That TV Episode Where Somebody Played An Instrument (…Or Serenaded Their TV Mom)

Chuck Small recently wrote here about great television soundtracks and theme song compilations he has purchased over the years:

From The Tube To The Turntable: A Dozen Audio Collections From TV Shows

Music has intersected with TV shows in countless ways, in their decades of co-existence. 

But even in shows that don’t typically revolve around music, it is quite common to see a character or characters singing or playing an instrument, sometimes well, sometimes badly, sometimes as part of a recurring plotline, sometimes as just a one-time thing. 

The following are some of my favorite musical moments in television shows:

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The Six Million Dollar Man (1973-1978):

For those uninitiated, Steve Austin (Lee Majors) is an astronaut who is severely injured in a crash and is rebuilt with bionic parts, giving him superhuman strength, speed and eyesight.

Years after the show aired, I was listening to a radio interview with Pixies front man Frank Black, after the band had broken up.  For reasons I do not recall, he started talking about an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man where Steve Austin is in a cantina, presumably somewhere south of the border.

It sounds fairly normal at first, but his strumming keeps getting faster and faster until his arm is a just a bionic blur. For years, I loved this scene merely by hearing a description of it.  When I finally watched it recently, it did not disappoint.

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003):

The gang gets in over their head battling supernatural forces at a party and seek out Buffy’s watcher and father-figure Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) for help. He had told them that he was taking the night off to have some adult time at a coffee house.

They find him there, and unaware that he had any musical ability, are surprised to see him playing the guitar and singing an acoustic cover of “Behind Blue Eyes” by The Who. The girls are very into it, but Xander, the lone male, finds it unsettling.

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Mork and Mindy (1978-1982)

When a singer booked at a friend’s restaurant ends up in the hospital giving birth: Mork (Robin Williams) volunteers out of the blue to fill in and sings a country song called “This Heart is Closed for Alterations”

To everyone’s surprise, he’s really good, though the spoken word verse in the language of his home planet probably confused the audience a bit. Then again, the band also had a “flamingo” guitarist, so things were already odd from the start.

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Martin (1992-1996)

Martin (Martin Lawrence) hires a plumber to unclog his toilet. When it appears that the man has died on the job, the group holds an impromptu funeral. Black church is in full session, with spirited singing/preaching from Tommy (Thomas Mikal Ford) and a robust Gospel rendering of “Ol’ Man River,” featuring all five of the main cast in fine voice.

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One Day at a Time (1975-1984)

I only occasionally watched this sitcom about a divorced mother raising two daughters. Years after its initial run, I remember catching an episode in which the older daughter, Julie (Mackenzie Phillips) is the lead singer in a bar band and rehearsing an original song. 

I was impressed with the vocal harmonies shared by her and the keyboardist, as well as his playing. The keyboardist was played by Greg Evigan, who starred alongside a chimpanzee in B.J. and the Bear.

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The Brady Bunch Hour (1976-1977)

The six Brady kids did plenty of singing on The Brady Bunch. Such as in the immortal Adios, Johnny Bravo episode, where Greg is offered a recording contract because he fits the suit. (The suit in question is a matador jacket, and I have no words.)

Once the show went off the air, the Brady family was featured in their very own variety show, where we got to hear even more singing, and not just from the kids. One sketch featured Greg (Barry Williams) moving into his own apartment, with both mother and son lamenting the separation. A montage of the two singing apart from each other ensues. 

Both of these songs mention romantic love. Barry Williams has gone on record that he and Florence Henderson went on a couple of dates. Putting it all together takes a mother and son duet in a horridly different direction than what surely was intended.  

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Battlestar Galactica (1978-79)

The original show only lasted a season. In the premier episode, there is a scene in a casino on a sinister planet. The entertainment is a creepy musical act consisting of three disco divas, all with two sets of eyes and two mouths, the latter giving them the ability to double harmonize with themselves. 

At the end of the song, one of them hits an impossibly low note that sounds somewhat like the drone from a Tuvan throat singer, shattering a cocktail glass. It’s all very musically fascinating and at the same time, an ominous warning that something is off.

The full version of the song:

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Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)

Once Rory’s best friend Lane Kim (Keiko Agena) takes up the drums and starts her punk inspired indie band, Hep Alien (an anagram of Helen Pai, who worked on the show in various capacities), there are a number of episodes that feature them.

One of the more memorable appearances of Hep Alien is when Jackson runs for town selectman, and the band agrees to play at his election rally. Much to their horror, they’re pretty much coerced into playing Jackson’s favorite song, the decidedly uncool “Theme from ‘The Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not)’”.  

They put their own spin on it and everything turns out great for all involved.

I’ll tell you one thing. I will never shed one tear for Taylor. So annoying.

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Monk (2002-2009)

In an episode featuring Willie Nelson as himself, we learn that Monk (Tony Shalhoub) can play the clarinet. The very end of the episode features a moving scene with no dialog- just Willie and Monk playing a song together at Monk’s wife’s grave. 

I’m not crying. You’re crying.

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The White Shadow (1978-1981)

A great show about a white NBA basketball player (Ken Howard) who gets injured and ends up taking a job coaching basketball at a predominantly black high school in South Central Los Angeles. The team gets into the habit of singing in the showers after practices and games.

People may find it odd to see a bunch of guys showering and singing together, but watching it as a high school student, it didn’t come across that way to me at all. In my experience, jocks and musicians tended to be in completely separate groups, so it was cool to see basketball players breaking into song. 

And they weren’t half bad.

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Friends (1994-2004)

Turns out Ross plays the keyboards. Only he doesn’t, really. But don’t tell him that.

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Moonlighting (1985-1989)

The show switched to Sunday nights during its fifth season.

As the opening theme music begins, Al Jarreau’s voice is missing from it. Crossing the line between the show’s world and the real world, as Moonlighting often did, David Addison (Bruce Willis) comes out of the Blue Moon office, into the soundstage and asks the musicians where Al is. 

Nobody knows. 

They all realize that no one told Al that the show had moved to Sunday nights, so he is not there to sing the theme song. 

He then gives it a go, but it’s noticeably terrible. 

Finally, accountant turned assistant investigator Herbert Viola (Curtis Armstrong) comes out to save the day:

And the episode can now begin.

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Ok, your turn:

What are some of your favorites?

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