August 1, 1981: The Birth Of The MTV Generation

At 12:01 a.m. on August 1, 1981, a rocket launched on TV, not from NASA, but from a network no one had heard of: MTV – Music Television. The screen faded in with footage of the Apollo 11 moon landing, the flag planted, and a voice declaring, “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll.” Then came history: the first music video ever broadcast – “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles. It was an eerily perfect choice for a channel that would revolutionize how we consumed and eventually entertainment.

But while most of America was still asleep—or didn’t even have cable, the newly minted VJs (video jockeys) were huddled in a tiny New Jersey bar, watching their network launch on a single TV because it wasn’t even available in NYC. According to interviews with Mark Goodman, Nina Blackwood, Martha Quinn, Alan Hunter, and J.J. Jackson, it was surreal. “We were crammed in this little bar, praying it would work,” Hunter recalled in a 2011 Rolling Stone interview.

MTV launched with just a few dozen videos in rotation, but the attitude was clear: youth, rebellion, and music on-demand. Cable providers were hesitant at first, but the now famous campaign – “I Want My MTV” – turned viewers into advocates.

MTV didn’t just air music videos. It changed music, television, and celebrity forever, beginning with a British synth-pop anthem at exactly 12:01 a.m.

Doug O’Brien