# Music video origins **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 11, 2003, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-video-origins/181043 "2003-06-11T04:36:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ender\_Will](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Ender\_Will](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ender_Will)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-video-origins/181043/1 "2003-06-11T04:36:31Z")
Now, we all know that The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star” was the first video aired on MTV (back in those days when they actually _played music_). This of course begs the question: where was video shown prior to MTV? Music videos had to be around for at least long enough for a band to make a song and video about them, so MTV clearly couldn’t have announced that they would be forming, and so if all bands could please make a video or two, that’d be great. One of my friends guessed that videos were available for purchase on VHS (or presumably Beta, this being the '80s and all), but that seems a bit sketchy. I’m sure that if I were ten years older, I’d know this, but I don’t, so can someone please enlighten me? ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-video-origins/181043/2 "2003-06-11T04:53:15Z")
Previous thread: [Why were videos made before MTV?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=127956&highlight=music+videos) ---
**Author:** ![Ender\_Will](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Ender\_Will](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ender_Will)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-video-origins/181043/3 "2003-06-11T05:04:43Z")
Thanks. That was fast ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-video-origins/181043/4 "2003-06-11T19:16:29Z")
Ooh, excellent, a thread that will allow me to plug my favourite artist, Gary Numan. His video for the song “Cars” (1979) was the very first video ever made to sell on VHS. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-video-origins/181043/5 "2003-06-11T19:37:39Z")
Are you sure Gary Numan was first? Blondie’s [Eat to the Beat](http://www.rip-her-to-shreds.com/archive_videos_videodvd_eattothebeat.php) video album, containing not one but twelve songs, was released on VHS in 1979, too. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-video-origins/181043/6 "2003-06-11T22:35:03Z")
AFAIK, Numan’s video album was never released. ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-video-origins/181043/7 "2003-06-12T00:51:11Z")
Walloon: Were they music videos, or filmed performances? Mr. Blue Sky: Hmmm…not sure. I’m not sure if the Cars music video was part of a video album or if it was released stand-alone. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-video-origins/181043/8 "2003-06-12T07:22:44Z")
Back in the 70s, videos were sometimes played with the previews to movies. I recall seeing Cat Stevens’ “Banapple Gas” in the theaters, as well as Tim Curry’s “Paradise Garage.” George Harrison made two of the first fully-realized music videos in the 70s, “Crackerbox Palace” and “This Song,” both of which debuted on Saturday Night Live. Earlier versions of music videos turned up on “Video Jukebox,” “Sonny and Cher” and “Midnight Special.” Mike Nesmith pioneered the form, but I’m not sure many of his videos ever saw the light of day. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-video-origins/181043/9 "2003-06-12T07:31:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Trigonal Planar \* > **Walloon: Were they music videos, or filmed performances?** You’ll have to explain what the difference is. But those videos from the _Eat to the Beat_ video album are still being shown on VH1. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-video-origins/181043/10 "2003-06-12T11:58:51Z")
Not recorded on video but on film the “musical short feature” was part of the program at many movie houses. They were actually very much like todays videos though. Some where just recorded performances but many were either dramitizations of the song or even animations. They used to have a regular feature on one of the classic movie channels called “Gramiphone Videos” that showed these. Here is a link with a more detailed description. [KINO ON VIDEO](http://www.kino.com/video/newssix.html)