Video SAVED the Radio Star

It’s been said that “video killed the radio star”.  In fact, that was the title of the very first song/video that MTV played when the network debuted on August 1, 1981.

The message in the lyric was a belief shared by many in the industry who assumed that, much like the movie stars of the silent film era who were unable to transition to “talkies”, many of the less photogenic rock stars of the seventies would fade away once their images were being piped into households across America on a regular basis.

The impact of the music network was felt almost immediately with record stores selling out of such new artists as Men at Work, Duran Duran and Human League, who were struggling to get radio airplay at the time.  The result would be a 2^nd British Invasion due to the heavy play of British acts who had been accustomed to producing music videos for over half a decade.  Of course, it wouldn’t take long for American artists to jump on the MTV bandwagon.  By 1983, you would have been hard-pressed to find a Top 40 hit that wasn’t accompanied by a music video.

What nobody foresaw, though, was how quickly established artists would embrace the new medium.  Pop music had always been seen as a “young man’s game”, so it was a fair assumption that that perception would only be magnified by the new visual aspect of the genre.  However, the naysayers could not have been more wrong.  Not only did the rock stars of the seventies make masterful use of this new tool, many artists who were long past their hit-making prime would use the music video to reinvent themselves, resulting in a second career for some of them.

The following list of artists would have taken up several fewer pages in the Rock history books had it not been for MTV:

Michael Jackson:

MJ’s stints with the Jackson 5 and The Jacksons aside, he had carved out quite a solo career for himself by 1981.  In the ten years from 1971 to 1980, he racked up a respectable 9 Top 40 hits – seven reached the Top 10 and three of them hit #1.  However, that was nothing compared to what he would do during the MTV era.  Nobody displayed a more masterful use of the music video than the gloved one, who saw the medium as a showcase for his signature dance moves.

Jackson would also produce high-concept mini-films to accompany his songs.

Beginning with “Billie Jean”, Michael hit the Top 40 twenty-four times between 1981 and 2001.  Nineteen of those singles entered the Top 10 and a staggering 9 of them reached #1.  Along the way, he revolutionized the art of making music videos.

It might be a stretch to say “video SAVED Michael Jackson”, but it undoubtedly took him to another level.

Bruce Springsteen:

Though “The Boss” released his first album in 1973, he wouldn’t hit the Top 40 until 1975.  His signature song, “Born to Run”, would peak at #23.  He would hit the Top 40 three more times over the next eight years with his biggest hit being 1980’s “Hungry Heart”, which peaked at #5.

However, it wouldn’t be until 1984’s “Born in the USA” that Bruce would begin utilizing music videos on a regular basis.  His videos were generally low-concept clips that focused on his strength as a performer.

Beginning with “Dancing in the Dark”, Springsteen would produce videos for five of the album’s 7 hit singles, all of which reached the Top 10.  Over the next decade and a half, he would rack up eight more top twenty hits with half of them reaching the Top 10 – all eight were accompanied by music videos.

Though his legacy was already secure before 1981, Bruce would likely have never enjoyed the Top 40 success he did had it not been for the advent of MTV.

Genesis:

Prior to MTV’s debut, Genesis had hit the U.S. Top 40 five times.  Not coincidentally, they would finally reach the Top 10 with their first video hit, 1983’s “That’s All”.

It wasn’t until the follow-up, however, that they would become bona fide MTV stars.  By the time “Invisible Touch” was released in 1986, lead vocalist Phil Collins had become a staple on the network thanks to his “No Jacket Required” album and its accompanying music videos.  The band would continue along the lines that Collins had established and showcase his quirky sense of humor.

Fueled by heavy rotation on the music network, Genesis would rack up seven Top 10 hits and four more Top 40 hits before Collins’ departure in the early nineties.  I think it’s pretty safe to say that video had SOMETHING to do with that.

Lionel Richie:

Much like Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie had enjoyed a highly successful career as a member of a group before embarking on an similarly successful solo career.  Richie would top the charts with his duet with Diana Ross in 1981.  He followed “Endless Love” with his self-titled debut album, which generated his second #1 and two more songs that reached the Top 5.

Lionel would officially leave The Commodores in 1982, just as he began working on his second solo album.  Released in 1983, “Can’t Slow Down” would mark the first time Lionel would heavily utilize music videos.

