The history of the music video begins in the 1920s when they were originally called musical short films. However, they become more common in 1980's when MTV created their channel and it changed how the whole world viewed music. Instead of just listening we now have a chance to view music. The first music video as we know it today, was Tony Bennett's "Stranger in Paradise"(1953). They were promotional little films designed to highlight the new talking pictures, but they have the form of a music video: they are built around the performance of a single song.
The music video is not currently online - so here is the song - Stranger in Paradise.
In the 1960s music videos were produced by independent directors through independent production companies in SoHo such as eyeliner, which speaclized in making commercials for TV.
1920s:
The silent era of cinema was beginning to fall and a whole industry that was still developing its own language had to renovate itself and start from zero on how sound could integrate the films. At the time lots of film theorists claimed that cinema ended at this transition. For others this was a necessary step to endure through and to try to understand how sound could affect the moving image. The Jazz Singer was the first film to sync audio and image. The first music video was called mammy by a Jazz performer Al Jolson. In this video there is racial discrimination as you can tell the singer has painted his face black, to resemble black people, as in this era black people were known for Jazz music, this has changed over time and would not be allowed due to society changing. The video shown below is the first music video ever presented to the public, it has racial discrimination within the video as there is a man who has painted his face with black paint, as in that era they were not socially sensitive this would be now known as racist.
Mammy - Al Jolson - Jazz singer
1930's
In the 1930s, the Spooney Melody series started to introduce the concept of short-films making live action footage of the performer. It was shown in the movie theatres before main presentations. In the preview, you would only see snippets or a preview. In the 1930's music was shaped by what was happening such as the Great Depression or Old Hollywood becoming more glamourous. Popular music was impacted by these forces and home radios became more common to help audiences keep track of the music industry updates. There was a radio program "Your Hit Parade" which debuted in 1935, it showed the most popular songs of the week - related to Billboard magazine which is still here now. It was based in America as it was sponsored by NBC. Big Bands and swing music was the main genre within this era, especially in the UK. Musicals helped influence pop culture and many film stars started to debut their own songs, however, Jazz and Swing became more prominent in the 1930s or 1940s. Some of the famous singers in the era was Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. The music video shown below is related to how musicals influenced popular songs - Judy Garlands over the rainbow was from the Wizard of Oz, which soon became one of her most famous songs.
Judy Garland - Over the Rainbow - 1939
1940s:
Music in the 1940s was similar to the 1930s which was based around the Jazz styles that were popular. There were many famous singers such as Artie Shaw to help define the musical era with their unique brand of entertaining audiences. WW2 ended in the 1940s which many musicals tried to reflect their storylines about, to help make it remain upbeat and positive about the impending future. The 1940s was a time for many breakthrough artists who made their mark in the history of music. Advancements like the electric guitar by Les Paul influenced many styles that were popular. The most popular music in this era was I'll Never Smile Again by Tommy Dorsey, this song was composed out of the despair she felt when her husband, Harold Cohen, died in 1939 after an operation went wrong.
Ill Never Smile Again - Tommy Dorsey
1950's:
The 1950's changed the music for both cultural changes and social norms from the past, this was specific after the WW2, especially in the US the music industry was about to embark on a musical journey that would change the world of music for everyone across the globe. Racial tensions started to come more to light with the beginning of the civil rights movements and music reflected on many of those issues. R&B and "Rock 'n' Roll" was popularised 'black' music and many African-Americans musicians rose to prominence and enjoyed success, but their music was forgotten or decided access to audiences through segregation. A lot of people in the 1950's had beliefs that white artists stole music from African-Americans and took it for their own profit, an example of the would be when Pat Boone made a cover to Little Richards "Tutti Frutti" song - Pat Boones cover reached the charts. However now if another artist takes another artist music they can be sued for plagiarism and copyright laws, there is no racial discrimination for music artist any more due to now no-one being segregated from the dominant population - everyone is seen as equal in the music industry. R&B and Rock 'n' Roll helped bridge the gap between African-Americans and White Americans to help further civil rights movement. Those genres helped paved the way or future, traditional and pop music all however, still have old standards relating to popular and multitudes covers topping the charts.
Pat Boones - Tuttie Frutti - Song (no music video)
Little Richards - Tuttie Frutti
The 1950s saw the rise in Rock 'n' Roll and Rockabilly. Elvis Presley is thought to be the "King of Rock 'n' Roll" by many and rose to fame after beginning a professional relationship with Sam Phillips - a studio owner. Elvis was more successful than any other artist because he signed with a producer who focused within rock 'n' roll and teenage rebellion in 1950's. His most famous song was Hound Dog which was produced in 1956 alongside a music video.
Elvis Presley - Hound Dog
1960s:
The 1960s were a time of violent change in society, fashion, attitudes and especially music. Before 1963, the music was very similar to the 1950s mainstream music styles and beliefs - Elvis Presley, Ray Charles and The Everly Brothers. In 1960s a number of social influences changed what popular music was and helped cute the diversity in the music industry and society. The Beatles came to the music scene in the 1950s. The Beatles changed music as we know it a lot by experimenting with different types of genres of music and with instruments and encouraging other groups to do the same like Nirvana, The Beach Boys, Billy Joel and many others. They rarely sang other people's music because they had so much content. They set trends for music and style for many years. Over the years, The Beatles have made a huge impact on music and music history because they were willing to try things that were new and different. Their most famous music video was Don't Let me Down - 88 million views.
