Music Videos Before MTV

[@SpookyLuvCookie]

Fun fact. When Arthur Brown wrote the song, Fire, he quickly imagined a headdress of fire for when he performed the song live. He got hold of some coals, and adapted his kitchen cullender by lining it with tin foil as a makeshift helmet with the coals inside. When next live in front of an audience he lit the coals and wore his new hat. He didn't even test it out. He assumed that that foil would stop the hot coals falling through the holes and burning his scalp. He was wrong.

[@lucasratti]

Jesuuus

[@verirrteskamel]

he's still touring btw (and he's still got it)

[@noviatoria2436]

What an iconic weirdo

[@jmcosmos]

And oddly enough, in the 1980s Brown moved to Austin, Texas (his wife's homedown), earned a master's degree in counseling, and worked as a therapist for some years, while not completely giving up on his dreams of rock stardom, before moving back to the UK in 1996. (I own a copy of a Christmas anthology album from the 1980s issued in Austin, on which he performs "Lord of the Dance.")

[@gizmophoto3577]

@@jmcosmos one wonders what those therapy sessions were like!

[@lo_souza]

ABBA music videos for "Ring Ring" and "Waterloo" were recorded in 1974. After that, they released around 4 music videos per year. ✌️

[@ecurewitz]

357 likes as of now, and more on the way

[@tayloreh]

And that was so important for them to reach a North American and even European audience, as Waterloo won Eurovision.

[@DarylBaines]

A couple of great early "videos" that I think you left out: Neil Sadaka - Calendar Girls - very colourful and memorable Scopitone. The Beach Boys - Wouldn't it be Nice - some really imaginative imagery and structure.

[@timedwards2903]

I'm happy to hear Mick Rock get some love in this video. He was a huge influence on me and my photography

[@MakeSomething]

The research involved in this series blows my mind. So well done!

[@penelopealizarin234]

Mike Nesmith of the Monkees was also a pioneer of early music videos with Pop Clips

[@riinak7212]

He won a Grammy for Best LongForm Music Video for "Elephant Parts".

[@jeenkzk5919]

I believe you’re the first one to give in depth information about the scopitone in video form! I first saw them on FTDepots channel. He gave info in the description. I looked all over KZbin to see if anyone did videos about it only to find collectors who owned them. Usually shot on old digital cameras. I’ve been curious about them and why I had never seen or heard about them. Thank you!

[@Odin-Daddy]

You TOTALLY nailed this by referencing The Tubes!!!! They were way ahead of everyone else

[@sarahlamoureux1454]

Delighted you brought up the Moody Blues! Even before Days of Future Passed, they were making history.

[@bobbyggare8364]

I was so pleased. I love the moody blues!

[@riinak7212]

RIP Denny Laine

[@InWalkedBud752]

I'm so glad you talked extensively about Scopitone. There was a show on Belgian TV a while back when I was a child that used to broadcast those Scopitone videos and it caved a permanent wrinkle in my brain as the very word "Scopitone" has been going through my mind ever since. I think my next radio show will be called just that

[@justcallmecaligula]

if the monkees dont get brought up i just may die

[@benburke3015]

Saw this on nebula two weeks ago. He definitely brings up the Monkees, don't worry.

[@yeehawo7]

you lived !!

[@deementia6796]

Wonder if Mike Nesmith gets brought up again when MTV is in the spotlight for the next video, when he did Pop Clips and Elephant Parts.

[@beaubacookie]

can someone drop the timestamp where he mentions the monkees🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

[@SquigSoup]

@@beaubacookie10:19

[@CameronMcKee]

This must've been one of the hardest series for you to make. You can tell there's sooooo much more that you want to talk about but for the sake of time have to keep it moving. Awesome job, can't wait for the next ep!!

