I Want My MTV

History of Rock

I Want My MTV On August 1, 1981 MTV (Music Television) broadcast

the first music video on their new cable station dedicated to a nonstop format of videos of pop and rock music. “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles

This appealed to a generation who were avid video game players

Bands now had to be visually exciting as well as musically strong.

New Wave Bands put a pop sound to punk

Other influences such as reggae or jazz created a more marketable sound

Corporations dubbed it the “New Wave” in music Some bands include:

The Police The Cars Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders Adam Ant The B52s Oingo Boingo Devo

The Police Rock trio formed in 1978. Members: Sting, Andy Summers,

Stewart Copeland Their first single “Roxanne” and blended reggae, punk and jazz.

Other hits from their album Outlandos D’Amour are “Message in a Bottle” and “Walking on the Moon”

The Clash & The Police are some of the first white bands to include reggae styles in their music.

80s Pop Metal MTV provided exposure to hard rock or

heavy metal bands Dubbed Pop-Metal (Glam metal) due to its large

commercial appeal Less bluesy and more polished than their 60s

pioneers Van Halen Def Leppard Motley Crue Ratt Bon Jovi

Van Halen Members: Brothers Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen,

bassist Michael Anthony Various lead singers (David Lee Roth 1974-85,

Sammy Hagar 1985-96, Gary Cherone 1996-99) Formed in Pasadena, Ca in 1972 Debut album is Van Halen – 1978

During the 1980s they had more Billboard 100 hits than any other Rock or Heavy Metal band

They are the 19th best selling band of all time

A Return to Rock 80s bands returned to their rock roots and maintained blues based

harmonies, guitar riffs and socially conscious content Bruce Springsteen - Blue Collar Americans U2 – Human Rights, Violence in Ireland Midnight Oil – nuclear arms race, mine operators R.E.M. – environmentalists

A time of benefit concerts Live Aid – Ethiopian famine relief

At the time it was the largest satellite TV broadcast of all time with over 400 million viewers

Farm Aid – Family farm relief Save the World – USA for African famine relief

The Compact Disc

Introduced to the mass market in 1982 The compact disc or CD first appealed to jazz and

classical music audiences By the 1990s many predicted the death of the vinyl

LP In 1989 many stores had dropped vinyl albums from their

inventories Many baby-boomers replaced their vinyl collections with

CDs This helped boost a slumping record industry

U2 – formed in 1976 in Dublin, Ireland Larry Mullen Jr., Adam Clayton, The

Edge, Bono Themes surrounded the violence in Ireland Gained international attention at the Live Aid

benefit concert of the 1980s They are a very politically active band and

campaign for human rights around the world Their breakthrough album is The Joshua Tree

Released in 1987 It is considered one of the greatest albums in rock

history Has sold over 25 million copies

U2 has earned 22 Grammys – the most of any band

They were inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame in 2005 and continue to record and tour

U2 – Sunday, Bloody Sunday From the 1983 album War One of their most political songs The song begins with a military-style drum march Subject is the 1972 massacre of unarmed Irish civil

rights protesters by the British Army It is about violence in general

The lyrics are deliberately non partisan

Sunday, Bloody Sunday - 1983 I can't believe the news today

Oh, I can't close my eyes and make it go awayHow long, how long must we sing this song?How long? How long?'Cause tonight we can be as one, tonight

Broken bottles under children's feetBodies strewn across the dead end streetsBut I won't heed the battle callIt puts my back up, puts my back up against the wall

Sunday, Bloody SundaySunday, Bloody SundaySunday, Bloody Sunday

And the battle's just begunThere's many lost but tell me who has wonThe trench is dug within our heartsAnd mothers, children, brothers, sisters torn apart

Sunday, Bloody SundaySunday, Bloody Sunday

How long, how long must we sing this song?How long? How long?'Cause tonight we can be as oneTonight, tonight

Sunday, Bloody SundaySunday, Bloody Sunday

Wipe the tears from your eyesWipe your tears awayOh, wipe your tears awayOh, wipe your tears awayOh, wipe your blood shot eyes

Sunday, Bloody SundaySunday, Bloody Sunday

And it's true we are immune when fact is fiction and TV realityAnd today the millions cryWe eat and drink while tomorrow they dieThe real battle just begun to claim the victory Jesus won on

Sunday Bloody SundaySunday Bloody Sunday