their first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Petula Clark also appeared on the program that night.

The television variety show "Hullabaloo" aired its final episode on NBC. The program was hosted by Paul Anka, with Peter & Gordon, Lesley Gore, and The Cyrkle among the guests.

ABC broadcast the final episode of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet in prime time, ending its historic fourteen-year run. The series helped make teenage Rick Nelson famous and became the first live-action series on American network prime-time television to run for more than ten years.

The Who began a week-long engagement at The Palais in Ilford, Essex, England. Later that day, they recorded performances of "I'm A Boy" and "Heatwave" for the British television program "Ready, Steady, GO!"

WGN-TV in Chicago broadcast the half-hour special “An Evening with Gary Lewis and the Playboys”. The group performed its most successful songs, including material from seven consecutive Top 10 hits, as well as a cover of The Beatles’ “Run for Your Life”. During “Time Stands Still”, Gary Lewis imitated his father, comedian Jerry Lewis.

The Vince Guaraldi Trio recorded music at Desilu's Gower Street Studio in Hollywood for the Halloween television special It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. The session included a new arrangement of “Linus and Lucy” featuring prominent flute parts by Ronald Lang.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared on the British television program “Simon Dee” on the BBC. Other guests on the program included Kiki Dee and Cat Stevens.

The Doors appeared on the television program The Ed Sullivan Show following the success of the song "Light My Fire".

The final episode of the animated series The Beatles Cartoon Show was broadcast in the United States.

George Harrison and John Lennon appeared on David Frost's television program, where they expressed support for transcendental meditation. Author Juan Mascaró later sent Harrison a book containing a translation of Chapter 47 of the Tao Te Ching, whose text Harrison used as the basis for the song “The Inner Light.”

Doc Severinsen, already a member of the NBC-TV Tonight Show house band, replaced Skitch Henderson as its leader and musical director on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson."

CBS broadcast Barbra Streisand's third television special, The Belle of 14th Street.

After 58 episodes, the final episode of the television series The Monkees was broadcast on NBC. Since its original run, the series was repeatedly shown by almost all major cable television networks, including a popular run on CBS from 1969 to 1972.

The Beatles filmed promotional videos for “Hey Jude” and “Revolution” at Twickenham Film Studios. The vocals were recorded live over prerecorded instrumental tracks to circumvent the British Musicians' Union ban on miming performances. For “Hey Jude,” they were accompanied by a 36-piece orchestra and 300 fans and extras who joined in the singing during the extended finale.

During their first visit to the UK, The Doors appeared on the television show Top of the Pops, where they performed “Hello, I Love You” live.