Bonzo Brad's Heavy Metal Thunder: Happy 30th Birthday to a Dying Breed that is MTV!

30 years ago today, a little contraption on the cable television called MTV debuted. Little would the VJs and crew of this contraption know what kind of effect MTV would have on the world…and also what dramatic changes the channel would have within 30 years. The channel would become a way to get your music news and finding out about new bands to becoming a way to get the new drama on a teen and her baby to finding out about who is next in line to get the face fucked up. MTV is nowhere near a music channel anymore, which is unfortunate, because that was what the channel was all about at the time. Hell, even their cartoons showed videos! (Beavis and Butthead, you guys fucking rule.) So, my way of saying happy birthday to a dying breed that is MTV is to give you my top 5 favorite music videos that first aired on August 1, 1981. How I found these was, one, a list online of all the first videos to be aired on this day today in 1981, and two, from what I watched of the very first hour of MTV aired at midnight of August 1, 1981. So, as MTV said at the launch of the channel at midnight of this day, “Ladies and Gentleman, ROCK AND ROLL.”

5. Rainbow – “Can’t Happen Here”

Gonna start backwards and go from 5 to 1, starting with a little band that former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore put together called Rainbow. His little band happened to have 2 videos air this day in 1981, which was quite the deal for them, but also, it was because the channel only had some odd videos in their collection. This video is well, very 80s. With its footage of everyday life and the cartoon images of oil in the city popping up here and there, the video is definitely trying to get it’s message out about how people are getting greedy about their oil, a message that is still very clear today. This song happens to be one of my favorite Rainbow tunes, and the video isn’t half bad. It’s just…again, very 80s.

4. April Wine – “Just Between You and Me”

April Wine was a great little Canadian hard rock band that was having a grand little time in the states at this time in 1981. Not only did they have a monster of an album in “The Nature of the Beast”, but they also had 2 hit singles here in the US with “Sign of the Gypsy Queen” and this tune here. These 2 songs happened to have videos that accompanied them, and both of those videos happened to air on the day MTV debuted, which is pretty rad for them, I’d say. I decided to choose this video just because it is one of my favorite power ballads and also, the video is extremely simple: A band in a live setting playing their instruments and keeping it real as possible. Not many videos like this anymore. Hell, not many VIDEOS anymore.

3. Iron Maiden – “Wrathchild”

I was rather surprised to find that Iron Maiden was played on the very first day of MTV. I was also surprised they had not only 1, but 2, videos played on this day, one being “Iron Maiden” and the other this one. Iron Maiden was starting to become somewhat successful here in the States, with a “killer” new album out at the time (pun intended, since their album at the time was called “Killers.” I make myself piss my pants in laughter.) and a successful tour with Judas Priest. So, to get this kind of exposure would definitely be a helpful thing for them, especially later on in their career. Again, another simple ass video with a band and their instruments playing their asses off. You don’t get shit like this anymore.

2. Pat Benatar – “You Better Run”

I know what you are thinking. “This is a hard rock/heavy metal blog, dude! BENATAR? Not even close, my friend!” See, that is where you are fucking wrong! She definitely is a rock singer, and her music is pretty hard rockin, and she also happens to make me pretty hard too, especially in this video with her leather pants and sex faces. Why I picked this video was because, one, it was the second video to ever air on MTV, which, well, still cool, even though it is not the first, and two, this song actually rocks pretty fucking hard. The drums are bitchin’ in this tune (always was a fan of her drummer, even though I do not know the name of him at the moment) and the guitars are rippin’, along with a pretty killer chorus. Again, videos, so simplistic back in the day! Too fucking cool, and rare, to see.

1. REO Speedwagon – “Don’t Let Him Go”

Here we go again! You may be thinking, again, not a hard rock band! Oh, yes they are! Look past the radio hits, kids! These guys could really rock if they wanted to! (Check out the “Nine Lives” record or anything before that for proof of this.) This band had a few videos air this day, all of the album “Hi Infidelity,” a monster fucking album they released 30 years ago that is known as their magnum opus and one of my all time favorite albums. I put these guys at number one because they were a big deal when MTV first started out. They had a number of videos aired the first day, they had a commercial on the first day, and they also had the first concert to be aired on MTV. Yeah, they contributed a lot to the upbringing of MTV and really helped them out to become a popular music channel. I chose this song out of the 5 or so that aired of theirs just because simply, this song grooves. ‘Nuff said.

So, there you go! Yeah, not many metal and hard rock videos aired the first day of MTV, but there would be many metal and hard rock videos to come on the channel. Hell, the genres would eventually get their own show on MTV called “Headbanger’s Ball” (A real killer show that was at its best with sir Riki Rachtman at the VJ spot.) A lot of bands found massive exposure through this channel, like Def Leppard, Motley Crue, and any other 80s band you could think of. It’s a shame that the channel is nowhere near what it was 30 years ago, because, from watching the very first hour of MTV aired on this day in 1981 on Vh1 Classic (weird, eh?), I found that first hour to be WAY more entertaining and awesome than the last 5 years of programming on MTV. It is really fucking sad and pathetic that MTV has become what it is today and that they pretty much refuse to celebrate their birthday. So, because of the asshats at MTV, I’d like to thank VH1 Classic for actually stepping up and showing what MTV used to be: a big, bad, kick ass music channel, and a great format for musicians to show their stuff, and look real cheesy or kick ass doing it. Happy 30th birthday MTV, and may you rest in peace while total tools and trashbag teens with kids ruin your name.