I want my MTV! We were all saying it. And it was 43 years ago today, August 1, 1981, that we watched The Buggles kick off this new video music channel – and it was glorious. Music videos all day long.

MTV Defined All Things 80’s

The 80’s were a colorful, indulgent, “no worries” time if you were a teen. When MTV was launched, me and my friends would sit in front of the TV for hours, anxiously waiting for the next video. Who would it be? Michel Jackson’s Thriller? George Michael’s butt video (Faith)? Duran Duran in the boat (Rio)?

I want my MTV! Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, JJ Jackson, Martha Quinn, and Alan Hunter would give us all the info we needed on those videos, and artists, cause they were totally cool, and totally in the know.

MTV Perfected A Really Simple Concept

The concept behind MTV was simple: Show music videos and content related to music – all day long, every day. And it worked phenomenally. The golden age of MTV lasted from the early 1980s to around 1992, and in its heyday it had a massively huge impact on the music scene.

If you’re old enough to remember the launch of MTV on August 1st, 1981 at 12:01 A.M., this will bring you right back. Yes – somebody put the first two hours of MTV on YouTube, and it will immediately time machine you right back to that day, and time, and feel.

Everyone now knows the first video they played was “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles. You’ll also see all of the original VJs introduce themselves, plus the very first ad that ever aired on MTV, for a three-ring binder called The Bulk.  It was followed by a commercial for “Superman 2”.

MTV Made Music History

For many, the 80s and 90s represent the most interesting stage in music video history. With huge budgets to spend, a number of revolutionary music videos were released.

The iconic “Thriller” video, and A-ha’s amazingly clever and creative “Take On Me” represents music videos that were hugely influential at the time, that cemented MTV as a cultural force. There’ was incredibly powerful about visuals and imagery being combined with music. Each video was like a mini movie. And videos quickly became a large part of creating music.

Here is the link for that first two hours of MTV.  Go put on your neon Dolphin shorts, your headband, and your Reeboks, and scroll through it.

And here are the first ten videos that were played on MTV. I WANT MY MTV!

• 1. Video Killed The Radio Star - The Buggles

  How dare The Buggles mess with radio! But it was a bit prophetic, in the sense that VIDEOS changed the music scene entirely!

• 2. You Better Run - Pat Benatar

  Not the first version of this song. In 1966, with the band Listen, Robert Plant made his recording debut singing lead vocals on a cover version of “You Better Run”, which was released as a single by CBS Records.

• 3. She Won't Dance With Me - Rod Stewart

  The lyrics to ‘She Won’t Dance With Me’ contain the use of the word f***,  which remained unedited in the video. A very big deal!

• 4. You Better You Bet - The Who

  “You Better You Bet” was written by Pete Townshend as a love song for his girlfriend at the time. He says, “I developed [‘You Better You Bet’] over several weeks of clubbing and partying. I had gone through a lean period in my marriage and was seeing the daughter of a friend of mine. I wanted it to be a good song because the girl I wrote it for is one of the best people on the planet.”

• 5. Little Suzy's On The Up - Ph.D

  The song was released as Ph.D’s first single, appearing on their self-titled debut.  Tesla also covered the song in 1986 under the name “Little Suzi”. Tesla released the cover as the second single from their debut album, Mechanical Resonance. The single broke Tesla into the mainstream and was the most successful single from their debut album.

• 6. We Don't Talk Anymore - Cliff Richard

  The song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in August 1979, remaining there for four weeks. It was Cliff Richard’s tenth UK number one and his first since “Congratulations” in 1968.

• 7. Brass In Pocket - Pretenders

  The lyric describes the female singer about to have her first sexual encounter with a particular person, and it is expressing her confidence that it will be a successful experience!. According to a Rolling Stone magazine critic the song used “an iron fist as a metaphor for Chrissie’s sexual clout”. Me-ow!

• 8. Time Heals - Todd Rundgren

  Healing was Todd Rundgren‘s ninth studio album, released in 1981. The album is all about spirituality and the human condition. Things he touched on a lot in his earlier music, but not quite with the consistency in this album. Where every track explores a different aspect. 

• 9. Take It On The Run - REO Speedwagon

  This was the first concert video to be aired on MTV, from REO Speedwagon’s Live Infidelity home video release and it was so cool! But – the video was interrupted after 12 seconds due to technical difficulties. The technical difficulty moment contains only a blank black screen with a  tone for a few seconds before going back to the MTV studio. First day – bound to be some glitches.

• 10. Rockin' The Paradise - Styx

  Released as the fourth single from Styx tenth album Paradise Theatre. “A.D. 1928” is a short, piano-based song by Dennis DeYoung, set to the same melody as The Best of Times, that segues into Rockin’ the Paradise. These two tracks would serve as the opening songs of the Paradise Theatre album, but also its tour, and the 1996 Return to Paradise reunion tour.

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