[@Rowan_Maladeus]

One of my favorite stories about a music video involves the Grateful Dead. They formed officially in 1965. And despite touring relentlessly for 22 years, were never much of a commercial success. Until 1987, they were only truly popular in an underground community of people hanging onto the 60s long after they were over. And then they released their first ever music video: Touch of Grey. By the end of the year, they were selling out the biggest stadiums in the country. And they didn't really stop growing until Jerry Garcia died. The story of the final years of the Grateful Dead is marred with tragedy partially due to this sudden success. The documentary miniseries Long Strange Trip dedicates its final episode to this aspect of the story. It's an incredible watch.

[@tayloreh]

I think the Elvis films must have been a big influence on this campy approach and the rationalization of making promotional videos, as those films he starred in were largely advertisements of his recordings while he went away to war.

[@mollyj6286]

Surprised to see Sparks included, because they usually get left out. Icons and way ahead of their time!

[@fromchomleystreet]

The role of MTV in the emergence of the music video is often wildly over-stated. Music Videos had already been a standard part of the promotion of a pop record for more than a decade before MTV started, in Europe at least, which is why when MTV started in 1981, it was immediately able to fill a 24 hour broadcast with a constant stream of elaborately produced music videos. There was, by then, a huge backlog of (largely British) years-old Music Videos for them to draw from. For example, the very first music video played on MTV, the Buggles’ “Video killed the Radio Star”, was already more than two years old at that point.

[@flamencoprof]

Agreed. In New Zealand we had Radio with Pictures, a music video programme on NZ's TV2 channel from 1976. indeed it is said on Wikipedia that ""... Mike Nesmith (of The Monkees fame); in November 1976, [he] saw the show in a motel while on a solo NZ tour. Seeing the concept's potential, he returned to America and shared the idea with Robert Pittman. The result was, ultimately, MTV."

[@fromchomleystreet]

@@flamencoprof They were commonplace in Australia in the 70s too. The American acts shown on those shows always stood out because they weren’t really music videos as such, just footage of live performances, whereas the local and British ones were often quite elaborate and inventive little short films as we understand the music video today. The cliche of pin-pointing the birth of MTV as the birth of the Music Video phenomenon as a whole is, I’m afraid, just one more example of a myopically American-centric view of history that permeates The States.

[@flamencoprof]

@@fromchomleystreet "USA-centric" is a term not used enough here or elsewhere. I often want to refer to USA culture without using the broader term "American". Strangely, there is no common term for a "USAan" thing.

[@fromchomleystreet]

@@flamencoprof Good point. And what could be more “USA-centric” than the very fact that the US, and by extension the rest of the world, has come to understand “American” to specifically mean “pertaining to the USA? It’s kind of equivalent to saying “Eurasian” when you specifically mean “German”.

[@TheFearleader420]

I'm so glad you decided to keep uploading to KZbin. Your voice is perfect for telling these stories and your writing is amazing.

[@RebeccaGunn]

TOTP quickly became an institution of the UK industry - for absolute decades it was *the show* to go on - getting on there was some level of "making it" from 1960's - 2000's. But it was in a tiny studio space and the BBC as an institution didn't always understand the show or the times they were in. Shows would generally reflect tastes of the nation, but being a state broadcaster. There were always rules to follow. Even when ITV or C4 tried rival shows - TOTP would win out. It somehow stayed revevant till Digital TV became accessible w/ Music video channels around 2003 and people just didn't wanna do the show anymore.

[@SimonFrack]

I always wondered why music videos existed before MTV.

[@fromchomleystreet]

The only thing that was new about MTV is that it was the first music video clip show to run for 24 hours a day, but otherwise, it’s music video based format had been common in Europe and Australasia for years, which is why there was already a wealth of music videos for it to fill its schedule with from day one. It gets way too much credit.

[@SimonFrack]

@@fromchomleystreet Is it basically the difference between watching the news on a TV station at a set time (e.g. “the nine o’clock news”) and a 24hr news station?

