Celebrate The 30th Anniversary Of 'The Cosby Show' With A Trip Back In Time Through The Huxtables Top 10 Musical Moments.
The Cosby Show marked the 30th anniversary of its debut this past Saturday. We celebrate the prime time series created by legendary comedian Bill Cosby with a trip back through the top 10 musical moments viewers have shared with The Huxtables over the decades since the show's launch on September 20, 1984. The Cosby Show captured the hearts of households across the country with a pioneering format that served as a vital platform for arts, culture, higher education and social commentary. The series offered a positive portrayal of African-Americans at a time when prime time programs were not explicitly constructed to challenge commonly held stereotypes or champion people of color.
Bill Cosby quickly became America's dad as many viewers experienced growing pains and digested advice alongside the Cosby Kids or found themselves enamored of the healthy and often heart-warming romance between Claire and Cliff. For every memorable season of the show that fans can recall, there is also a lively family musical number or tender moment scored by a smoky jazz recording. Beginning with the amazing opening themes from the show's eight seasons, touching on the family's love of jazz and blues and ultimately breaking down the show's importance to hip-hop, the videos collected here illustrate just a few of the Huxtable family's top musical moments. Check out the footage below, then click through to get a taste of the sounds and great performances that have made The Cosby Show invaluable to generations of viewers.
1. Rudy steals the show during a classic family performance of Ray Charles' "Night Time Is The Right Time"
2.Stevie Wonder demonstrates the synchlavier sampler during the family's visit to his studio, where they combine to compose "Jammin On The One." Questlove recently explained the importance of this episode during a chat with Democracy Now!
3. The Huxtable family performs James Brown's "I Got The Feeling" for grandparents Russell and Anna's anniversary.
4. Olivia sings Koko Taylor's "I'm a Woman" with Cliff and Rudy as her backing band. Check out the bonus video below.
5. Trombone master Slide Huxtable aka Grandpa comes out of retirement to play with the original members of the Jazz Caravan. Skip to 16:30 to view the performance.
6. Theo and Cockroach bring hip-hop to the table during the first "golden era" with their Shakespeare-inspired "Julius Caesar Rap."
Legendary South African singer and activist Miriam Makeba talks about Africa and sings for the family.
8. Kenny sings the blues with B.B. King and scares Rudy off in the process.
9. Cliff teaches Theo to beg and sing the blues after messing up with his girlfriend. The result is the unforgettable ditty, "Justine, Justine."
10.Cliff and Claire share one of their many romantic moments to Big Maybelle's "Candy"