Over the next decade, he would hit the Top 40 a dozen times with ten of those reaching the Top 10 and three of them hitting #1.  Most of Richie’s hit singles were accompanied by music videos – usually concept clips that were a bit cheesy at times and, honestly, have not aged well.

Nevertheless, the videos kept him relevant and, though they didn’t technically save him, didn’t hurt him one bit, either.

Billy Joel:

If any radio star should’ve been “killed” by video, it’s the “piano man”.  By his own admission, he’s a bit of a funny-looking guy.  Regardless, he quickly found his niche with a number of creative music videos that transformed him from a respectable singles artist to a hit-making superstar.  Even today, most of his clips hold up surprisingly well.

Prior to the debut of MTV, Joel had hit the Top 40 fifteen times, four of which made the Top 10 with “It’s Still Rock & Roll to Me” topping the charts in 1980.  From 1982 through 1993, he would hit the Top 40 eighteen times with 9 Top 10 hits and two chart-toppers.

Suddenly, that funny-looking little guy doesn’t look so funny, huh?

Tina Turner:

After splitting from husband Ike in the early seventies, Tina Turner failed to carve out any semblance of a solo career during the remainder of the decade.  In fact, when she and her big, crazy hair popped up on MTV in 1984, I thought she was a new artist.

Of course, Casey Kasem soon set me straight.  Over the next decade, Tina would hit the Top 40 thirteen times with six of those reaching the Top 10 and 1984’s “What’s Love Got to Do With It” hitting #1.  If there’s one artist who was SAVED by video, it’s Tina Turner.

Steve Winwood:

Despite being a member of such classic groups as Traffic, Blind Faith and The Spencer Davis Group, Steve Winwood was pretty much a one-hit wonder in 1981.  He had hit #7 with “While You See A Chance” a year before MTV made its debut.  However, it wasn’t until 1986 that Winwood finally found his hit-making groove.

In addition to the #1 “Higher Love”, Steve would hit the Top 40 with three more singles from “Back in the High Life”.  The follow-up would give him another #1 hit with the title track.

In all, Steve would hit the Top 40 nine times in the MTV era with five of those reaching the Top 10.  Most of his hit singles were accompanied by gritty performance videos that perfectly matched his soulful sound.  The stylish clips still hold up today and, undoubtedly, had a lot to do with his chart success during that time.

Heart:

Heart had racked up a respectable nine Top 40 hits, two of which reached the Top 10, during the pre-MTV era.  However, when they returned in 1985 after a string of lackluster albums, they had a new look and a new sound…and MTV immediately embraced them.

For every diehard fan who wasn’t exactly enamored with the “new” Heart, there were two young fans that were discovering the band for the first time.  Over the next decade, the band would eclipse their earlier success by hitting the Top 40 eleven times with seven of those reaching the Top 10 and two of them topping the charts.

The band’s videos relied greatly on big hair and colorful outfits and, therefore, look VERY dated today.  However, they did their job back then by making a couple of seventies chicks seem relevant again.

Aerosmith:

Another band who was all but dead by the time MTV hit the airwaves was Aerosmith.  While they had scored two Top 10 hits and four more Top 40 hits during the seventies, they hadn’t hit the charts in a decade when 1987’s “Permanent Vacation” was released.  Fueled by heavy MTV airplay of their music videos, which portrayed the band as a bit of an eighties version of Spinal Tap, the album would generate a Top 5 hit and two more top twenty hits.

The follow-up, 1989’s “Pump”, would follow suit with four more hit singles.

In all, Aerosmith would hit the Top 40 fifteen times during their “second life” – six of the fifteen would reach the Top 10, with 1998’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” hitting #1.  There’s no question that the band’s comeback would have been much less successful had they not utilized music videos in such an engaging way.

ZZ Top:

Though they had been around for over a decade, the “little ol’ band from Texas” had only hit the Top 40 twice before the MTV era…and I doubt anyone at the record label thought that was going to change if anyone saw their bearded mugs on their TV screen.  However, it’s safe to say that no one had a more distinctive visual image in the eighties than ZZ Top.

MTV viewers couldn’t get enough of the beards and the cheap sunglasses and the iconic ’33 Ford coupe.  By the end of the decade, they would hit the Top 40 six times with two of those reaching the Top 10.

As unlikely as it might have seemed, video DEFINITELY helped those guys.