# Best TV musical performance you've seen **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 17, 2012, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760 "2012-01-17T02:26:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760/21 "2012-01-17T22:43:50Z")
Best hour of music I’ve ever seen on TV: Austin City Limits, 1991- Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks Reunion; DH and The Acoustic Warriors (I’m lucky to have taped this, as it’s never been rebroadcast or released.) Best short musical performance: SNL, 1979: Linda Rondstat & Phoebe Snow, “It’s In His Kiss” (also has Robert Fripp playing with the backing band) . ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760/22 "2012-01-17T22:57:59Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > Maybe it’s only because I haven’t been able to find a video to re-watch, so I’m remembering through rose-colored earbuds, but around 2003-4, there was a Grammy performance that blew me away: Outkast + Earth Wind & Fire + P-Funk, doing a medley of several songs. Thinking back, it was probably way cheesier than it should have been, but it was just so… funky. And happy. Made you just want to get up and dance… > > It may not have been the best televised performance I’ve ever seen, (that was probably the 1989 Stevie Ray Vaughn Austin City Limits mentioned above,) but I seriously enjoyed it. It was [2004](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xdh26_funk-clinton-earth-wind-fire_news) ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760/23 "2012-01-17T22:59:22Z")
Mandy Patinkin is awesome. Someone mentioned his role as Inigo Montoya, but I remember him best in his role on _Criminal Minds_ (this is when I get a chance to cringe in expected mockery). He was Jason Gideon, the leader of the totally improbable team of FBI profilers. It really didn’t suck. (Waiting for wet dishrags and rotten apples to be thrown at him). ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760/24 "2012-01-17T23:11:55Z")
Remember the overwrought 1980 pop song _Into the Night_? [Here’s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA3tFmnTULQ) Benny Mardones in a 1990 HBO benefit tribute to Roy Orbison, singing Roy’s _Running Scared_. The audience goes from “Who’s this fucking guy?” to “Holy fuck! Did you hear that guy?” ---
**Author:** ![expectopatronum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/expectopatronum/32/173_2.png) [@expectopatronum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/expectopatronum)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760/25 "2012-01-17T23:18:40Z")
not the best ever, but a good one from last month: josh krajcik’s rendition of “hallelujah” from the last cycle of x factor. i really think he should have saved that performance for the final vote, his chances would’ve been better. it moved me to tears. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760/26 "2012-01-17T23:51:50Z")
> [@well\_he\_s\_back](#): > > Ok – I know people will laugh at this choice but, anyway. Like many of you I am not a fan of ‘American Idol’. I only watched it the year of the TV writer’s strike – away from family, not much to do, not many shows to watch. David Cook won. He hasn’t become very famous or anything, but really is a fantastic singer & performer. Anyway, his last performance as a competitor was really special, considering the enormous pressure he was under, and that Simon Cowell had basically been telling him all night that he wasn’t good enough to win. Here is it, a cover of Collective Soul’s “The World I Know” > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRjI1WOid0o](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRjI1WOid0o) I think he’s really good, FWIW, and I really liked his song selection too. I claim to hate American Idol and I never watch it when the show airs…but I will catch glimpses of it on Youtube and whatnot and it almost never fails to make my eyes leak, starting with the Susan Boyle thing. Damn tobacco bits I put in the corners of my eyes, trying to stay awake…🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760/27 "2012-01-17T23:58:16Z")
I am amazed at how good Patinkin is. I found out that before he played on ‘Criminal Minds’, he was on stage playing and winning an Emmy for _Evita_. Well doggone, no wonder he is so good. This guys has pipes. I say this as a singer. One of my only useful skills. My OG this guy can sing. I had no idea. I knew he left _Criminal Minds_ because he genuinely hated the gore and violence inherent in the series. I miss his work, but the writers have done a pretty good job of replacing him. He brought a really nuanced characterization to what had, at that time, become as a genre quite boring. However, his exit and then finding out that he is an incredibly talented actor/singer is kickbutt! ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760/28 "2012-01-18T00:42:03Z")
One of the best televised performances I’ve seen would be Cyndi Lauper’s cover of Joni Mitchell’s [Carey](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0RCDHBw50Q) at an all star tribute to Joni. The best parts of the video (besides Cyndi) are the shots of Joni _moving_ in her chair, gracefully wearing Cyndi’s performance as the tribute it is. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760/29 "2012-01-18T01:31:13Z")
The Wallflowers and Bruce Springsteen doing One Headlight on the [1997 MTv Video Music Awards](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcgxQOUpczo). ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760/30 "2012-01-18T02:15:48Z")
Who knew that in the middle of the cheese-fest that was American Idol Gives Back, we’d hear something like [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6464zXWX5rc)? I was never a big Kelly Clarkson fan but, …damn. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760/31 "2012-01-18T02:25:47Z")
