Sweet History of Music Videos

This is the loudest post I have ever done on BeBee. 

For some reason, I recalled some of my favorite music videos and wondered about the history thereof. Years ago in South Africa there was a TV program on Friday evenings called Pop Shop. In fifteen short minutes of the program, a few music videos were aired. The show was a mini-mini version of MTV and opened the world of visual music to me. No rebellious self-respecting teen missed it - and neither did most of their parents. 

In my happy recollection of the music video....

TELEVISION 

The Swedish pop group Abba started promoting their music through videos as lead singer Agnetha Faltskog, at the time married to guitarist Bjorn Ulvaeus, wanted less time on tour and more time at home. A sweet blast from the past.

Abba - Waterloo - 1974

British rock band Queen made a promotional video of their single Bohemian Rhapsody, the first global hit for which an accompanying video was central to the marketing strategy. You either love it or hate it - rock and opera in one song.

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody - 1975

Music videos began to be widely broadcast on television in the early 1980s. MTV launched in the USA in 1981 airing Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles. Absent the professional choreographers here. Anyone recall this one?

Buggles - Video Killed the Radio Star - 1981

The most successful music video of all time was released in 1983 - the nearly fourteen-minute-long, at times controversial video of Michael Jackson’s song Thriller. While I was never very fond of his singing, he CAN dance!

Michael Jackson - Thriller - 1983

I was twenty when this one came out by a Norwegian band. A personal favorite. A blending of stylistic drawing and real film footage creating a magical effect - amazing considering the production dates more than three decades ago. 

Aha - Take on Me - 1985

YOUTUBE

I lost track of music videos for some years, only to rediscover it through YouTube. Quite an astonishing media channel – sixty hours of video are uploaded every minute and four billion views per day. 

One of the most popular music videos to come from South Africa was the official song of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. At first the tune sounds perplexingly plain, but it grows on you until you find yourself jumping along at a soccer match.  

Shakira - Waka Waka - 2010

Concert video's became popular due to more advanced sound and visual recording equipment - my full case of music concert videos attest. Nothing like a live show though. A group I would really like to see live are Coldplay.

Coldplay - Viva la Vida - 2011

Who would guess that a Korean music video would set a world record? The first music video on Youtube to reach a total of one billion views was this crazy electro-house whatchamakallit dance-pop goofy song.

Psy - Gangham Style - 2012

Even the concert video can become an art in itself. Here is Peter Gabriel performing Solsbury Hill in a montage of live performances spanning concerts from 1978 to 2013. Watch also for the band members. A different take altogether.

Peter Gabriel - Solsbury Hill - 2013

One of the best ever rock bands - Fleetwood Mac. Here are two members, Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham, singing a wonderfully mellow rendition of an old classic.

Fleetwood Mac - Never Going Back Again - 2017

THE BEST FOR LAST...

Nirvana's song Smells Like Teen Spirit is listed by many as one of the most iconic videos ever made. This is a must-see version - an all age Italian band with 1000 musicians - turn it up loud!

Rockin' 1000 - Smells Like Teen Spirit - 2017

What are your favorite music videos?