[@FloweredUp-n4t]

Music videos existed before MTV simply because a band can't be everywhere at once or wanted to do something different to a standard studio performance.

[@alfiemckeough3762]

8:30 not only that, but a lot of TOTP episodes were hosted by the infamous Jimmy Savile, a TV personality who was ousted as a disgusting p3d0phile after his death. This meant that a significant amount of episodes couldn’t be aired ever again. So a large portion of those episodes have been shelved indefinitely.

[@fromchomleystreet]

Haven’t they just cut his bits out?

[@alfiemckeough3762]

@@fromchomleystreet maybe idk, at least when they rerun old episodes on BBC4 they can’t use ones he hosted .

[@SethLooks]

In the MTV episode I really hope you give Devo there due. They had a library of videos already shot and in the can and they used by MTV in the early days for content and cast aside when there was something else. Devo are the pioneers who got scalped.

[@SheilaTheGrate]

I was thinking about the video for House of the Rising Sun by the Animals. The whole thing is trippy and makes you feel like you are drunk in that house in New Orleans.

[@Gen_X_Rosey]

Can't wait to see the next one. This one is really good. I'm in love with this series!

[@damiens4601]

I love those videos, could you make one ( or even a series) about Crime of the Century ?

[@karabearcomics]

Pink Floyd is always who I think of when it comes to any videos on music that I watch. Of course they were mentioned, but I wanted to also say that they did keep going with some videos for songs without as much fanfare behind them. "Scarecrow" is just some fun fiddling about in a field with a scarecrow and "Corporal Clegg" seemed to be an excuse to mess around with a fancy dinner set. They kind of died down for a bit after Syd, but a noteworthy video before mega-stardom was for "One of These Days", with a fully animated video featuring rotoscoped ballet dancers. Overall, though, I know a lot of their videos after this point were designed to be projected behind them, such as the video for "Money", which still stands a bit on its own regardless. But, when it comes to fully animated music videos, they had a big one for "Welcome to the Machine", which truly feels like they were moving towards what they would do on The Wall. And I'm hoping the next video (which I should pop over to Nebula to watch, but laziness means I'll probably just catch it here) talks a bit about Pink Floyd's The Wall, but also The Who's Tommy, as both were landmark attempts at giving the music visuals. Personally, I think Pink Floyd did the better job, but they did theirs after The Who, so there was some ability to learn from Tommy's mistakes. There's something also to be said about Pink Floyd's concert Live at Pompeii, which while a concert film, was also stitched together between live and studio performances, with visual effects and interspersed footage of the ruins of Pompeii (including a bit of the band exploring them). It feels like they were creating something beyond a concert film, or at least leaning more on the "film" than the "concert" for a good amount (especially with the later addition of footage of them recording Dark Side of the Moon at Abbey Road, even if these segments had nothing to do with Pompeii). I still absolutely love the film, one of the best things Pink Floyd released in a visual medium. High praise, considering their other achievements...

[@dennisclarkofficial]

This doc is captivating my bro!

[@valmarsiglia]

06:08 - Uh, nobody looked like that in 1963. 😅

[@toddbernstein3407]

Excellent series so far, but I'm surprised you glossed over the importance of A Hard Days Night. That movie helped pave the way for the look of modern-day music videos. The director, Richard Lester, was one of the very first recipients of the MTV video vanguard award for this reason.

[@thebrewmaster66kyle9]

Love your videos man! Much love and support! God bless!

[@nevinphil]

Love your videos! I didn't know the history behind the Bohemian Rhapsody one. Imagine, it was put together in just a few hours, only to have the shelf of eternity.

[@bobbyggare8364]

Moody blues mentioned. My day was made

[@caseysmith544]

Early Saturday Day Night Live had a few music videos as well from acts like early Devo, the B52's when they had first album, and pre 1980's Ramones. This was just before the original MTV era. The Ramones even have a movie that the songs from said movie were cut up to be individual music videos once the original MTV era launched.

