Gert Scholtz

5 years ago · 2 min. reading time · ~10 ·

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Sweet History of Music Videos

Sweet History of Music Videos

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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


I'll go back in time and ask in my teen voice: 

What are your favorite music videos?

"
#Music Videos #South Africa #Queen #MTV #Bohemian Rhapsody
Comments

Ken Boddie

5 years ago #14

Some blasts from the past here, Gert. My pop music roots were founded in Radio Luxembourg in the 50s and then Top of the Pops which first aired on BBC TV in 1964. No videos in those days, just artists performing live on TV, or listening to records (vinyl) either 45 rpm singles or 33 1/3 rpm albums. Back in the early 60s it was the Stones, the Beatles, the Dave Clark Five, the Hollies, Dusty Springfield, Sandy Shaw, Lulu and so many others, introduced by DJ Jimmy Saville.

Randall Burns

5 years ago #13

#16
LMAO!!! That's awesome Gert Scholtz Love Styx, saw them twice in the late 70's and early 80's; they were great live! Just finished listening to it and this came up next right after it, another excellent "Blast from the Past" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejorQVy3m8E

Jerry Fletcher

5 years ago #12

#14
Chris, another trip down memory lane. Check out Rhiannon and Gypsy and Dreams from Papa john and the crew. It can be plumb addicting.

Gert Scholtz

5 years ago #11

#13
Jerry Fletcher Glad that I could ruin your Friday! Jerry, here's U2 for you in their very young years: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8BtB4C3Vi8

Gert Scholtz

5 years ago #10

#12
Randall Burns Thanks Randall. Your water adventures in your earlier blogs had me recalling this one for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9Qs8-BkiLw

Jerry Fletcher

5 years ago #9

Gert, What a blast! You totally ruined my Friday morning plans for client work. Thanks for that! I go back to the days of vinyl albums. One of my favorites was Neil Diamond's appearance at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles that became a world wide hit. it was called Hot August Night this video is from a reprise appearance in 2003. The song is Brothe Love's Travelin' Salvaton show and has Spanish subtitles! https://www.bing.com/videos/searchq=Neil+Diamond+Hot+August+Night+2&&view=detail&mid=167045579BC937A999BD167045579BC937A999BD&&FORM=VDRVRV ' Another favorite was the album Tusk from Fleetwood Mack. These days I like all kinds of things but this one from U2 gets me. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=u+2&&view=detail&mid=9EE4CCAF6B26B62889929EE4CCAF6B26B6288992&&FORM=VDRVRV

Randall Burns

5 years ago #8

Great post Gert Scholtz yes music is such a big part of our lives and music videos just revolutionized how we listen to music. Exciting times with the advent of MTV

Gert Scholtz

5 years ago #7

#3
Harvey Lloyd Glad you enjoyed the walk down music lane Harvey! It took me a while to choose and compile all the songs but what bittersweet memories doing so.

Gert Scholtz

5 years ago #6

#9
Chris \ud83d\udc1dR Guest Many thanks for the comments Chris. The Bruce Springsteen / Courtney Cox video is something special - here it is on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=129kuDCQtHs

Bill Stankiewicz

5 years ago #5

Coolest 😎😎😎

Debasish Majumder

5 years ago #4

lovely buzz Gert Scholtz! enjoyed and shared. thank you for the buzz.

Harvey Lloyd

5 years ago #3

What the 8-track did for audio was eclipsed when the visual correct was added. Music was changed forever. What a great walk through musical history and wow, the memories invoked. Thanks for the mental dust removal of how it used to be:)

Gert Scholtz

5 years ago #2

#1
Pascal Derrien Looking forward to viewing your video - thanks Pascal, also for sharing the post.

Pascal Derrien

5 years ago #1

YouTube has clearly taken over MTV but gosh I remember MTV being a big novelty and disruptor back in the days :-) My favorite video will be in my next article ;-) A great collection of titles Gert Scholtz you gave us :-)

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