August 1st

Today, a TV channel best known for doing something they don't do anymore first hit the air. MTV: Music Television first hit the airwaves this day in 1981. The concept was simple: a tv channel only for music videos. Nowadays they don't show music videos at all anymore, shifting their focus to reality television. That being said, even in today's current climate of being able to search nearly any music video, people still miss their Music TV.

Let's get into what happened Today in ‘81, at 12:01 am est, to bring this monumental channel into the world. The network started with footage of a then recent space shuttle launch followed by edited video of the Apollo 11 mission with the American flag edited over to have the MTV logo. This footage is accompanied by a declaration from the channel's creator John Lack: "Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll.” The first song then followed: The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star.” If you would like to see this immortal moment for yourself, the stations full first two hours on air are archived online.