Appearances by rock bands on episodic TV shows

[oilersfan]

Shows like the Beat Club, Top of the Pops, Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, etc., variety shows, and talk shows are places where its almost natural for rock acts to make an appearance. Someone shared a link via social media yesterday, however, that made me think about instances where bands have appeared and played (or lip synced) on episodic TV shows like sitcoms, cop/action shows, etc. Shows like The Monkees, where the band is the focal point, or shows like The Young Ones, which had a musical guest each week, are obvious examples, but what about other shows that didn't necessarily feature a musical act from week to week? Here's the original link...

http://www.metv.com/lists/18-ripping...oms-and-dramas


Kinda surreal seeing Neil Young appear briefly on an episode of Mannix as a member of Buffalo Springfield.


Anyone else have fond (or not so fond) memories of seeing a band perform as a guest on an episodic TV show?

[Dave (in MA)]

"In one of the most memorable rock & roll episodes in television history, the Wellingtons, who performed the theme song, dress up as Beatles parody act the Mosquitoes. They play "Don't Bug Me" and "He's A Loser," but we are quite fond of the girls rival act the Honey Bees and "I Need You.""

WRONG. The Wellingtons provide the audio, but the Mosquitoes were played by actors.

I was going to mention Little Feat and the The Seeds, but they're already on the list.

Here's Jose Feliciano & Cannonball Adderley on Kung Fu:

[Dave (in MA)]

(OK, not a 'rock band')

[PeterG]

Kylie Minogue appeared in and sang one of her own songs in an epsiode of the British sitcom The Vicar of Dibley.

[Dave (in MA)]

[jake]

This one is really surreal - Status Quo on the long running UK soap opera Coronation Street:

[mogrooves]

Chad and Jeremy were on both the Dick van Dyke and Patty Duke shows.

[JJ88]

^I remember seeing an episode of Batman with them in as well. An odd career; from England yet never had a single hit in their homeland.

There's an episode of Return Of The Saint which features the Australian punk band The Saints (an in-joke??) playing live in the Marquee Club.

[-=RTFR666=-]

YES! I remember seeing this when it first aired!

How about Hoyt Axton on WKRP in Cincinnati? Michael DeBarres showed up there as well as the lead singer for some fictional punk band (paging WikiGeek, white courtesy phone!) plus on St. Elsewhere (stuck in the elevator)

[pb2015]

How about Hoyt Axton on WKRP in Cincinnati?

I remember seeing him on Diff'rent Strokes.

Oh, and Loudon Wainwright on M*A*S*H (he was on three episodes, I think).

[-=RTFR666=-]

The Doobie Brothers on "What's Happening?"

ok, I slogged through the OP's link...Snoops Sisters being the only rehash...

and didn't the Standells also appear on "The Munsters" ???

Then there's Davey Jones on "The Brady Bunch"

[Dave (in MA)]

ok, I slogged through the OP's link...Snoops Sisters being the only rehash...

D'OH

[Dave (in MA)]

YES! I remember seeing this when it first aired!

So do I, only I couldn't recall which one of the NBC Mystery Movie franchises it was. I was pretty sure it wasn't Hec Ramsey.

[Dave (in MA)]

The Factory (pre Little Feat) were also on Gomer Pyle. http://www.60sgaragebands.com/images/TVCameos.pdf

[Gruno]

"That 70s Show" had Roger Daltry, KISS, Robin Zander, Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper, and more. See those musos in the first segment here--



KISS performed on a 1998 (season 3) episode of "Millennium."



All 4 band members acted in the episode as different characters:

"Thirteen Years Later" is noteworthy in that it is arguably the only episode of the series to feature major celebrities in guest starring roles. The Fox network proposed inserting the band members of KISS into an episode of Millennium. While the show's staff was initially resistant to the idea, writer Michael R. Perry realized that KISS might be integrated into his Halloween-themed episode in a manner that would be in keeping with the spirit of the story. Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley appear not only in their legendary personas during the sequence featuring the band's song "Psycho Circus," each of the four band members also has an individual cameo during the course of the episode. Simmons appears as Hector Leachman, Stanley as director Lew Carroll, and Criss and Frehley as unnamed police officers.

Peter Criss also acted in an episode of the HBO series, "OZ"

[Gruno]

How about Hoyt Axton on WKRP in Cincinnati? Michael DeBarres showed up there as well as the lead singer for some fictional punk band (paging WikiGeek, white courtesy phone!) plus on St. Elsewhere (stuck in the elevator)

Michael Des Barres has done a ton of acting. He was on "Miami Vice" with The Power Station--





Gene Simmons as Mr. Big -- a drug dealer -- on HBO's "The Hitchhiker"





Glenn Frey on "Miami Vice"

[Gruno]

Frank Zappa on "Miami Vice"

[PeterG]

What about real bands appearing and performing in movies, either with their own name or with a name just for the film, and where the movie is not about the band or even about music. I can't think of any to be honest.

[Halmyre]

BB King appeared on an episode of "Married...With Children".

Toyah on UK TV series "Shoestring".

[Gruno]

What about real bands appearing and performing in movies, either with their own name or with a name just for the film, and where the movie is not about the band or even about music. I can't think of any to be honest.

1988's "The Dead Pool" featured Jim Carrey lip syncing to Guns N' Roses' "Welcome To The Jungle"



… the band was in the funeral scene here:

[Gruno]

Stev Vai was in "Crossroads"

[Gruno]

Anthrax on "Married With Children"





Stevie Wonder on "The Cosby Show"





The Beach Boys on "Full House"



Notice there are no clear shots of the drummer… as it was John Stamos, who also starred in the series.

[interbellum]

Stev Vai was in "Crossroads"

What a high-light of that movie this is, although not exactly a "episodic TV show";-)

What about Julie Cruise's appearances in Twin Peaks (whoops, no "rock band", sorry)

[spellbound]

[Gruno]

What a high-light of that movie this is, although not exactly a "episodic TV show";-)

Correct. It was in reply to PeterG's off-shoot derailment, "What about real bands appearing and performing in movies…"