MTV's 25th anniversary went off with little noise, but I was excited to discover that my fave cable channel, VH1 Classic, planned to spend all of August 1 playing MTV's very first day of programming.
I tuned in, and was slightly bummed to discover that VH1 Classic was just playing MTV's first day of videos. In other words, no first-day interstitials with Mark Goodman, JJ Jackson, Nina Blackwood, Martha Quinn or Alan Hunter (and by the way, how wild that I still remember all of their names without looking it up). False advertising, I'm afraid.
Still, it was a trip to witness what MTV actually played that first, fateful day: A lot of crap by people you've never heard of, including the smooth rock stylings of long-forgotten artists like Lee Ritenour and Rupert Hine. (I also kept stumbling across the same video by April Wine. Who?) On heavy repeat. But not all: MTV had also thrown in some Pretenders, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Blondie and even Kate Bush on day one. In between were several cheesy videos by Rod Stewart, REO Speedwagon... and Cliff Richards. Several by Mr. Richards, as a matter of fact.
Let's also just say that the art of the video had not yet been perfected when MTV signed on in 1981, for obvious reasons. Most of the clips were concert footage... or artists standing in front of a blue screen.
Then there was this one. Fleetwood Mac, which filmed the video for "Tusk" (featuring the USC Trojan marching band) on the field of Dodger Stadium. It's a low-budget affair starring the Fleetwoods Mac as they horse around with the Trojan helmets and the like. When you finally feel like the video is starting... it's over. Check it out:
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