The Breaks performed on national TV

September 27, 1980 –Kurtis Blow becomes the first rapper to perform on national television when he does The Breaks on Soul Train. The Breaks was the first rap song to sell over 500,000 copies, earning a certified Gold record. Rapper’s Delight, released a year earlier, certainly sold a lot more (as Kurtis attests), but thatContinue reading “The Breaks performed on national TV”

The Tonight Show went nationwide

September 27, 1954 –Steve Allen sat down at his piano and the Tonight Show premiered nationally on NBC on this date. Steve Allen’s high-energy wit and appreciation for the emerging medium lent itself to spontaneous, original humor. He put cameras on the street and tried to find unscripted comedy in random interviews with passersby. HeContinue reading “The Tonight Show went nationwide”

Kennedy/ Nixon debate

September 26, 1960 –John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon faced off in the first televised presidential debate, on this date. Nixon had been recuperating from illness yet refused to wear makeup for the camera, looking haggard and gray. Radio viewers gave positive opinions for Nixon’s performance but so many people saw the debate televised thatContinue reading “Kennedy/ Nixon debate”

Wait, What, Bobby is Alive !?!

September 26, 1986 –The episode of Dallas that had Bobby Ewing returning from the dead, his death is attributed to his wife Pam’s bad dream, aired on this date. When Victoria Principal opens the shower door in the infamous Bobby shower scene, actor John Beck was the one in the shower. The shock to PamContinue reading “Wait, What, Bobby is Alive !?!”