Oh my oh my look how we have grown. The network MTV originally dubbed Music Television turns 30 today! 30 years ago today, on Aug. 1, 1981, a new cable network called MTV kicked off its broadcasting life. After its debut, MTV became a pop culture sensation, impacting and uniting TV and the music industry. Debut video jockey Mark Goodman told viewers that “you’ll never look at music the same way again.”
1st 'veejays': J.J. Jackson, Mark Goodman, Nina Blackwood, Alan Hunter, and Martha Quinn
The first video ever broadcast on the network was The Buggles’ "Video Killed the Radio Star." (How appropriate was that?) The network’s launch helped define the colorful ‘80s, at times provoking controversy, but most importantly producing pop superstars such as Madonna, Michael Jackson and Prince. It quickly became the voice of youth culture.
Though MTV changed the landscape of music by introducing us to the art form of the music video, it wasn't until 1983, that one artist broke the color barrier and redefined the music video itself...
During MTV's first few years on the air, very few black artists were included in rotation on the channel. Those who were in MTV's rotation included Eddy Grant, Tina Turner and Donna Summer. MTV rejected other black artists' videos, such as Rick James' "Super Freak", because they didn't fit the channel's rock dominated format at the time. The exclusion enraged James; he publicly advocated the addition of more black artists' videos on the channel. Rock legend David Bowie also questioned MTV's lack of black artists during an on-air interview with VJ Mark Goodman in 1983. MTV's original head of talent and acquisition, Carolyn B. Baker, who was black, had questioned why the definition of music had to be so narrow, as had a few others.
Before 1983, Michael Jackson also struggled to receive airtime on MTV. To resolve the struggle and finally "break the color barrier," the president of CBS Records at the time, Walter Yetnikoff, denounced MTV in a strong, profane statement, threatening to take away MTV's ability to play any of the record label's music videos. However, Les Garland, then acquisitions head, said he decided to air Jackson's "Billie Jean" video without pressure from CBS.This was contradicted by CBS head of Business Affairs David Benjamin in Vanity Fair. In any case, MTV began showing the "Billie Jean" video in regular rotation in 1983, forming a lengthy partnership with Jackson and helping other black music artists.
According to 'The Austin Chronicle', Jackson's video for the song "Billie Jean" was "the video that broke the color barrier, even though the channel itself was responsible for erecting that barrier in the first place." After airing Jackson's music videos, Jackson became even more popular. This move helped other black artists such as Prince, Whitney Houston, and Jackson's younger sister, Janet Jackson break into heavy rotation on the channel. Jonathan Cohen of Billboard magazine commented Janet Jackson's "accessible sound and spectacularly choreographed videos were irresistible to MTV, and helped the channel evolve from rock programming to a broader, beat-driven musical mix."
Today, MTV has changed, but whether they are playing a block of music videos or if they are running a marathon of 'Jersey Shore', the network proves to be a vital and influential piece of the music expansive and ever-changing music tapestry for the past 3 decades and they don't appear to be slowing down. Happy birthday MTV!
