Happy 35th Birthday, MTV: Here's the First Music Video You Ever Played
On this day in 1981, MTV began broadcasting for the first time.
The new cable channel was out to pioneer a new frontier in music broadcasting and for that, it’s first few minutes on air were very appropriate. At 12:01 a.m. Aug. 1, they played footage of 1981’s space shuttle launch and the 1969 moon landing (both set to rock music), followed by the first music video in the channel’s history -- the Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star.”
On Aug. 1, 1981, the world’s first music video channel was born. Monday (Aug. 1) marks 35 years of MTV, which made an even bigger star out of Michael Jackson and introduced us to pop stars like Britney Spears.
When the groundbreaking network turned 30 in 2011, Billboard polled readers for their favorite videos from the channel's first three decades. The list of the 30 best videos from MTV's first 30 years includes the 10 best videos from the '80s, '90s and '00s. Whether it’s TLC’s “Waterfalls,” Eminem’s “The Real Slim Shady,” Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” or Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation,” these 30 videos from iconic artists have stood the test of time.
To celebrate MTV's 35th birthday, vote for your favorite from the 30-video list -- or write in your own personal pick
today is also the first day of MTV Classic, which replaced VH1 Classic. they're playing back all the classics and retro unplugged's, even their 90's-00's MTV cartoons. I live
MTV changed the world, for both better and for worse, all throughout these 35 years. I miss TRL and all the music and non-music shows of the 1990s-mid 2000s.
In honor of MTV2 turning 20, here is MTV2 (M2)'s first video: Beck "Where It's At" (1996)
