No tickets needed, just an antenna.In the heyday of Beatlemania and the British Invasion, rock & roll acts did not need American Bandstand as an excuse to invade America's television sets. A bunch of garage and psychedelic groups popped up on the tube in the 1960s. If a band was based in Los Angeles and hot in the clubs, odds are it was booked on a show. Some were cult acts, some remain obscurities, others scored hits. (And a few of them are fictional.)
Neil Young does not seem like a likely suspect for a Mannix cameo, but there he is, on the right, ripping through "Bluebird" in the episode "Warning: Live Blueberries!"
This act with a name perfect for acid-laced bubblegum also appeared on Mannix, as well as on Hillbillies, playing "Robin Hood."
When the Penguin runs for mayor of Gotham in "Hizzoner The Penguin," the beloved Revolutionary rockers tear through "Vote for Penguin" and an instrumental.
The San Fran psych act plays its "Oz Lee Eaves Drop" on the pilot episode, "Teeth Of The Barracuda."
Larry Storch is the titular "Groovy Guru" who introduces Max and 99 to the fictional bovine band. The trio plays "Thrill! Thrill! Thrill!" — or is that "Kill! Kill! Kill!"?
In one of the great rock & roll performances of sitcom history, the influential garage giant storms through its hit "Pushin' too Hard," under the alias of the Warts. Keep an eye out for the episode, "How Not to Manage a Rock Group."
Lowell George of Little Feat brought his earlier act to the 19th century with this comical Beatles parody, the Bedbugs. You can catch them shakin' the wagon in "That's Showbiz."
The L.A. garage quartet played an instrumental in a nightclub on the medical drama.
The California act had a minor hit with "She Kissed Me Last Night," a single it performed on this infamous Jerry Van Dyke flop.
This obscure psychedelic ensemble wows the sisters with its trippy "A Whole New World."
Back to the Hillbillies, and "Hoe Down A-Go-Go," where this Sunset Strip combo rumbles through "Mojo Woman." Nancy Kulp digs 'em.
Rock & roll even made it to the daytime, as with this performance of rarity "Liar, Liar" on a soap opera.
Diana Ross & The Supremes (Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong) were guest stars as nuns on NBC’s Tarzan TV series starring Ron Ely in 1968. The episode was called “The Convert.”
The Monkees aired on the NBC network between September, 1966 and March, 1968. The series followed the adventures of (Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith, and Peter Tork) trying to make it big as a rock 'n roll band.
The animated cartoon series debuted in September, 1965 and new episodes ended in October, 1967.A total of 39 episodes were produced.
Swedish pop group ABBA (Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad) became one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of popular music, topping the charts worldwide from 1974-82.
Formed by members Vincent Crane and Carl Palmer, the band is best known for the hard, progressive rock sound of their hit singles, "Tomorrow Night" and "Devil's Answer", both in 1971.
