MTVs 30th Anniversary

MTVs 30th anniversary

By Ted Knapinsky

When we look back on the impact on MTV and the development of rock videos, we have go back to the formation of rock and roll shows that were on television. American Bandstand, Soul Train, and Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert,
These shows were very popular because cable television had not taken hold on the American conscience. These shows played a vital importance in terms of music, politics, fashion, and what was happening in the street. When we look back on MTV, we must pay homage to these shows. Without them, rock videos and popular culture would not be what it is today.
American Bandstand was the first rock and roll music show that must be acknowledged. It aired on the network a Monday August 5, 1957. Bandstands majority audience was teenage kids who during that hour were out of school.
The show was a major hit and local station managers wanted to cash in on the action. As a result, a number of teen dance programs found their way to local TV stations from coast to coast.
Soul Train was another show that changed music and pop culture. Soul Train came at a time when the country was recovering from the civil rights struggle as well as the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King and the rise of the Black Panther Party.
The program premiered as a local program on August 17, 1970 and within a few days youth and young adult populations of Chicago were talking about this new television breakthrough. The show also had the support of Chicago -based entertainers such as Curtis Mayfield. Within a year, the show was moved to Los Angeles.
The Soul Train format included guest musical performers, hosts, and performances by Soul Train dancers which was set in a dance club environment. The dancers were young woman and men, fashionably dressed, who dance to the most popular songs on the R&B and Soul charts. The show also had a game called The Soul Train Scrambler where dancers competed compete for prizes.
Rock music as a whole was being fragmented to hard rock, country rock, and singer-songwriter. The country was still torn a-part by Vietnam and Richard Nixon had sign legislation to move the armed forces to an all volunteer army.
A show that was on ABC, but a year later moved to syndication “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert. It premiered on September, 27, 1973 featuring the Rolling Stones first American television performance since 1969.
Unlike TV music shows, such as American Bandstand,” performances on “Don Kirshner’s Rock concert were raw, and full-length performances in a live concert or club setting. For each episode, Don Kirshner dressed in a high-colored leisure suit and introduced acts in his distinctive Bronx accent.
The show featured legendary performances by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, BB.King, The Police, and The Sex Pistols as well as countless others. According to Rob Simon of the Paley Center for the Media, Kirshners Rock Concert” was a crucial 70s bridge between the Ed Sullivan era of the ‘60’s and the MTV of the ‘80s. Don Kirschers program was able to capitalize on many different forms of music that was coming about in the 70’s, but it will always be remembered as a place where America tuned in to catch the hottest and upcoming bands from the 70’s and the 80’s.
MTV went live on August.1, 1981. Many cable companies would not carry it, partly because of its rock and roll content, and the early days you could watch it in Wichita, Kansas, but not New York City.
The channel did not really came into the American consciousness until 1983. Bands that got their videos played that year became famous overnight.
The channel began to have an impact in the heartland. A classic example is Tulsa, Okla. where the channel was beginning to have an effect on the teenage kids there. Bands like Duran Duran and the Flock of Seagulls were moving stock and young teenage boys were going to the local barbershop for a Rod Stewart haircut.
The video channel made international stars out of Madonna and Michael Jackson. In 1992, the network made its reality show debut “The Real Wold” and it never look back.