[@raeganj6744]

I’m guessing the Ramones movie you’re talking about is Rock and Roll High School? I love that movie

[@caseysmith544]

​@@raeganj6744 Yes and Devo with Neal Young even had a muisc movie that was until 1995 never finished but the music in some sceenes were used for music videos on early MTV before they picked up the option to go coast to coast in 1982/1983, back when the channel only had 200 songs refusing to pay to play music or let music companies pay to have thier music on the channel. Sad becuse the last time MTV had anything music/music related on was in 2009 with the final TRL show on early Saturday someime before 3 am where my brother saw Trombone Shorty play hip hop. Even VH1 has had some growing up hip hop or artists of hip hop ledgends trying to start own career as well as a few shows of touring stars and might even play VH1 behind the music, but MTV has since 100% forgot its roots or other good programing Like some pioners of modern Adult Cartoons in the 1990's that brought the channel its fame.

[@ALurkingGrue]

Yay! Glad the Monkees got a shout out in this.

[@dannytoeman]

I don’t think the only problem with Top of the Pops was that the charts were released on Tuesday.

[@anonUK]

"Now then, now then, guys n gals..." Who would've known he would turn out to be a wrong 'un?

[@krachbumbang]

Great episode - thanks

[@fernandoulian8346]

Scopitone, ao lado dos Sondies representam a ancestralidade perdida dos Videoclipes. Muito bom vídeo! E se vocês fizessem um video sobre o Rockabilly alemão dos tempos da guerra fria?

[@NakNak241]

This is such great content!

[@omnicleanireland8221]

@Polyphonic dude your intelligent analysis of the history is amazeballs! Moose.

[@TheMerseySound1]

2:18 The Hollies - Little Lover

[@tymime]

The weirdness of The Beatles' 1965 videos is subtle, admittedly

[@Britkid72-g4p]

U should’ve talked about screaming lord such with his music video for his song Jack the Ripper from 1963

[@samfeldstein4498]

Thanks for making this video. I had previously thought it was I Want To Hold Your Hand that was the first song the Beatles performed on The Ed Sullivan Show. Also I had no idea The Moody Blues had a video that depicted similar-type visuals before Bohemian Rhapsody.

[@DrAnxiety17]

KZbin algorithms has lately been sabotaging great and informative KZbin content in favor of something more light and fun.

[@alexandergilles8583]

Wow thanks for this, I had no idea this technology ever existed in the 60s. And it's weird too cause I've seen the Subterreanian Homesick Blues Dylan video, and of course Killer Queen top of the pops and Bohemian Rhapsody, but I never knew that's what I was looking at

[@Zeitgeist997]

@16:47 That cover is almost a prophecy. The 3 of them is burying Freddie Mercury (also referenced in the middle of March of the Black Queen where it ends with 'in each and every soul lies a man who very soon you will see and discover that even until the end of his life will bring a little love' all wrapped up at the end of 'These are the days of our lives' that's brilliant decades long real life art almost like an arg that played with circumstances

[@TheMelloyMan]

I'm happy to see the yellow submarine mention :-)

[@jonnuanez7183]

Funny how Video Killed The Radio Star was basically *just* a regular promo video until it was used as the very first MTV video and thus etching its way into musical and visual history. It wasn't filmed for that specific reason.

[@darrylenglander2992]

any velvet underground and nico or just beatles and david bowie. the velvet underground was supposed to be in a movie with the yardbirds according to a triav box on all music guide

[@vibetech89]

This is the exact time when Everything was changed forever.

[@zylbher1]

If the beatles had Made videos of strawberry fields forever and Penny Lane before in 1967 , why bohemian rhapsody in 1975 is regarded as the first music video ? I don't understand that .

[@AugustRx]

The first one that had an actual effect on commercial sales. It normalized music videos instead of making them a rare throwaway gimmick

[@reubenrozeyt5716]

The Beatles Queen and early Pink Floyd mentioned!!!!

