Music Video of the Day: Love Stinks by J. Geils Band (1980, directed by Chuck Statler)

Posted on October 12, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

On August 1st, 1981, MTV premiered. Over the course of 24 hours, 166 unique music videos were played on MTV. Yes, there was a time when the M actually did stand for music.

The 78th video to premiere on MTV was the video for Love Stinks by J. Geils Band, a song that is rumored to have been inspired by Peter Wolf’s marriage to Faye Dunaway. This video was directed by Chuck Statler, who also directed several videos for Elvis Costello and Devo.

The First Videos Shown on MTV:

Music Video of the Day: Fashion by David Bowie (1980, directed by David Mallet)

Posted on October 11, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

On August 1st, 1981, MTV premiered. Over the course of 24 hours, 166 unique music videos were played on MTV. Yes, there was a time when the M actually did stand for music.

The 77th music video make its MTV premiere on August 1st was the video for one of David Bowie’s most enduring songs, Fashion. This video was directed at Hurrah, a New York nightclub that was owned by a friend of Bowie’s, Robert Boykin. Keep an eye out and you might spot Alan Hunter in the crowd. At the time that Fashion was shot, he was a struggling actor in New York. He was paid $50 for his appearance in this video and he got to meet Bowie. Months later, Hunter would be hired as one of MTV’s first VJs and presumably was paid more than $50.

Enjoy!

The First Videos Shown on MTV:

Music Video of the Day: Sister Disco by The Who (1979, directed by ????)

Posted on October 10, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

On August 1st, 1981, MTV premiered. Over the course of 24 hours, 166 unique music videos were played on MTV. Yes, there was a time when the M actually did stand for music.

The 76th video to premiere on MTV’s first day was the video for Sister Disco by The Who. Sister Disco was Pete Townshend’s way of announcing that, even though he liked a lot of disco music, The Who would never become a disco band. Even though they had a new drummer in Kenney Jones, The Who was going to keep playing the same type of music that made them famous.

This performance clip was filmed at The Concert For The People of Kampuchea, which was held in London in December of 1979. Other videos that were filmed at that same concert include Lucille by Rockestra and Little Sister, performed by Rockpile and Robert Plant.

Enjoy!

The First Videos Shown on MTV:

Music Video of the Day: I Got You by Split Enz (1980, directed by Noel Crombie)

Posted on October 9, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

On August 1st, 1981, MTV premiered. Over the course of 24 hours, 166 unique music videos were played on MTV. Yes, there was a time when the M actually did stand for music.

The 75h video to make its MTV debut on August 1st was the video for I Got You by Split Enz. Directed by band member Noel Crombie, the video features singer Neil Finn standing in a room, singing the song in front of a picture of the other band members. The picture sometimes comes to life to help Finn get through the song. On a day that was largely dominated by performance clips, this video gave an indication of both where MTV was heading and where it was going to eventually lead the music industry.

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The First Videos Shown on MTV:

Music Video of the Day: Come What May by Lani Hall and Herb Alpert (1980, directed by ????)

Posted on October 8, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

On August 1st, 1981, MTV premiered. Over the course of 24 hours, 166 unique music videos were played on MTV. Yes, there was a time when the M actually did stand for music.

The Pretenders video for Kid was followed by a re-showing of Iron Maiden’s video for Wrathchild. The Iron Maiden video was then followed by the 74th video to makes it MTV debut on that day, the video for Lani Hall and Herb Alpert’s Come What May. That Iron Maiden was followed by Lani Hall and Herb Alpert is a perfect example of how random MTV’s first day was. It’s also a reminder that, in 1981, there weren’t as many music videos to choose from as today. Some musicians made them. Most didn’t. MTV went with what they had and, on that first day, it did lead to some interesting juxtapositions.

This video is probably one of the lesser known to appear on MTV. Lani and Herb, though, are still married and still making wonderful music together.

Enjoy!

The First Videos Shown on MTV:

Music Video of the Day: Kid by The Pretenders (1979, directed by ????)

