MTV, in addition to its controversial topics and big history making, was able to help musicians shine a light on themselves and thus become known. The anniversary of MTV's launch was on Sunday. Nowadays, MTV's idea of "good TV" is showing 16 year olds whining about having to care for the kids they brought into this world, "pimping out" cars to look like something out of a rap video and hip hop musicians being dramatic on TV. It has NOTHING to do with music anymore and if you're lucky, you can catch Headbanger's Ball on late at night. But do this-hope that the videos on there you haven't already seen a thousand times or worse, hope they are all actually hard rock or metal and not rap/hip hop
Pat Benatar
-This amazing singer was already making hits, but her British-based label Chrysalis, was aware of the power of videos and ready to make her a star. The label chose her cover of The Young Rascals' "You Better Run" from her album Crimes of Passion, to show on MTV. Guitarist Neil Giraldo, who she would later marry, was vehemently against the idea of a video, but everyone else was on board. In her memoir, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, she wrote that everyone else "was incredibly excited to be part of this new method of bringing music to the future." She was annoyed by the director suggesting the use of fans and poses, but her attitude on that was clear. This was the second video after "Video Killed the Radio Star" and Giraldo was the first guitarist featured on MTV
REO Speedwagon
-This radio friendly rock band from the Midwest seemed like an easy fit for MTV. Their music was radio friendly and at least two videos for two of their songs - "Keep On Lovin' You" and "Take It On the Run"- were ready for the launch of MTV. They were also the first band to launch a full concert on the channel, but technical difficulties during its first airing made it hard
Rod Stewart
-He was already successful with a string of solo hits and hits with The Faces, but then you add video and it does help musicians get their music out. The video for 1980's "She Won't Dance with Me" from the 1980 album Foolish Behavior was the third video to air on the fledgling network. He also had more in the pipeline ready to air, such as "Sailing", "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" "Passion", "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)"
Robert Plant
-From Led Zeppelin front man to solo singer is a hard thing to imagine. But Robert Plant did it. He was able to get his solo music out thanks to MTV. The channel aired his cover of Elvis Presley's "Little Sister". Later on, more of his solo songs, such as "Burning Down One Side", "Big Log", "In the Mood", "Little by Little", started airing
The Police
-With their radio friendly sound, it was only natural to air their videos. By the time MTV aired, the British-American trio had already released three albums. Two months later, Ghost in the Machine would be released. With their good looks, their sense of humor and seemingly obvious charm, they would be MTV darlings in no time. It's definitely good to say that MTV helped them immensely by gearing up people for the release of 1983's Synchronicity. MTV also helped Sting with his solo career in 1985
The Pretenders
-Similar to The Police, Chrissie Hynde and her band were put on MTV with songs like "Brass in Pocket", "Message of Love", "Kid", "Talk of the Town". MTV was even there for the release of 1984's Learning to Crawl
The Who
-Despite the fact that The Who already had videos out, it was only natural for the videos of their songs "You Better You Bet" and "Don't Let Go the Coat" from Face Dances should air on MTV. The Who also performed at the Concert for the People of Kampuchea and that concert aired on the network. The channel even supported the band's album It's Hard and their 1982 first farewell tour
Queen
-When MTV launched, the veteran British rockers had just released Greatest Flix, a sort of companion album to the 1981 Greatest Hits album consisting of 18 videos, including a specially filmed video for "Killer Queen". As the 80s gave birth to the 90s, Queen remained a highly regarded staple of the MTV network
Phil Collins/Genesis
-To start with, Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" was already a massive hit. For one thing, it got airplay on an episode of Miami Vice, where Det. Ricardo Tubbs was in New York investigating a friend's murder. As the budgets for MTV and Genesis got bigger, the band's videos became more complex and interesting. That lead to Genesis adding to their already growing arsenal of videos, which usually included humor
Todd Rundgren
-Before MTV launched, Todd Rundgren was already making videos. While the radio wasn't giving any airplay to Rundgren or his band Utopia, MTV was making good on their promise to air their videos. In fact, the eighth clip aired on MTV was one from Rundgren, "Time Heals"
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