Earth, Wind & Fire "Shining Star"

July 5, 1989 is the date that changed television history: Seinfeld premiered -- although it was actually called The Seinfeld Chronicles. NBC believed so little in the pilot that they aired it the day after Independence Day without any desire to pick up the pilot. Despite this, the show actually finished a respectable second-place in its time slot behind CBS-TV's Jake & The Fat Man. Aftering unsuccessfully shopping the show to FOX, it appeared The Seinfeld Chronicles was dead. However, an NBC executive believed so much in the show, he cut money from other projects and used those savings to order four more episodes to complete the show's first "season" -- he actually took money out of a budget for a Bob Hope special to make Seinfeld. About a year later, in May 1990, episode two of Seinfeld aired complete with a rebroadcast of the pilot. Five simple episodes comprised Season 1 of Seinfeld, and critics were intrigued enough to help buoy the show. NBC ordered a second season of the show -- albeit a short order of only 12 episodes. Creators Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David never believed NBC would pick up the show, but -- once again -- NBC bought in. By Season 3, NBC knew it had a hit on its hands and the show's audience continued to grow where it became part of their vaunted Thursday night "Must-See-TV" lineup. 

Tina Turner - "Better Be Good to Me"

Friday nights on NBC not only contained the hip cop show Miami Vice, but also played host to an amazing soundtrack of songs.  One episode of Miami Vice featured Tina Turner's "Better Be Good to Me".  The song would later be included in the show's first soundtrack which also featured music from Glenn Frey, Jan Hammer, Chaka Khan, and Phil Collins among others.

Evanescence - "My Immortal"

Believe it or not, Friends went off the air over 12 years ago.  During the Spring of 2003, NBC heavily promoted the series finale with promos that featured the song "My Immortal" by Evanescence.

Enya - "Only Time"

What does the TV show Friends and 9/11 have in common with Enya?  Both helped make "Only Time" Enya's biggest hit to date.  NBC used "Only Time" in television promos for Friends during the summer of 2001.  Following the September 11th attacks, the song was remixed and re-released with proceeds going to help families of firefighters.  "Only Time" shot to #1 on the Adult Contemporary charts and turned Enya into something more than just a soundtrack to your massage.