August 1, 1981…Ladies And Gentleman, Rock ‘N Roll!

At 12:01 am, August 1, 1981, a few thousand people in New York and Northern New Jersey got to witness history. MTV debuted 30 years ago today, playing-gasp!-music videos! Where has the time gone?

The original top of hour MTV kickoff was supposed to feature Neil Armstrong's famous "One small step" speech, but Armstrong's lawyers wouldn't allow it. So instead MTV exec's used the public domain footage of the moon landing with the now famous MTV music logo.

Here's a treat-thanks to one of the things that killed MTV (along with Snooki, pregnant teens and Jackass)--the Internet--here's the first actual 10 minutes of MTV from August 1, 1981. Most people know the first video was the ironic "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles, but what was the second video ever played? Watch here and see!

Pat Benatar's "You Better Run"! See Pat at Val Du Lakes August 20 and at Meijer Gardens August 24