MTV's first broadcast

[DukeStreetKing]

Ok, the passing of JJ Jackson got me remembering the network and it's first broadcast.

August 1, 1981, midnight.

"Video Killed The Radio Star" by the Buggles was the very first video ever played.

It was the summer of my junior year in high school and the last month before I became a senior. Woohoo!!

Party at Nick A's house in New Milford, New Jersey.

Man, what a great time of my life!

Anyone else care to share?

 

[dturner]

I too remember that first airing of MTV and the countless hours I would spend in front of the TV hoping to see videos from my favorite bands. I was 19 and just recently married (to this day I don't know why I got married that early in life, LOL!). Those were the good old days of MTV when they actually played videos and NO COMMERCIALS! So sad for J.J. Jackson - he always seemed like a really nice guy.

 

[Annie&Hallie'sMom]

Oh those were the days...you could endless watch the videos over and over again. And it was all about Music Television. Mtv really made some careers happen too. If you had a video, you got played.

 

[ducklite]

Does anyone know what the second video played was? I know the third one was "I Wanna Be a Lifeguard" by Blotto.

Anne

 

[WDWHound]

I started watching MTV in 1983, back when they actually played music videos. I must admit I had a bit of a thing for Martha Quinn. She was my favorite VJ.

 

[TLinden16]

Did anyone else collect those old MTV pins? My mom's friend worked for the cable company, so she used to give them to me all the time. I probably still have a few kicking around somewhere.

I want my MTV

Karen

 

[hucifer]

Originally posted by ducklite
Does anyone know what the second video played was? I know the third one was "I Wanna Be a Lifeguard" by Blotto.

Anne

I think it was Rapture by Blondie. But I'm not certain.

 

[Grog]

We had cable for about a year before MTV came out. My Friends and I all got together to watch the premier of MTV. The good old days of "All music, all the time"... back when videos were fun. Now it seems there are more commercials than videos and every video has to convey a "message" of some sort.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We didn't have cable tv when MTV first aired. But I do remember the day I saw my first video. It was "Heart" and the video was .... oh crud I can't remember!

Was there a video in which Heart sang and fire was in the background? hmmmmm...

It could have been "Burning for you"

Anyway it was what we watched all day, everyday.

 

[hucifer]

Originally posted by ducklite
Does anyone know what the second video played was? I know the third one was "I Wanna Be a Lifeguard" by Blotto.

Anne

Okay, I was wrong. The second video was "You Better Run" by Pat Benatar. According to something I pulled up on the web, the third video was Rod Stewart's "She Won't Dance." I don't know how accurate this list is, though.

 

[lacool]

The sad part was we had cable, but our NJ suburb didn't start carrying MTV until much later. I remember seeing Duran Duran on a visit to my sister's house outside of Baltimore and thinking I had found Nirvana (the place, not the band).