In the ’60s the hip place to make a cameo appearance was the campy “Batman” series (although plenty of people showed up on “Scooby-Doo” too).
In the ’70s celebs had to hit the high seas on “Love Boat” or climb into that tiny seaplane and fly to “Fantasy Island.”
These days all that’s required is a trip to “30 Rock.”
The season finale of the Emmy-winning, Tina Fey/Alec Baldwin show featured a slew of musical guests, including Mary J. Blige, Clay Aiken, Elvis Costello, Norah Jones, Cyndi Lauper, Sheryl Crow, Wyclef Jean, Moby, Ad-Rock and Steve Earle.
The premise of the episode was a “benefit concert” for Milton Green (Alan Alda), the biological father of Baldwin’s character, who’s in need of a kidney transplant.
And in true “We Are the World” style the artists lined up to take part in the “Kidney Now!” campaign and warble a tune about – yep, Milton’s kidney.
Here are some sample lyrics from “He Needs a Kidney”:
“Sometimes life brings pain and strife / And all seems wrong / That is when you find a friend / And write a song.”
“And just give a kidney / To a father or a dad / Just give a kidney / We hear it doesn’t really hurt that bad.”
“This country has six hundred million kidneys / And we really only need half / That leaves about three hundred million kidneys / Do the math.”
There’s a lot more, as you can see for yourself here.
NBC is going all the way with the joke, setting up a Web page for the “Kidney Now!” campaign and offering the track on iTunes, with profits from the sale going to the National Kidney Foundation.
More info is available here.
Friday, May 15
Mel B, Jo Koy, Natasha Leggero – “Chelsea Lately” – rerun
Mastadon – “Late Show with David Letterman”
Kings of Leon – “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”
Yusuf Islam – “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon”
Eminem – “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
All-American Rejects – “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson”
Friendly Fires – “Last Call with Carson Daly”
Saturday, May 16
My Morning Jacket – “Austin City Limits” – rerun
Will Ferrell, Green Day – “Saturday Night Live”
Monday, May 18
Jamie Foxx – “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”
Earth, Wind & Fire – “The Tavis Smiley Show”
John Caparulo, Loni Love – “Chelsea Lately”
Keith Urban – “George Stroumboulopoulos”
White Rabbits – “Late Show with David Letterman”
Kirk Fox – “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”
Method Man & Redman – “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon”
Dane Cook, Franz Ferdinand – “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” – rerun
Crystal Antlers – “Last Call with Carson Daly” – rerun