Posted on October 7, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

On August 1st, 1981, MTV premiered. Over the course of 24 hours, 166 unique music videos were played on MTV. Yes, there was a time when the M actually did stand for music.

According to Chrissie Hynde, Kid is about a mother who has a conversation with her young son after he discovers that she works as a prostitute. As Hynde put it, “Not all songs are autobiographical.” The video was shot in an amusement park, contrasting the happiness of kids at play with the sadness of the kid being addressed in the song.

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The First Videos Shown on MTV:

Music Video of the Day: Oh God, I Wish I Was Home Tonight by Rod Stewart (1980, directed by ????)

Posted on October 6, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

On August 1st, 1981, MTV premiered. Over the course of 24 hours, 166 unique music videos were played on MTV. Yes, there was a time when the M actually did stand for music

Proving that the music gods have a sense of humor, MTV followed the sublime video for Blondie’s Heart of Glass with yet another video from Rod Stewart. This performance clip is one of the 16 Rod Stewart videos that were played through MTV’s first day of broadcast.

Enjoy!

The First Videos Shown on MTV:

Music Video of the Day: Heart of Glass by Blondie (1978, directed by Stanley Dorfman)

Posted on October 5, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

On August 1st, 1981, MTV premiered. Over the course of 24 hours, 166 unique music videos were played on MTV. Yes, there was a time when the M actually did stand for music.

After airing the video for A Message To You, Rudy, MTV re-showed the video for In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins. This was followed by the 71st video to makes it MTV premiere that day, Heart of Glass by Blondie.

I was actually surprised to discover that this video hadn’t been featured on this site before because, to me, it just epitomizes an era. But I was actually even more surprised to discover that MTV only aired it once on August 1st. MTV found time play and re-play 11 Rod Stewart videos throughout the day but they could only find time for one airing of Heart of Glass?

Though it’s now one of the band’s signature tunes, Heart of Glass was controversial when it was first released. Many felt the Blondie, which had come to prominence as a part of the punk movement, was selling out by going disco. The song, though, is actually very punk in spirit, even if it does have a disco beat.

This video was directed by Stanley Dorfman, the British music video director who also created the deathless Top of the Pops for the BBC. Because of the appearance of Studio 54 in the video’s opening moments, it was originally rumored that the video was shot there. Instead, it was filmed at a club that closed down shortly after filming. When asked, Blondie’s Chris Stein couldn’t even remember the name of the club but thought that it might have been called Copa.

Finally, shortly after it was first released, the song was featured on an episode of WKRP in Cincinnati and the band felt that show played a huge role in making the song a hit. They even sent the show’s producer a gold record as a way of thanking them. That gold record could be seen in several episodes, hanging in the bullpen.

The First Videos Shown on MTV:

Music Video of the Day: A Message To You, Rudy by the Specials (1979, directed by ????)

Posted on October 4, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

On August 1st, 1981, MTV premiered. Over the course of 24 hours, 166 unique music videos were played on MTV. Yes, there was a time when the M actually did stand for music.

The 70th video to play on MTV was The Specials’s cover of A Message To You, Rudy. A Message To You, Rudy was originally recorded by Dandy Livingstone in 1968. The original version didn’t get much play but the Specials version, which was produced by Elvis Costello, was a different story, reaching the number 10 spot on the UK charts. This video features The Specials performing the song and it’s one of the few times that black musicians appeared on MTV during the channel’s first day of broadcast.

Enjoy!

The First Videos Shown on MTV:

Music Video of the Day: More Than I Can Say by Leo Sayer (1980, directed by ????)

Posted on October 3, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

On August 1st, 1981, MTV premiered. Over the course of 24 hours, 166 unique music videos were played on MTV. Yes, there was a time when the M actually did stand for music.

The 69th video play on MTV was the video for Leo Sayer’s version of More Than I Can Say, which features Leo as an artist who paints himself into a better existence. Visually, this feels like a precursor for A-ha’s video for Take On Me.

Enjoy!

The First Videos Shown on MTV: