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Music Videos
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 Music Video History The history of music videos and the birth of MTV and other video shows |  1980s Music Videos Screenshots, links and sites where you can watch classic music videos online | |||
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The advent of music videos made the 1980s totally unlike any decade that came before. music videos as promotional tools Music videos (as we know them) were first used by pop musicians in the 1960s to promote themselves and their albums. They weren't the creative masterpieces we see today: typical videos did nothing more than place the musicians on a nicely decorated set and have them lip-synch to their latest hits. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, these video clips were used by record companies to advertise their artists, and were often shown on TV when a band wasn't able to appear on a particular show in person. Musicians in Europe and the U.K. used them quite frequently, since it was far easier to gain exposure in America by sending over a video clip than it was to send over an entire band. Videos weren't intended to be entertainment in and of themselves--they were simply promotional tools. Of course, the madcap videos produced for The Monkees TV show were an exception to this. They were certainly years ahead of their time! 1975-1981 Everything changed in 1975 with the release of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." The song's elaborate video caused a sensation when it was shown on TV. People wanted to see more, which caused the music industry to see videos in a whole new light. Videos could now be viewed as entertainment rather than just promotional tools. They became more creative by telling stories and using special effects. In America, music videos were slow to catch on, but they became very popular in Europe and Australia, where they were called pop clips. Artists who experimented with music videos during this time included ABBA, Michael Jackson, Rod Stewart, Devo, Todd Rundgren, David Bowie, Blondie and ex-Monkee Mike Nesmith, who produced the groundbreaking Elephant Parts. |
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MTV is born August 1, 1981  | Music videos were still uncharted territory in 1981, when Music Television first went on the air. Most cable markets didn't carry the channel, and there were less than 200 videos to choose from. Still, it was an idea whose time had come. MTV was originally intended to be similar to a radio station, with videos instead of records. Music videos were shown 24 hours a day, and were introduced by VJs in much the same way that a DJ would introduce a song. Here is how it all started..... | ||
In 1979, American Express purchased one-half of Warner Cable. This union resulted in the creation of the Warner AMEX Satellite Entertainment Company (WASEC), which was put in charge of developing new cable channels for satellite distribution. After launching the Movie Channel and Nickelodeon, they turned their attention to planning a third channel. John Lack (the #2 man at WASEC) favored a music-oriented theme for this new channel. During this time, Mike Nesmith was producing promotional clips for his own songs. He saw a bright future for the new medium, but realized that America really had no forum for airing music videos. In 1978, he produced a 30-minute music video show called Popclips and tried to sell it to the major networks, but without success. Jack Holtzman, an executive at Warner Records, suggested that he go and meet with John Lack at WASEC. The theme of WASEC's third channel was still undecided, but Lack liked the idea of music video programming. He asked Nesmith to produce another pilot episode, and if the idea worked, he would air the series on Nickelodeon for the time being. Nesmith produced a new show, which was tested in Columbus, Ohio and was a sensation. Nesmith produced a whole batch of Popclips episodes, and in March 1980 they debuted on Nickelodeon. 1980: It became official: WASEC's third channel would showcase music videos. At this point, Mike Nesmith decided to opt out. A staff was hired and a "vision" was created, and in January 1981 the idea was presented to the chief executives of Warner Cable and American Express. The answer was a VERY reluctant "yes." |
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1981: WASEC set a target date of August 1, 1981. There was much to do in the next six months! An "uplink" facilty was constructed on Long Island. This was where the transmission would originate from. The channel would play mainstream album-oriented rock (with a little New Wave thrown in), and would provide continuous programming rather than separate shows. After considering both TV-1 and TV-M, the name MTV was chosen. The Manhattan Design studio created the familiar "big M" logo, which is still in use today. The channel would need a rule-breaking "in your face" attitude in order to become a part of youth culture, and both the name and the logo reflected this. Not everything went smoothly. Selling the service to cable providers and advertisers proved to be very difficult. Persuading the major record labels to provide free videos wasn't very easy, either. In order to keep costs down, free public-domain footage would be used for promos whenever possible. Obtaining the videos, cleaning them up, converting them to stereo and superimposing credits at the beginning and end of each tape was time-consuming. | ||
