MTV - 40th Anniversary - 8/1/981



August 1, 1981 - 40 Years Ago Today: MTV was launched at 12:01AM EDT. The first music video played was "Video Killed The Radio Star" by The Buggles. The original purpose of MTV was to be "music television" playing music videos 24/7, guided by on-air personalities known as VJs, or video jockeys. The original slogans of the channel were "You'll never look at music the same way again", and "On cable. In stereo." Noteworthy: The second video to be played was Pat Benatar's cover of The Young Rascals 1966 hit, "You Better Run." Benatar benefitted greatly due to her exposure on the video channel as did many young artists who began their recording careers in the late '70s and early '80s. Please click the following link to view the accompanying video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBf0yJVMSzI

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