While it’s hard for some of us (*cough*) older (*cough*) folk to believe that it’s been thirty whole years since MTV launched, in a lot of ways, it’s hard to remember a time when MTV wasn’t around. Of course, for people who consider themselves either Gen Y or a Millenial, MTV is something that is generally taken for granted because it’s always been there, but for those of us who are Gen X or older, the launch of MTV on August 1, 1981 was something that we now recognize as having impacted our culture in ways too numerous to count.
As we look back at 30 years of MTV—highlights of which have been playing all weekend long on VH1 Classic—we thought we’d take this opportunity to throw you back to the beginning of an era, days that even predated visionary video artists like Michael Jackson and Madonna. Of course, every trivia nut worth their salt knows that “Video Killed The Radio Star” was the first video ever played on MTV, but what about the next 29? Take a gander at our list below of the first 30 videos ever played on Music Television, filled with some artists that were later inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame (Rod Stewart, The Pretenders, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) and some that we had never even HEARD of before today (PH.D, Robin Lane and the Chartbusters).
1) Buggles – “Video Killed the Radio Star”
2) Pat Benatar – “You Better Run”
3) Rod Stewart – “She Won’t Dance With Me”
4) The Who – “You Better Bet”
5) PH.D – “Little Susie’s On the Top”
6) Cliff Richards – “We Don’t Talk Anymore”
7) Pretenders – “Brass in Pocket”
8) Todd Rundgren - “”Time Heals”"
9) REO Speedwagon – “”Take It On The Run”
10) Styx – “Rocking Paradise”
11) Robin Lane and the Chartbusters – “When Things Go Wrong”
12) Split Enz – “History Never Repeats”
13) .38 Special – “Hold On Loosely”
14) April Wine – “Just Between You And Me”
15) Rod Stewart – “Sailing”
16) Iron Maiden – “Iron Maiden”
17) REO Speedwagon – “Keep On Loving You”
18) Michael Johnson – “Bluer Than Blue”
19) The Pretenders – “Message Of Love”
20) Lee Ritenour – “Mr. Briefcase”
21) The Cars – “Double Life”
22) Phil Collins – “In The Air Tonight”
23) Robert Palmer – “Looking For Clues”
24) Shoes – “Too Late”
25) Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty – “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around”
26) Rod Stewart – “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy”
27) Rupert Hine – “Surface Tension”
28) Split Enz – “One Step Ahead”
29) Gerry Rafferty – “Baker Street”
30) Pat Benatar – “I’m Gonna Follow You”
