Today in Comics and Music History, August 1, 1981: Ladies and Gentlemen, Rock 'n' Roll

If you are of a certain age your heart will start to race just that li'l bit faster when you click to start the video just below:


MTV begins broadcasting, August 1, 1981, featuring VJ Alan Hunter


from Hip-Hop Family Tree Two-in-One (FCBD 2014 one-shot) (Fantagraphics, May 2014); script, pencils, and inks by Ed Piskor


"Rapture" by Blondie (Chrysalis, 1981), written by Debbie Harry and Chris Stein. The music video star Debbie Harry with dancer William Barnes in the white suit and top hat (he also chereographed the video), and featuring Fab Five Freddy and graffiti artists Lee Quiñones and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Basquiat was hired when Grandmaster Flash did not show for the shoot.



Here's a (very) small assortment of the many music videos I saw for the first time on August 1, 1981, not blinking for several hours:


"Video Killed the Radio Star" (the first music video on MTV) by The Buggles (Epic, 1979), written by Geoff Downes, Trevor Horn, and Bruce Woolle, music video directed by Russell Mulcahy


"You Better Run" by Pat Benatar (Chrysalis, 1980), written by Eddie Brigati and Felix Cavaliere


"You Better You Bet" by The Who (Warner Bros./Polydor, 1981), written by Pete Townshend


"Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" by Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty (Modern, 1981), written by Tom Petty and Mike Campbell


"Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty (United Artists, 1978), written by Gerry Rafferty


"Cruel to Be Kind" by Nick Lowe (Radar/Columbia, 1979), written by Nick Lowe and Ian Gomm


"Love Stinks" by The J. Geils Band (EMI, 1980), written by Peter Wolf and Seth Justman


"Brass in Pocket" by Pretenders (Real/Sire, 1979), written by Chrissie Hynde and James Honeyman-Scott


"Tusk" by Fleetwood Mac (Warner Bros., 1979), written by Lindsey Buckingham, starring Fleetwood Mac (and a cardboard cutout of John McVie) and the University of Southern California's Trojan Marching Band
Sooooooo...I pretty much watched MTV straight through until the debut of The Real World.

If you're wondering about why I'm featuring a music segment on a comics blog...




from Hip-Hop Family Tree Two-in-One (Free Comic Book Day one-shot) (Fantagrphics, May 2014); script, pencils, and inks by Ed Piskor and Tom Scioli
To sorta underline that, Marvel's announced upcoming hip-hop variant covers:


Anyway! Today, MTV premiered, and if it's only a sad shadow of what it used to be, at least I won an MTV Music Award Moonman for my ska version of "Wooly Bully." Now that's culture.