I think it’s pretty safe to say for as much as we use the internet for research, a teaching aid, a place to look up everything from information on Neil Armstrong walking on the moon to getting a recipe on how to make bread.
It’s also known for a lot of bad and yes, evil. The internet has killed relationship, retail shopping with the likes of Amazon, and now, after 44 years, has taken down MTV. … Music Television.
As of December 31, 2025, MTV will no longer exist.
The music channel began it’s first broadcast on August 1, 1981. Its anticipation was crazy, and I was one captivated by a music channel.
I’m a big fan of music to this day influenced early on by my older brother Frank’s association with music and eventually learning to play guitar and ultimately playing in a few local bands before moving out of the area. Even to this day, his roots are intact and he still plays in a band in Colorado even in his early 70s. And why not, if Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, and Rod Stewarts and the likes are still strutting their stuff on a stage, why can’t he?
Cable TV in Greater Pittston was still in still in its infancy and MTV was riding the wave of that cable movement.
I think there were a lot of young people looking forward to the first broadcast, and I waited with great eagerness to see what the first video was going to be. Appropriately, it was “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Bungles. Pat Benatar’s “You Better Run” was the second video played followed by Rod Stewart’s, “She Won’t Dance With Me,” just in case you get on Jeopardy one day, you’ll know the answers.
MTV made the original five VJs instant stars with Mark Goodman, Martha Quinn, Alan Hunter, J.J. Jackson and Nina Blackwood. Unfortunately, J.J. Jackson passed away in 2004 of a heart attack at the age of 62.
Today, the remaining VJs are still involved in media with several of them working in radio for Sirius XM.
Everyone was jealous of them and everyone wanted to be them and they were almost as big as the music artists themselves.
The music industry became a time when musicians had to become actors overnight if they wanted to get on the MTV bandwagon. Have a video really did drive album sales, yes, albums were still for sale in the 80s but the most popular media format was cassettes. Eight-tracks were pretty much on the way out and cassettes dominated unto the early 1990s before the CD revolution came around.
So if you wanted to sell your music, artists had to make a video to be played on MTV. You literally could watch music television for hours waiting for your favorite artist’s video to come on the 24-hour-a-day network.
Eventually, there were spinoffs of MTV including the launch of VH1 that would showcase more mature audiences and eventually started to produce its own programing.
MTV2 (1996), MTV Classic (2001), MTVU (2002), MTV Tres (2005), and MTV Live (2017) were carved out of the MTV Empire. Other related networks outside of VH1 were Nickelodeon and TeenNick.
You could tune in to watch such homegrown shows such as Headbangers Ball, MTV Cribs, MTV Jams, Total Request Live, 120 Minutes, MTV Beach House, Yo! MTV Raps, Bands Reunited, and huge favorite, MTV Unplugged.
MTV Unplugged was a show were rock bands would “unplug” the amps and play their hits acoustically. Ultimately, some bands broke the rules and plugged in for some of the shows.
MTV spread their wings and struck while the iron was hot and became international from Europe to India.
Music TV was not invented by MTV. In my youth, shows like Midnight Special (1973-1981), Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert (1973–1980), and In Concert (1972-1998), all late-night weekend shows broadcast on a Friday night or Saturday, usually at 1 a.m.
I watched a lot of late-night TV back in the day, which could explain why I still stay up late today. Needless to say, my Mom was not happy that I couldn’t get up to do weekend chores.
These first-seen music shows would showcase current artists of the time like Todd Rundgren, Steely Dan, The Everly Brothers, The Isley Brothers, Linda Ronstadt, Helen Reddy, David Clayton-Thomas, Cass Elliot, Harry Chapin and even avant-garde artists like Ravi Shankar, the world’s greatest sitar player from India who had a huge influence on Beatle George Harrison.
The 60s, 70s, and 80s were a great age for music and I’ll be curious to see if MTV shuts down with “Radio Killed the Video Star” that kicked it all off.
Moving on… the big cross-town rivalry game will take place this coming Friday the home of the Warriors.
With both teams entering the game with only one loss, this could be one of the most competitive games Greater Pittston has seen in a very long time.
Wyoming Area’s coach Randy Spencer and PA coach Paul Russick are geared up for a potential classic. It’s going to be a barnburner, get your seat early.
Quote of the Week
“The Internet’s completely over. The Internet’s like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can’t be good for you.” —Prince
Thought of the Week
“Great rivalries don’t have to be built on hatred. They’re built on respect, on a respect for excellence.” —Mike Krzyzewski
Bumper Sticker
“You never lose by being kind. You only lose when you forget to be.” —Judge Frank Caprio
