MTV started by playing the apropos "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles, followed by Pat Benatar's "You'd Better Run" and went on from there. Yesterday, VH1 Classic paid tribute to the first 24-hours of MTV by having a marathon featuring the videos of the day, MTV campaigns like "I Want My MTV" and interviews with the original MTV VJs -- Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, Martha Quinn and J.J. Jackson.
The list of songs and their artists from back in the day include:
"Brass in Pocket" by the Pretenders
"Heart of Glass" by Blondie
"Hold on Loosely" by 38 Special
"I Want to Be A Lifeguard" by Blotto
"Kiss On My List" by Hall and Oates
"Oliver's Army" by Elvis Costello
"Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" by Rod Stewart
"Take It On The Run" by REO Speedwagon
"Too Late" by Shoes
"You Better Run" by Pat Benatar
"You Better You Bet" by The Who
Well, as time went on, the network introduced regular programming and the nonstop music videos went away. Cartoons like "Beavis and Butthead" and "Daria" also made their way to the MTV viewing public. Now it's TRL, "Laguna Beach," a bevy of dating shows and hidden camera shows. The longest running reality television show "Real World" -- which started up in 1992 -- also finds the network still its home.
Viewers still want music videos, so here came MTV2 and MTVU, other stations showing primarily videos and shows not for the mainstream MTV crowds.
In a USA Today article, MTV music group chief Van Toffler said that the channel itself won't be reflective because most of MTV's current viewers, including myself, weren't around for the launch. But the stations is introducing more and more interactive items like MTV Overdrive via the internet and special features for cell phones.
MTV's history is bedecked with memorable moments, in most recent years it was the Britney/ Madonna/Christina kiss at the MTV VMAs and in the past it was Michael Jackson's videos or MTV Spring Break or Madonna, once again, singing "Like a Virgin."
The network has shaped the way people look at pop culture and music. Bands and singers are scrambling to get their videos shown to the MTV audience. If you make it onto MTV, you usually can make it anywhere.
Interested in reliving MTV's humble beginnings? VH1 Classic will be re-airing its marathon 9 a.m. Saturday.
Originally from Des Plaines, Ill., Heather moved to Milwaukee to earn a B.A. in journalism from Marquette University. With a tongue-twisting last name like Leszczewicz, it's best to go into a career where people don't need to say your name often.
However, she's still sticking to some of her Illinoisan ways (she won't reform when it comes to things like pop, water fountain or ATM), though she's grown to enjoy her time in the Brew City.
Although her journalism career is still budding, Heather has had the chance for some once-in-a-lifetime interviews with celebrities like actor Vince Vaughn and actress Charlize Theron, director Cameron Crowe and singers Ben Kweller and Isaac Hanson of '90s brother boy band Hanson.
Heather's a self-proclaimed workaholic but loves her entertainment. She's a real television and movie fanatic, book nerd, music junkie, coffee addict and pop culture aficionado.