[@bobsbigboy_]

yes very obscure bands

[@ingridfong-daley5899]

So the Kinks did that bit with the "coffin-about-town" before Monty Python? Cool! Beck used the same bit in "Loser" too--i will never not laugh when I see it being used.

[@anonUK]

It was old by then- the silent movies had been doing that gag 50 years earlier.

[@ingridfong-daley5899]

@@anonUK Oh right on. it's a great, classic gag--didn't realise it was so old but i guess it makes sense

[@pagano60]

Before MTV, there was "Don Kirschner's Rock Show"!

[@HoneyBunny-69]

And don't forget "The Midnight Special"

[@toddkurzbard]

I never even REALIZED until now, that there were a sort of "music video" back then. I always thought that they basically originated with The Beatles, and that basically, nobody else except a VERY, VERY few, due to extreme success (meaning the money they generated for their labels meant they could demand anything they wanted) got to make those. After all, you could see various artists\groups on T.V. music shows (like "The Ed Sullivan Show" or"American Bandstand" or "Soul Train" in the U.S., or "Shindig" in England, for examples), so why would anybody need some kind of pre-produced video of a single song, when they might not even HAVE a T.V., or could see them "live" on a pre-recorded show featuring MANY performers? Basically, I figured that, barring a few released every rare here and there, music video's began with MTV.

[@AReservoirDog]

1:12 I love Sylvie Vartan.

[@tylerhackner9731]

What a great era

[@Mageofheart96]

I hope we get to see some they might be giants footage in the mtv episode, many of their early videos were very style experimental

[@Maintenancebay]

9:43 can't forget Mediate by INXS

[@dhpbear2]

19:35 - Your ring-light is reflecting off your glasses. Please consider moving it to the side!

[@cosmecome]

Hi ! Did you use Final cut pro for your videos ?

[@johndef5075]

The Beatles Rain video is cool as f.

[@AliceFlynn]

another banger by polyphonic

[@andercert70]

Wow. I didn't expect how the Mtv theme music was going to hit me. I haven't heard it in... decades?

[@williamblakejr]

Great video! Thanks! At the end of the video, it seems like you're not looking straight into the camera. I think it will look better if you do.

[@joshuagibson2520]

Kick ass presentation.

[@Heavilymoderated]

“Meanwhile, the actual Beatles” Polyphonic swinging his sickle. 😂

[@TheMerseySound1]

4:14 apart from some photoshoots, The Beatles had nothing to do with the Liverpool docks

[@carloseduardodutra991]

very good! tnks.

[@vaultmasterhd2316]

Don’t forget those hilarious Yes videos from the late 60s😂😂

[@redMaple_QC]

I'm surprised you didn't mention the Who, who were one of the pioneers of music video in the 60s.

[@riinak7212]

8:07 RIP Denny Laine

[@JonathanH71]

In 1989 I went to an amusement park now known as Six Flags Great America. Inside the park there was a video game arcade. While playing the games I heard music playing thinking it was just a jukebox. I saw these two girls dancing. So I sauntered over to talk to them and I saw they were watching the video and dancing to Parents Just Don’t Understand. First thought was MTV was playing but then I realised it was in-fact a video juke box. Eventually I married one of those girls but that isn’t the point of this story.

[@bobsbigboy_]

12:50 Carl Palmer on drums!!!!!!!

[@karolbielik838]

I’m not a huge Beatles fan but I absolutely love yellow submarine especially the part where the ship crew is shouting in the back ground and one person said “môžete mi vylizitať (kiss my ass)” and it supposed to be Dežo Hoffman immigrant from Slovakia a this supposed to be a message to Communist party of Czechoslovakia

[@abyss9316]

1:14 sounds like tiktok... Seriously there is always been a demand for that sort of content whether it was 60 years ago or today

[@AugustRx]

These had no choreography whatsoever

[@lucasratti]

That's not the point though, it's thz general idea more then the choreography

[@RaquelFoster]

9:02 I had no idea INXS's Mediate was ripping off Bob Dylan 😂

[@Gary-zq3pz]

Just imagine Rob Zombie slipping thru a time warp back to '65....