On-air personalities would be needed to introduce the videos and conduct interviews. Over 1,500 people applied, and auditions were held in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Five video jockeys were hired: J.J. Jackson, Mark Goodman, Meg Griffin, Nina Blackwood and Alan Hunter. It was decided that the VJ segments would be prerecorded, rather than done live. A studio was chosen and a set was constructed. This set, with its wooden beams and exposed brick, was inspired by Saturday Night Live's trendy "New York loft" set. |
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As the starting date approached, the pace became frantic. Ten record labels had agreed to provide free videos. The VJs were busy taping both their regular segments and band interviews. Cable systems and advertisers were slowly being lined up. Quirky, cutting-edge promos were being produced, including an introductory clip using footage from the Apollo 11 moon landing. Suddenly, crisis! With less than two weeks to go, Meg Griffin, one of the VJs, backed out. In a panic, WASEC agreed to audition a last-minute applicant, who turned out to be terrific. Martha Quinn was hired as the fifth VJ. | ||
Martha Quinn: "I was a college intern at a local radio station when someone suggested I audition to be a 'VJ' on this new cable channel called MTV. Now when you say 'audition to be a VJ' there are thousands of people in Times Square. But in 1981, I said, 'What's a VJ?' I soon found out when I went to the audition (without any makeup!) and was hired to be one of the first five MTV VJs. OK, question for you guys: Can you name the other four? If you said Alan Hunter, J.J. Jackson, Nina Blackwood and Mark Goodman, you were right! For the record, we are all still close today. I wasn't sure if MTV would last or not. Videos were uncharted territory and everyone was saying no one would watch them. Ha!" |
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August 1, 1981: At 12:01 a.m., TV viewers saw a clip of a rocket lifting off. This was followed by clips of the lunar module landing on the moon and Neil Armstrong planting an MTV flag on the surface. As the music kicked in, a voice (John Lack's) announced, "Ladies and gentlemen....rock and roll." MTV had 13 advertisers and was being shown in only 800,000 homes. On that first night, all the VJ clips were shown in the wrong order, some of the promos had no sound and there was dead air when technicians switched from one tape machine to the other. But IT WAS ON. "When we went on the air," says Tom Freston, chairman and CEO of MTV Networks, who at the time was head of marketing, "we had 168 clips. And 30 of them were Rod Stewart." The first video shown was "Video Killed The Radio Star" by the Buggles. The second video was "You Better Run" by Pat Benatar. During the first hour, MTV aired videos by Rod Stewart, the Who, the Pretenders and Styx. | ||
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search for YouTube clips MTV Promos Bohemian Rhapsody Video Killed The Radio Star Elephant Parts MTV links Official MTV Website Martha Quinn Thoughts On MTV MTV Through The Years List Of MTV VJs The First Videos Aired On MTV |
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MTV timeline 8/81: MTV broadcasts its first concert: REO Speedwagon 10/81: MTV's first contest: Win A One-Night Stand With Journey. 11/81: MTV's second contest: Win A Night With The Rolling Stones 12/81: the first New Years Eve Rock & Roll Ball 2/82: MTV House Party: the winner received a dream party and stereo equipment 3/82: the "I Want My MTV!" advertising campaign is launched 8/82: MTV celebrates its first anniversary by televising a Go Go's concert 9/82: MTV finally airs in Los Angeles and Manhattan 3/83: after being criticized for not showing videos by black artists, MTV premieres Michael Jackson's "Beat It" and "Billie Jean" videos 9/84: Dan Aykroyd and Bette Midler host the first MTV Video Music Awards 3/86: the first broadcast from Florida during Spring Break 5/86: "Downtown" Julie Brown is the first new VJ in five years 6/86: J.J. Jackson and Nina Blackwood are the first of the original VJs to leave 8/87: Club MTV and MTV Europe both debut 9/87: The Week In Rock and the game show Remote Control air for the first time 8/88: Yo! MTV Raps is launched 6/89: Cindy Crawford hosts the first House Of Style | ||
MTV paves the way MTV wasn't the first outlet for music videos on television, but it was certainly the most popular. They took an untested art form and made it legitimate. Other video shows and channels included: *The Kenny Everett Video Show (England, 1978-1981) *America's Top Ten (syndicated, 1980-1992) * Friday Night Videos (NBC, 1983-2000) * Night Tracks (TBS Superstation, 1983-1992) * Video Hits One (VH-1) (1985, for viewers aged 25-54) *New York Hot Tracks (ABC, 1983-1989) * Night Flight (USA Network, 1981-1988) *Video Jukebox (HBO, 1981) *Radio 1990 (USA Network, 1983) * MuchMusic (1984, Canada cable channel) Music videos created a new kind of star, and suddenly how a musician looked became just as important as the quality of their music. Image was everything. With their stylish videos and trendy appearance, musicians like Madonna and Duran Duran took full advantage of this. Music videos had a huge influence on pop culture in the 1980s. Clothing and hairstyles became colorful and fun, just like the videos themselves. On TV, commercials and shows like Miami Vice began to resemble music videos. In fact, when Miami Vice was first pitched to TV executives, its working title was MTV Cops.
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1980s Music Videos
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