The Beatles, Elvis, Michael Jackson & More on TV Academy’s List of 75 Most Impactful TV Moments

Date: May 21, 1992

Midler sings “One More for My Baby” to say farewell to the GOAT of late-night hosts on the next-to-last episode of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Carson had been an early booster of The Divine Miss M, even before she broke out with her hit 1972 debut album. This episode is coded simply as “S30 E120” – episode 120 of Carson’s 30th season. Midler gave it heart.

Date: March 7, 1955

Peter Pan (Mary Martin) teaches the Darling children how to fly. A 1954 stage production starring Mary Martin and Cyril Ritchard was re-staged for television by NBC as part of its monthly anthology series Producers’ Showcase and broadcast as a live television event. The show won two Emmys in 1956 – best single program of the year and best actress – single performance for Martin. It was so well-received that Martin and Ritchard reprised their roles in two more live presentations in 1956 and 1960.

Date: May 21, 1992

The premiere introduces Julie, an aspiring dancer, to her new roommates, six twentysomethings with diverse backgrounds.  

Date: Jan. 27, 1991

Houston performs the National Anthem on the pre-game show. Many consider this to be the definitive version of the anthem. The rendition struck a chord, as the U.S. had just launched the Operation Desert Storm phase of the Persian Gulf War. Rushed out as a single, the song reached No. 20 on the Hot 100. Ten years later, re-released in the wake of 9/11, the song climbed even higher (No. 6).

Date: Feb. 1, 2004

Timberlake accidentally pulls off part of Jackson’s costume, briefly exposing her right breast. All hell breaks loose. The phrase “wardrobe malfunction” enters the vocabulary. Bonus points if you remember the song Timberlake and Jackson were performing: “Rock Your Body.” (And double bonus points if you remember the other performers on the bill – Diddy, Nelly, Kid Rock and Jessica Simpson.)

Date: Sept. 5, 1997

Elton sang “Candle in the Wind” at Princess Diana’s funeral, which was watched live worldwide. Rushed out as a single, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 1 and remained on top for 14 consecutive weeks. Elton’s long-time lyricist Bernie Taupin rewrote his original lyric, which had been about Marilyn Monroe, to express the world’s shock and grief.

Date: Nov. 5, 1956

Cole was the first major Black performer to headline a network variety series. Shamefully, advertisers declined to support the show, fearing a backlash among white viewers in the South. As a result, the show lasted just one season. The premiere episode featured The Boataneers and Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra.

Date: Dec. 2, 1983

John Landis directed the culture-shifting clip, in which Jackson starred alongside newcomer Ola Ray. “Thriller” was nominated for video of the year at the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 14, 1984, but lost to The Cars’ “You Might Think.” (The voters were trying too hard to do the unexpected. Sometimes, it’s best to just go with the obvious pick.) In 2009, the clip became the first music video inducted into the National Film Registry.

Date: Sept. 4, 2002

Clarkson sang “A Moment Like This,” which topped the Hot 100 in October 2002. Clarkson has gone on to win five Primetime Emmys and three Grammys. A star was born! And as we have seen through five seasons of Kellyoke segments, Clarkson truly can sing anything.

Date: July 13, 1985

This benefit concert, held concurrently at Wembley Stadium outside of London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, raised money for relief of the famine in Ethiopia. Just about everyone who was anyone in 1985 performed.

Date: June 10, 2007

In the episode titled “Made in America,” the Soprano family sits down together at a diner. The bell of the diner door rings, and as Tony (James Gandolfini) looks up, the screen cuts to black. The scene was soundtracked by Journey’s 1981 hit “Don’t Stop Believin’,” making this one of the most impactful synchs in music/TV history.

Date: Nov. 17, 1973

An influential animated short explaining the main function of conjunctions aired on Schoolhouse Rock! Bob Dorough wrote the music and lyrics. Jack Sheldon, Terry Morel and Mary Sue Berry performed the song. In 1996, Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks, featuring Better Than Ezra, Biz Markie, Lemonheads, Pavement, Blind Melon, Moby and more, rode the Billboard 200 for three months.

Date: March 27, 2022

It’s sad that the only awards show moment on this list is Will Smith slapping Chris Rock on the Academy Awards. It was a stunning moment, but Ingrid Bergman’s shocked expression when she uttered “It’s a tie!” in announcing Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand as co-winners of best actress in 1969 was also an unforgettable TV snapshot – without the ugliness of the chosen moment.

Date: Dec. 9, 1965

Linus tells Charlie Brown the true meaning of Christmas. The Vince Guaraldi Trio’s soundtrack, which features such immortal tracks as “Christmas Time Is Here” and “Linus and Lucy,” is a perennial best-seller. Guaraldi died in 1976 at the too-young age of 47, but this special will keep his name and music alive forever.

Date: Sept. 9, 1956

Presley made his first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show (after earlier appearances on shows hosted by the Dorsey Brothers, Milton Berle, and Steve Allen). For his first set, Elvis played “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Love Me Tender.” His second set consisted of “Ready Teddy” and an abbreviated version of “Hound Dog.” Popular mythology holds that Sullivan censored Presley by shooting him only from the waist up, but Presley’s full body was shown in his first and second appearances.

Date: Oct. 11, 1975

George Carlin hosted the first episode of the long-running show, which has long since become an institution. The first episode featured two musical performers, both of whom had had big hits in the recent past – Janis Ian (“At Seventeen”) and Billy Preston (“Nothing From Nothing”).

Date: Aug. 1, 1981

The Buggles’ 1979 hit “Video Killed the Radio Star” was the first video aired on the generation-defining channel. Somebody was thinking. Buggles members Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn co-wrote the song with Bruce Woolley.

Date: Feb. 9, 1964

The Beatles appeared on three consecutive Sundays in February 1964 to great anticipation and fanfare. Their first appearance on Feb. 9 drew an estimated 73 million viewers, a record for American television at the time. The Beatles performed “All My Loving,” “Till There Was You” (from the Broadway musical The Music Man), “She Loves You,” “I Saw Her Standing There” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” The joy and exhilaration radiated by the group and the audience helped brighten the national mood, which had been downbeat following the assassination of President Kennedy in November 1963.