The Beatles, Elvis, Michael Jackson and more on TV Academy's list of the 75 Greatest TV Moments

Date: May 21, 1992

Midler Sings 'One More for My Baby' to Say Goodbye to GOAT of Late Night Hosts in Next-to-Last Episode The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Carson was an early booster of The Divine Miss M, even before she broke out with her hit debut album in 1972. This episode is coded simply as “S30 E120” – episode 120 of Carson's 30th season. Midler gave him a 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 revived for television by NBC as part of its monthly anthology series Showcase of producers and broadcast as a live televised event. The show won two Emmy Awards in 1956 – Best Single Program of the Year and Best Actress – a unique performance for Martin. It was so well received that Martin and Richard reprized their roles in two more live performances in 1956 and 1960.

Date: May 21, 1992

The premiere introduces Julie, an aspiring dancer, to her new roommates, six twenty-somethings from diverse backgrounds.

Date: January 27, 1991

Houston performs the National Anthem on the pregame show. Many consider this to be the definitive version of the hymn. The interpretation struck a chord, as the US had just begun the Operation Desert Storm phase of the Persian Gulf War. Hastily released as a single, the song peaked at No. 20 on the Hot 100. Ten years later, re-released after 9/11, the song climbed even higher (No. 6).

Date: February 1, 2004

Timberlake accidentally removes part of Jackson's outfit, briefly exposing her right breast. All hell. The phrase “wardrobe malfunction” enters the vocabulary. Bonus points if you remember the song Timberlake and Jackson performed: “Rock Your Body.” (And double bonus points if you remember the other performers on the bill — Diddy, Nelly, Kid Rock and Jessica Simpson.)

Date: September 5, 1997

Elton sang “Candle in the Wind” at Princess Diana's funeral, which was watched live around the world. Rushed out as a single, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 1 and remained at the top for 14 consecutive weeks. Elton's longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin rewrote his original verse, which was about Marilyn Monroe, to express the world's shock and sadness.

Date: November 5, 1956

Cole was the first major Black performer to headline a number of networks. Unfortunately, advertisers refused to support the show, fearing a backlash among white viewers in the South. As a result, the show only lasted one season. The premiere episode featured The Boataneers and Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra.

Date: December 2, 1983

John Landis directed the culture-changing clip, which stars Jackson alongside newcomer Ola Rae. “Thriller” was nominated for Video of the Year at the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards on September 14, 1984, but lost to The Cars' “You Might Think”. (Voters were trying really hard to do the unexpected. Sometimes, it's better to go with the obvious choice.) In 2009, the clip became the first music video to be inducted into the National Film Registry.

Date: September 4, 2002

Clarkson sang “A Moment Like This,” which topped the Hot 100 in October 2002. Clarkson has won five Primetime Emmys and three Grammys. A star is born! And as we've seen in five seasons of Kellyoke segments, Clarkson really can sing anything.

Date: July 13, 1985

This benefit concert, held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium outside London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, raised money for famine relief in Ethiopia. Almost everyone who was anyone in 1985 played.

Date: June 10, 2007

In the episode titled “Made in America,” the Soprano family sits together at a dinner party. The dining room doorbell rings and as Tony (James Gandolfini) looks up, the screen fades to black. The scene was soundtracked by Journey's 1981 hit “Don't Stop Believin',” making it one of the most striking synchronicities in music/TV history.

Date: November 17, 1973

A powerful short animation explaining the main function of links was shown Schoolhouse Rock! Bob Dorough wrote the music and lyrics. Jack Sheldon, Terry Morel and Mary Sue Berry performed the song. In 1996, Schoolhouse Rock! Rocksfeaturing Better Than Ezra, Biz Markie, Lemonheads, Pavement, Blind Melon, Moby and more, topped the Billboard 200 for three months.

Date: March 27, 2022

It's sad that the only award show moment on this list is Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards. It was an amazing moment, but Ingrid Bergman's shocked expression when she said it “It's a tie!” The announcement of Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand as joint winners of the best actress award in 1969 was also an unforgettable television moment – ​​without the ugliness of the chosen moment.

Date: December 9, 1965

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

Date: September 9, 1956

Presley made his first appearance in The Ed Sullivan Show (after previous 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 a shortened version of “Hound Dog”. Popular mythology holds that Sullivan censored Presley by only shooting him from the waist up, but Presley's full body was seen in his first and second appearances.

Date: October 11, 1975

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

Date: August 1, 1981

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

Date: February 9, 1964

The Beatles appeared on three consecutive Sundays in February 1964 to much anticipation and fanfare. Their first appearance on February 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 happiness radiated by the team and the audience helped to lighten the national mood, which had collapsed after the assassination of President Kennedy in November 1963.