DIRE STRAITS! Money Aint For Nothin and The Chicks For Free
~~~ BUT!~ the first video ever played was Video Killed the Radio Star! by The Buggles

When I first had cable television, MTV was one of the channels I would watch, and the video that was on all the time was REM's Losing My Religion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaPTELylZ1s



Cat

My earliest memory of watching music videos on MTV was in '84. There were many videos that I remember watching but I can't recall which was the very first one :-\\

We had cable from 1979 on and MTV was already on by late '81 or so, but I don't really remember paying any attention to it as I was already watching Night Flight on USA (I believe it was USA Network) by that time.

I remember people comparing Night Flight to MTV and I was confused because I swore that Night Flight was first (and for my money) a hell of a lot more interesting in what it showed and played in music and animation shorts too compared to MTV...

...anyhoo, the first one that I know I can remember was Scandal's Goodbye To You around early '82 or so...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_50-gOeBilc

But I KNOW I saw the Buggles "Video Killed The Radio Star" on Night Flight (USA) long before, which was, via Wikipedia, the fist video on MTV.  :-\\

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVVVeOUNNQs

This is the first video I remember seeing on TV, but it was years before Mtv.  I honestly can't remember which video was the first I saw.  I watched Nightflight and Radio 1999 before we got Mtv on our cable system. I also remember V66 which was an over the air UHF channel out of Boston.  Turned into a home shopping channel right around the time VH-1 took off.

Canada never had MTV, but in 1984, we got MuchMusic. 
http://gmkfreelogos.com/logos/M/img/Much_Music_TV.gif

The first ever music video aired on it was 'The Enemy Within' by Rush, but one of the first videos I remember seeing on MuchMusic was the 1985 dance hit 'There Was A Time' by One to One

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrCOWoYTdcI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVVVeOUNNQs

This is the first video I remember seeing on TV, but it was years before Mtv.  I honestly can't remember which video was the first I saw.  I watched Nightflight and Radio 1999 before we got Mtv on our cable system. I also remember V66 which was an over the air UHF channel out of Boston.  Turned into a home shopping channel right around the time VH-1 took off.



Yeah, I remember music videos here and there before MTV. The one I REALLY remember is THIS one:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN_YjM4V4fc



Cat

This is not the first one I saw, but it's the first one I liked, so it's the first one I remember --

The Cars: Since You're Gone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVcPd7ogl0w

Wow! I didn't  think I anyone else would remember that v66, I saw that channel in the mid-80's and the first video I saw on there was A-ha's 'the sun always shines on tv'  a video that I nevr forgot and have rarely seen since.

I think the first video I actually saw on MTV was "Brass in Pocket" by the Pretenders.  Before that I saw lots of videos on shows like "Night Flight" and on HBO between movies. 

Just for the heck of it, or maybe for a refresher for those of that were there to see it, here's video of the first hour of MTV as it was on the first day of broadcast Aug 1, 1981.

Just for the heck of it, or maybe for a refresher for those of that were there to see it, here's video of the first hour of MTV as it was on the first day of broadcast Aug 1, 1981.


That was a good time for music videos.

When MTV first started, they showed just about every video they could get their hands on in order to fill up airtime, which meant you got to see a lot of obscure and unusual stuff.  That's when MTV was the most fun.  Then when the record companies finally realized what a great promotional tool videos are and started grinding them out like sausage, a bunch of boring crap started getting into heavy rotation and the more interesting stuff started to disappear.  Eventually of course MTV discovered "original programming" and then even the videos themselves became harder to find.

When MTV first started, they showed just about every video they could get their hands on in order to fill up airtime, which meant you got to see a lot of obscure and unusual stuff.  That's when MTV was the most fun.  Then when the record companies finally realized what a great promotional tool videos are and started grinding them out like sausage, a bunch of boring crap started getting into heavy rotation and the more interesting stuff started to disappear.  Eventually of course MTV discovered "original programming" and then even the videos themselves became harder to find.


and look what happened to MTV 30 years later, just not the same anymore. :(

and look what happened to MTV 30 years later, just not the same anymore. :(


Splintered and evolved are a better words to describe what having actual music television is these days, as there are a bunch of music related channels, each with a different purpose/genre. Telelvision stations with a focus on music-oriented programming have evolved much like music formats on radio, changing with respect to demand, demographics, and reception. The original MTV and VH1 were much like the CBS and NBC radio networks in the 1930s-1940s before television and the addition of new musical genres such as Rock 'N Roll and R&B forced terrestrial radio to splinter and evolve back in the 1950s and '60s, in that they were designed for an all-purpose, broad-based audience with an original concept. MTV Hits is the closest to MTV's function in the '80s and early '90s, being mostly a CHR-styled channel, with lots of features updated for the times (social media, etc.) Fuse is seen as a rival for MTV Hits. MTV Jams is for the hip hop/urban audience. VH1 was originally for the adult contemporary audience, but is now basically an original programming channel mostly targeted for people in their late 20s-early 40s. BET was originally for the hip-hop/urban/gospel audience but more of an original programming focus like modern MTV, with BET Hip Hop and BET Gospel catering to their respective audiences for those who prefer music-oriented programming. MtvU is for the alternative audience. CMT is the channel that is for country music with more original programming than in recent years, but still airs more music videos than MTV, VH1, or BET. However, CMT Pure Country is the current haven for country music video lovers, providing a mix of current and classic hits. VH1 soul is for R&B lovers.  VH1 classic is like the oldies channel for music videos. So it's not like the original MTV concept is dead, it has simply evolved and splintered.

I watched VH1 instead of MTV with my dad many evenings back in the late '80s/early '90s growing up, so that helped to lean my taste more toward an adult contemporary sound. My memories in terms of the songs are a bit vague, but I could remember some of the classic hair bands and Smells Like Teen Spirit videos.