I’m not sure if it’s the clip that’s already been mentioned, but I was really blown away by the Vaughn Brothers duet that I saw on MTV, both of them wailing away on a single double-necked guitar. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760/32 "2012-01-18T02:27:34Z")
> [@Meltdown](#): > > Another vote for Mandy Patinkin on Letterman, but for a different song. I remember seeing the beginning of [Somewhere Over the Rainbow](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CswSMdQ2TDE) and reaching for the remote. But it drew me in. Note especially the emotion he brings around the 2:30 mark. Having watched the Wizard of Oz countless times as a kid, I never really thought of it as a song of frustration, but it’s all there in the lyrics. It was an absolute crime for Barbra S. to cast him in a movie musical and not have him sing. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760/33 "2012-01-18T02:40:42Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > Remember the overwrought 1980 pop song _Into the Night_? [Here’s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA3tFmnTULQ) Benny Mardones in a 1990 HBO benefit tribute to Roy Orbison, singing Roy’s _Running Scared_. > The audience goes from “Who’s this fucking guy?” to “Holy fuck! Did you hear that guy?” His finish was awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760/34 "2012-01-18T02:52:36Z")
One of the best I’ve seen would have to be Queen stealing the show at Live-Aid. Freddy Mercury at his best; he had the crowd of 72,000 at Wembley Stadium in the palm of his hand. [Bohemian Rhapsody & Radio Ga Ga](http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=lDckgX3oU_w) [Hammer To Fall & Crazy Little Thing Called Love](http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=MfYcKNqQoJo) [We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions](http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=IGUdjHUVd18) ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760/35 "2012-01-18T03:04:11Z")
> [@Labtrash](#): > > It was [2004](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xdh26_funk-clinton-earth-wind-fire_news) Thanks! Still makes me want to dance! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760/36 "2012-01-18T03:58:54Z")
> [@Meltdown](#): > > Another vote for Mandy Patinkin on Letterman, but for a different song. I remember seeing the beginning of [Somewhere Over the Rainbow](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CswSMdQ2TDE) and reaching for the remote. But it drew me in. Note especially the emotion he brings around the 2:30 mark. Having watched the Wizard of Oz countless times as a kid, I never really thought of it as a song of frustration, but it’s all there in the lyrics. He certainly did leave Judy in the dust on that one. In fact my answer to the OP is \*anything \*sung by Mandy Patinkin. I saw him with Bernadette Peters 3 times, in \*Sunday in the Park with George. \*According to Stephen Sondheim (and I’m paraphrasing): “We are blessed to live at the same time as Mandy Patinkin.” ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760/37 "2012-01-18T06:58:28Z")
I didn’t see it when it aired (on whatever channel it was on), but I love [this Jeff Healey performance of “See the Light”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikHI7_PMFNc). He goes all out, takes some big risks, and totally nails it. [NPH’s rendition of “What You Own”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miZJ_r9oS6A) also sticks with me, possibly because it was the first time I’d heard anything from _RENT_. Unfortunately the video and sound quality in the link are kind of crap. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760/38 "2012-01-18T14:27:46Z")
Judy Garland doing “Battle Hymn of the Republic” in tribute to President Kennedy three weeks after a commie murdered him. > **[The Legacy of 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic'](https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2010/11/the-battle-hymn-of-the-republic-americas-song-of-itself/66070/)** > > The anthem, first published in The Atlantic Monthly 150 years ago, mirrors how the country feels about war ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760/39 "2012-01-18T14:59:30Z")
What a fun thread - I am enjoying clicking on the links and hearing some great stuff. I’ve loved Patinkin for a long time too. I’m glad at least two other folks here also liked David Cook. Here is a fine musical TV performance by him on Idol of Chris Cornell’s version of “Billie Jean”. Deserves to be mentioned here because it was such a game-changer for that show, not to mention so well done: [David Cook - Billie ( Billy ) Jean - American Idol Top 10 - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_aiawC-9aM) ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760/40 "2012-01-18T15:49:10Z")
Later with Jools Holland is pretty hard to beat for the quality of the performances. I don’t know what it is about their set-up but, regardless of the type of act they have on, they always sound their best. Even though you may not be a fan of their work. Some classics that caught my attention. [Grounds for Divorce](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM3nrtuRHp4) by Elbow [“That’s not my name”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTulPWcN-gg&feature=fvwrel) by the Ting Tings ["The Suburbs"](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npIKkauSVqU)by Arcade Fire [“Pyro”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBpaXEgI0TQ) by Kings of Leon And something a little less obvious, [“The Look”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEvoY-ygd-A) by Metronomy. I not suggesting these as favourite bands of mine, but I think the show in general tends to give a great live platform. If you can’t sound good here …forget it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-musical-performance-youve-seen/609760.md?page=3)