Pick a Day

Music History Events: MTV

September 20, 2000 The first episode of MTV Cribs airs on the music network, showcasing the (mostly) lavish homes of Jewel, Moby, and The Osbournes. The popularity of the show helps The Osbournes land their own hit reality series a couple years later.More

September 19, 2000 MTV2 previews Radiohead's album Kid A by playing a vinyl copy from start to finish with a camera pointed at the record player.

March 24, 2000 MTV debuts the reality series Making the Band, with the first season spawning the boy band O-Town. Lou Pearlman, the creator of Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, manages the group.

October 5, 1999 The Corrs perform live on MTV's Unplugged at Ardmore Studios in Wicklow, Ireland. The resulting CD and DVD have sold well over 2 million copies.

February 19, 1996 For Presidents' Day, the rock band Presidents Of The United States Of America play a show at Mount Rushmore that's broadcast by MTV. It's hosted by the presidential MTV VJ, Kennedy.

September 8, 1994 At the MTV Video Music Awards, Beastie Boy Adam Yauch (MCA), in character as "Nathanial Hornblower," rushes the stage when R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts" beats "Sabotage" for Best Direction. It's the first such intrusion at the VMAs.More

September 8, 1994 Chris Cornell and Kim Thayil accept the Best Metal/Hard Rock Video Award at the MTV Video Music Awards for Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" clip, beating out Aerosmith ("Cryin'"), Anthrax ("Black Lodge"), and Rollins Band ("Liar").

February 19, 1994 Their acoustic cover of "Because The Night" from MTV Unplugged becomes by far the biggest hit for 10,000 Maniacs when it peaks at #11 in the US. Natalie Merchant left six months earlier - the MTV performance was one of her last with the group.

June 3, 1993 The Australian band Midnight Oil, of "Beds Are Burning" fame, appear on MTV's Unplugged. Not all the band members are happy with the format, but drummer Rob Hirst is pleasantly surprised: "We spent a few weeks stripping the whole thing down, and what we found was underneath the grunt of the amps and the drums, there were actually some really good, melodic songs."

March 8, 1993 Beavis and Butt-Head, a show about two animated idiots who watch MTV, debuts on MTV.

October 2, 1992 Madonna's racy "Erotica" video, featuring footage from the making of her Sex book, debuts on MTV. The clip, which features the sultry singer guiding viewers through increasingly sexual scenarios, airs just three times before being banned.

September 22, 1992 Bruce Springsteen records a concert for MTV Unplugged, but plugs in after the first song and does the rest of the set electric. When the episode airs on November 11, it's billed as "MTV Plugged."

September 9, 1992 Nirvana's feud with Guns N' Roses reaches a tense climax when Axl Rose threatens Kurt Cobain backstage at the MTV Video Music Awards.More

May 20, 1991 The first album from an MTV Unplugged performance is released when Paul McCartney issues Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) in the UK. It is released in America in June.

January 24, 1991 The Cure film their MTV Unplugged special at Limehouse TV Studios in London. The acoustic set includes an alternate version of their new song "A Letter To Elise." Audience members are also given kazoos to replace the synthesizer riffs on "The Walk."

September 6, 1989 After initially refusing to play it, MTV gives Neil Young's "This Note's For You" the Video of the Year award at the MTV Video Music Awards.

September 7, 1988 INXS, the new sensation from Australia, are the big winners at the MTV Video Music Awards, taking five trophies, including Video Of The Year, for "Need You Tonight/Mediate." The songs are separate tracks on the album but combined for the video; the "Mediate" part is an homage to Bob Dylan's 1965 "Subterranean Homesick Blues" film.

October 3, 1981 Two months after MTV's debut, Blue Öyster Cult's "Burnin' For You" reaches its peak of #40 in the US - their first Top 40 since "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" - thanks to a video shot in a Los Angeles culvert. Few American acts are making videos, so established rockers like BÖC and REO Speedwagon can get airtime. This changes a few years later when more photogenic artists make videos on a regular basis.