MTV's Golden Era: From "Video Killed the Radio Star" to "Jeremy"

I am currently reading I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution, by Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum (pub. date: Oct. 2011). We Gen Xers are, for sure, the book's target audience. If you were between the ages of 10 and 18 when MTV launched in 1981, you will enjoy this book, which covers only what the authors call "MTV's Golden Era": the years 1981 to 1992.

The book's format--an oral history, with quote after interesting quote from musicians, music execs, video directors, VJs, etc.--keeps the book flowing. You get great information without too much dull exposition.

The book begins, well, at the beginning, when MTV was just a gleam in some radio executives' eyes. What's interesting is just how quickly and half-assedly everything was thrown together. They got the okay in January 1981 and were determined to launch on August 1st (when, they figured, kids were home on summer vacation and had nothing better to do than watch videos all day). The founders had seven months to come up with a station name, logo, and catch-phrase; to figure out how to make record companies give them free videos; and to hire all the video disc-jockeys.

The book includes surprising information. For example, I didn't know that Michael Nesmith of the Monkees was one of the main players at the beginning (though he left before MTV even launched due to creative differences with the rest of management). In fact, it turns out that he deserves much of the credit for MTV. In the late 70's, Nesmith developed a show, called PopClips, that played nothing but videos. A pilot was made but it wasn't a success. The concept for MTV was born.

So the origin story is pretty interesting. But the book's strength is the information it shares about all the craziness that occurred behind the scenes of the making of your favorite videos.

"Save a Prayer" video: Nick Rhodes
and John Taylor (on on elephant)

About Duran Duran's "Save a Prayer" video, which was filmed in Sri Lanka, Nick Rhodes says: "John and I were on an elephant, Simon was on one with Andy, and Roger was on one of his own. And they brought a female elephant who let out this enormous noise, which one of the guys in the crew was taping. He thought, Oh, this will be funny, and he played it back through the speakers. Nobody knew that it was her mating call. So the elephant with Roger on its back charges down the swamp and mounts this other elephant. Roger's hanging on for dear life.... If he'd fallen off, he could have been trampled to death. It was funny as hell, but also quite hairy for a moment."

Dr. Magnus Pyke in the "She Blinded
Me With Science" video

This story Thomas Dolby tells about the "Blinded Me With Science" video cracked me up: "My dad, a professor of classical archaeology at Oxford University, was one of the scientists in the video. And we had Dr. Magnus Pyke, a famous British TV personality and bona fide scientist. When I saw him a few years later, he cursed me, because in America, people would walk up behind him in the street and shout, 'Science!' He was a man of accomplishment, and was annoyed by that."

I love that: Sneaking up on a proper Oxford scientist and screaming "SCIENCE!"at him. That's classic America vs. England right there.  

And since this book is about musicians, you'll be happy to know there's plenty of insider info on groupies, drugs, drinking, sex, and inflated egos.

Stevie Nicks in the Arizona desert,
filming the "Hold Me" video

Simon Fields, a video producer, says this about Fleetwood Mac:
"'Hold Me' was a f#*@ing nightmare, a horrendous day in the desert. John McVie was drunk and tried to punch me. Stevie Nicks didn't want to walk on the sand with her platforms. Christine McVie was fed up with all of them. Mick thought she was being a bitch, he wouldn't talk to her. They were a fractious bunch."


And how about this juicy tidbit from Joe Elliott, which will make you want to call up Def Leppard's "Foolin'" on YouTube:

Joe Elliott and his "wedding tackle" in the
"Foolin" video

"...there's a fantastic scene when I'm chained to a pyramid and I break out of the shackles. I sit up and look at the camera and sing, 'Is there anybody out there?' And if you look at the video--which I suggest you do, because it's quite funny--you can see that underneath my white trousers I have on tighty whities. I wasn't wearing them on the first take. [The director] Mallet watched that scene back through the lens and said, 'Dear boy, I can see your wedding tackle. You need to put some underpants on. They'll never show this on the telly if we don't clean it up a bit.'"


So if you watched MTV as much as I did in the 80's, you will definitely get a kick out of this book. I don't know if I'd shell out the $18 Amazon is asking for the hardcover (my copy was a Christmas present--thanks, hon!) but the paperback is coming out in September. It's worth checking out.