August 1, 1981 – MTV begins airing music videos with the legendary opening, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Rock & Roll.”  That’s followed by the now familiar power-chord-fueled guitar riff theme. The first ten videos are: The Buggles “Video Killed The Radio Star”, Pat Benatar “You Better Run”, Rod Stewart “She Won’t Dance With Me”, The Who “You Better You Bet”, … Continue reading CDJ Today: August 1 in Classic rock →

At 12:01 AM on August 1, 1981, a truly groundbreaking change happened in the music industry when the fledgling cable network dubbed MTV signed onto the airwaves for the first time. Although the channel is now mostly devoid of actual music videos, MTV ushered in the dawn of the music video age, and created overnight … Continue reading 25 Interesting Facts About the Launch of MTV →

On this day in 1981, MTV debuted, changing the music industry. It launched with only 120 videos (approximately 8 hours worth of material) and The Buggles’ “Video Killed The Radio Star” was the first to air. It quickly became a US hit.