# What was the first "modern" pop music video? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2017, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-modern-pop-music-video/790906 "2017-07-10T09:52:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-modern-pop-music-video/790906/1 "2017-07-10T09:52:33Z")
By “modern”, I mean “Wasn’t simply a video of the band playing their instruments”, but more like had a story on it, had the band members _doing_ something while singing/playing, or was basically a totally unrelated film set to the song? I’m also not counting excerpts from musicals - while they’re definitely recognisably “music videos”, they’re not quite the sort of thing you’d see on MTV or Rage or VH1. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-modern-pop-music-video/790906/2 "2017-07-10T10:02:28Z")
I want to say **The Beatles** - the video for **Rain** : [The Beatles Rain - YouTube](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3KOtfNodMVc) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-modern-pop-music-video/790906/3 "2017-07-10T12:25:10Z")
Ricky Nelson’s [Traveling Man](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=%23&ved=0ahUKEwiKqoid2f7UAhXIVz4KHSQ5DpMQ8TUILDAB&usg=AFQjCNF1sHlk2z9QIx28jtvfnGP_UlkifA) from 1961 is an early example, starting with the second verse, about a minute-and-a-half in. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-modern-pop-music-video/790906/4 "2017-07-10T15:41:52Z")
There were musical shorts going as far back as the invention of sound movies that fit all the definitions of a music video. That, of course, would be _ **1920’s-style Music Videos.** _ Tony Bennett claims his 1954 short film where he sings “Stranger in Paradise” was the first music video. Not surprisingly, other artists also claim to have firsts. I kind of agree with **RealityChuck** about Ricky Nelson, inasmuch as I think it was the first music video intended specifically to go on TV. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-modern-pop-music-video/790906/5 "2017-07-10T15:52:19Z")
Oooooh I wanna see AND hear that Beatles viddy. Prairie poop! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-modern-pop-music-video/790906/6 "2017-07-10T16:34:57Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I want to say **The Beatles** - the video for **Rain** From about the same era: The Kinks did a [video](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_End_Street_(song)#Promotional_Film) for “Dead End Street”: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhj0vF1KN1k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhj0vF1KN1k)