Don't Let Me Down
1970s:
The 1970s created a perfect musical bridge from the rebellious 1960s to the happy songs in the 1980s. The 70s created a trend of relaxing music as well as dance music. People may have grown tired from fighting that happened in the previous decades and enjoy a good time. This decade created the disco movement, however, there was still bands and artists that continued to speak ill of society, typically characterised by funk music in the later part of the decade. Most people, though, were just looking for another way to vent their frustrations, which helped to give rise to the fun that disco music provided. The 1970's was not a unique decade in terms of creating innovations in musical styles and genres, but it was unique in that it was a musical bridge connecting the hippie lifestyle of the 1960s with the characteristic yuppie lifestyle that was about to occur in the 1980s. The most popular artists or bands in the 1970s was ABBA. Abba, from winning Eurovision in 1974, have become been one of the most influential bands of the last four decades. They are, to the 1970s, what the Beatles were to the 1960s – both groups dominated pop music like no other contemporary artist. ... Benny wrote his first song for Swedish Eurovision consideration in 1969. There music videos ranged from just them sining into a mic, to a full production. There most famous music video is Dancing Queen, which is know world-wide - this music is a part of history.
Dancing Queen Music Video
1980s:
In the 1980s Music Television, also known as MTV was created by 4 men, this is where artists would show and present their new music videos and upcoming events. This became a very important accomplishment for an artist as it meant their music videos where being shown to thousands/ millions of people. When it came to music during the decade, nothing was understated, not the sound, not the fashion, not even the charity. The 1980s reflected the beginning of a period of great income disparity and a focus on affluence was reflected in the music. There were also several new genres that popped up including, Hip Hop, New Wave and Hair Metal, all of which have influenced music today. The 80s saw MTV and VH1 become the new jukebox for a whole generation of music fans, where music videos were no longer just an add-in, but integral to an artist's image. Video Killed the Radio star was one of the first music showed on MTV. MTV helped the development of modern day music, as it made it easier to distribute the music videos and how consumers could access them. In the early 1980s, music videos also began to discover political and social themes. Examples include the music videos for David Bowie's "China Girl" and "Let's Dance" (1983) which both discussed race issues. In a 1983 interview, Bowie spoke about the importance of using music videos in addressing social issues, "Let's try to use the video format as a platform for some kind of social observation, and not just waste it on trotting out and trying to enhance the public image of the singer involved".In 1983, one of the most successful, influential and iconic music videos of all time was released: the nearly 14-minute-long video for Michael Jackson's song "Thriller", directed by John Landis. The video set new standards for production, having cost US $800,000 to film.[38][39] The video for "Thriller", along with earlier videos by Jackson for his songs "Billie Jean" and "Beat It", were instrumental in getting music videos by African-American artists played on MTV.
Video Killed Radio Star - The Buggles - Music Video
Micheal Jackson. - Thriller Music video
1990s:
The music in the 1990s was filled with a variety of pop, rap and alternative music artist such as plethora of one hit wonders. It was a time when musical taste were varied as the events that were happening at time. Many were emerged in the 1990s bands and artist all who enjoyed mainstream music after their popularity had died down for a decade. Other artists were starting out using this decade making a huge impact on the music industry. The early years of the 1990s began with a surge of popularity for music genres like techno (often called dance music) and hip-hop that continued throughout the decade. The music in this decade changed alongside the audiences. In the 1990s the pop music divas came around, these powerhouse singers with a dynamic vocal range and stage presence dominated the decade. Ranging from a number of different genres. Some Pop Music Divas include Whitney Houston, Madonna, Cher, Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson they all dominated the charts. The 1990's was a key era for Mariah Carey due to her unique vocal range and talents as a songwriter. Her most famous song is Fantasy which was produced in 1995 and stayed at the top of the charts for 8 weeks. The music video with this song has showed how times have changed since the first music video was produced, as there are regulations she has to follow especially about culture.
Mariah Carey - Fantasy music video
2000's:
The popularity of teen pop carried over from the 1990s with acts such as NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera all dominating the charts. Micheal Jackson and Madonna made a comeback int he early 2000s with successful realises. Contemporary R&B was one of the most popular genres of the decade espically with artists such as Beyoncé or Rihanna. The best music videos of the 00s are a varied bunch. There’s unique visual trickery by masters of the form. There’s genre-defining moments in neo-soul and hip-hop, as well as genre-busting efforts by folks that subverted tropes built up since the arrival of MTV in August of 1981. One of the most famous songs created in 2000s was Mr Brightside by The Killers - which is still played today. Mr Brightside isn't about someone cheating on you. It's about the insecurity and jealousy that can rise up and ruin a relationship, breaking down the trust, which is what makes the song seem so relatable and loved by many.
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