[@J.R.Psych74]

The weird world of sixties videos with seventies videos in it. Nicely done 😂

[@rareblues78daddy]

You had to bring up Johnny Hallyday.

[@Zeitgeist997]

@8:00 that dude had a 60 yr old face at 25

[@dorothywasrighttho5129]

It is mentionned on Notes on Camp and I always wondered what it looked like ... Also those machines were used to show porns. Fascinating.

[@martingiovannella]

Where is the clip at 11:24 from?

[@CantTellYou]

If you look up “1967 Los Angeles Hippie Festival” (the “Easter Sunday Love-In”) I’m pretty certain that’s the festival where that footage is from.

[@derianimp]

I love The Beatles and The Monkees!!!

[@LightPink]

Turning on the tv to watch music is so weird

[@IndaloMan]

Surprised there is no reference to ABBA videos in this round-up....?

[@joermnyc]

Surprised but also not surprised at the lack of mention of all the films Elvis did... most were terrible... except King Creole because it wasn't just a thin plot with elaborate music performances holding it together.

[@fromchomleystreet]

It’s not really terribly relevant. They were cinema released films with songs in them, not discrete promotional clips designed for screening on TV, in isolation, as an advertisement for a record. They’re purely in the established tradition of film musicals, which in turn are in the tradition of the broadway musical. You could say there was a link between the film musical as a genre and the music video, but it’s not like the Elvis films in particular were doing something particularly innovative in that regard.

[@joermnyc]

@@fromchomleystreet we he did mention the films the Beatles made.

[@afwilliams634]

Why are we talking about Bohemian Rhapsody on a video about 60s music videos?🤔

[@callanfox9870]

Why the heck does every time this video appear in my recommended the thumbnail is changed

[@SaltySweetCaroline1]

10:39 ❤️ 💙 💜 💖

[@nucleja]

wow an american who knows TOTP! amazing

[@fredo1070]

Blondie was the first band to release a video album.

[@reubenrozeyt5716]

Were can I find it?

[@fredo1070]

@@reubenrozeyt5716 It's all on KZbin Blondie - Eat To The Beat VHS

[@beauwilliamson3628]

I feel like you could count 'Help' and 'A Hard Days Night' as such. The Monkey's 'Head', and Gainbourg's 'Histoire de Melody Nelson' in 71. Except you couldn't buy them in stores in video form (as far as I know Maybe as super 8?).

[@AReservoirDog]

Why does the BBC have a policy about erasing old tapes? Even if they are damaged. Seems like a deliberate middle finger to the archival of history in general.

[@gabrielwhite3429]

back then they recorded new shows over old tapes to keep costs down

[@AReservoirDog]

@@gabrielwhite3429 Ok, at least that makes sense

[@HoneyBunny-69]

Because they were a bunch of cheapskate douchebags who didn't want to spend money. Except when buying tea. Lots of tea. (It's 12 o'clock. Time for tea and 'Meet the Wife') Which begs the question : Why did they even bother buying videotapes and cameras to film anything if they weren't gonna save it?!?!

[@dragitoutofme]

Do I hear Joel????

[@ellen4956]

NO, go-go boots were white and did not have thin spiked heels.

[@pssurvivor]

if video killed the radio star then music streaming killed the music video

[@maxevocal]

Its funny to me how many bands tried to be Beatles copycats, and ended up going in a new direction entirely! The Monkees and the Bee Gees both come to mind

[@allynfornow]

🔥

[@seamlessline]

Tawp of the Pawps

[@MurenRandom]

❤

[@bobsbigboy_]

i see you stopped talking in slow motion