MTV Launches In America

August 1, 1981, MTV goes on the air, bringing music videos to the masses – at least the ones with cable.

With the words “Ladies and gentlemen: Rock and roll,” spoken by network co-creator John Lack, Viacom-owned MTV (“Music Television”) makes its broadcast debut.

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Following a montage of NASA footage, culminating in the iconic photo of an Apollo astronaut standing near the American flag he planted on the Moon (but with the Stars And Stripes replaced by the network’s logo), MTV segues into its first music video, “Video Killed The Radio Star” by British duo The Buggles, which had peaked at #40 in the US back in 1979, but was a #1 hit in five European countries. It’s followed by Pat Benatar’s “You Better Run,” Rod Stewart’s “She Won’t Dance with Me,” The Who’s “You Better You Bet,” and “Little Suzi’s On the Up” by the rather less-remembered British duo Ph.D.

Pre-MTV, music videos existed primarily to promote singles by already popular bands; one early example is the clip for “Strawberry Fields Forever,” which along with a promo for “Penny Lane” was played on American Bandstand and The Ed Sullivan Show in lieu of The Beatles performing.

Various attempts to launch music video TV channels were made throughout the 1970s, without major success. Involved in some of these efforts were Lack and Robert Pittman, who would become MTV’s president/CEO and help turn it into a worldwide sensation, eventually making it cable’s first profitable network.