Top 10s: TV's Most Memorable Musical Moments

Tuesday, 07 February 2012 03:59

We all have our favorite TV music moments, and BlackAmericaWeb.com has put together 10 of its favorites.

A few may surprise you.
 

If you're old enough to remember watching "The Cosby Show," then you’ll never forget the classic 1985 episode that shows the family lip-synching the Ray Charles hit “"Night Time Is the Right Time,” with little Rudy as the gravelly-voiced Raylette “singing” that long, drawn out, “Bay-bay! ... I luh-uv you!”
 

For others, it might be watching Michael Jackson moonwalk during his performance of “Billie Jean” as part of the Jacksons/Michael Jackson reunion on the 1983 "Motown 25" special.
 

Or maybe it was Janet Jackson’s infamous "wardrobe malfunction" at Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004 at the hand of singer Justin Timberlake.
 

Speaking of Super Bowls, will anyone ever forget Whitney Houston’s rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" in 1991 at Super Bowl XXV, accompanied by the Florida Orchestra? It still brings a lump to the throat.
 

Dance icons Gregory Hines and Debbie Allen lit up the stage at the 54th Annual Academy Awards in 1982, dazzling with a musical tribute to the songs of composer Harry Warren. (The now-deceased Hines also shone like a star on ABC's 1990 "Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration" show, dancing in honor of the ailing Davis - before kissing his feet.)
 

In 2007, Usher brought the crowd to its feet on CBS' "Movies Rock," performing "Singin’ in the Rain" as a tribute to the late Gene Kelly.
 

A few folks may recall the Harry Belafonte episode of “The Muppet Show,” which Neatorama.com said was one of the most critically-acclaimed episodes in the show’s entire run, "thanks largely in part to the segment where he sings 'Turn the World Around' with Muppets decked out in African tribal masks."
 

Belafonte reprised the song at a 1990 memorial service for Muppets creator Jim Henson, who reportedly considered the episode one of his favorite moments on the show.

But before he endeared himself by appearing with the Muppets, Belafonte caused a stir in a 1968 appearance on "Petula," a special featuring British pop star Petula Clark and Belafonte as her principal guest star.
 

According to Blacks and White TV, part of an archive of 20th-century American culture by J. Fred MacDonald, a professor at Northeastern Illinois University, the Chrysler Corporation and its ad agency, Young & Rubicam, complained about the NBC special when Clark held Belafonte's arm during their appearance together.
 

At the time, "it was considered too intimate for a white woman to be seen on camera in such a pose with a black man. Ironically, Petula was aired April 2, 1968 - two days before Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Chrysler's complaint was forgotten in the aftermath of King's murder," MacDonald wrote.
 

In the wake of Don Cornelius' recent death, one undoubtedly must go to the first syndicated episode of his "Soul Train," which aired Oct. 2, 1971, featuring Gladys Knight and The Pips singing "The Friendship Train." Also appearing on the show were Eddie Kendricks, The Honeycone and Bobby Hutton.
 

The last episode Cornelius hosted, which aired June 26, 1993, featured The Commodores.
 

But perhaps the most recent moment that rocked it out was the way superstar singer Beyonce announced her pregnancy at the VMAs last summer at the end of her performance of her single, "Love on Top" (pictured).