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History of Music Videos
Here is my analysis of the history of music videos in chronological order -
St Louis Blues
Blues singer Bessie Smith appeared in a two reel short film called St Louis Blues. This is the first known example of a true music video, this video was used to create more attention for future music videos. This video had not made use of many editing techniques due to the time it was made, this meant that the video was very simplistic but it was positively received because of the fact that these type of videos were new and did not have any prominent predecessors. -
Stranger In Paradise
In 1956 Tony Bennett was filmed walking along the serpentine river in Hyde Park, London as his recording for "Stranger in paradise" this film was distributed to and played by UK and US television stations, this in turn led bennett to claim he had made the first official music video, Bennett had become full of himself and had become obsessed with fame, this music video was also again very primitive in comparison to todays music videos yet the people of the 1950s seemed to really enjoy this video. -
Invention of the Scopitone.
Around the year 1960 the French invented a visual jukebox called the Scopitone, this meant that many french artist created short videos to be viewed through such contraptions. these short videos... of course would accompany their music videos and many had come to view this as the next generation in music video viewing. -
A hard days night.
The most defining work in the development of music videos, the Beatles created 'A hard days night' directed by Richard Lester. The music segments in this video arguably set out the basic visual vocabulary of todays music videos, influencing a vast number of contemporary musicians and countless subsequent pop and rock music videos, this music video can be interpreted as many small segmented clips fitted together in an order that seemed to compliment the music in the background, -
Subterranean Homesick Blues
Filmed by D A pennebaker , the 1966 clip of bob dylan performing his song was used profusely the video had a very ironic portrayal of a performance and had a seeming random inclusion of a celebrity (Allen Ginsberg) in a non performing role had also become somewhat mainstream in the media of the 1960s and even to this day. This music video has been largely imitated in todays music videos therefor it was one of the most influential music videos ever. -
Strawberry fields forever and Penny Lane.
This Beatles music video was also groundbreaking in the development of music videos, the video borrowed lots of film techniques, such as reversed film effects, dramatic lighting, unusual camera angles and rhythmic editing. Among the Psychedelic music this song was one of the fist to present the music as a fully visual and musical experience, the song was presented as very artful and many people looked t this film for inspiration and as a way to know how the videos of the day were being made. -
Strawberry Fields Forever
"Strawberry Fields Forever" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. The song was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. It was inspired by Lennon's memories of playing in the garden of Strawberry Field, a Salvation Army children's home near where he grew up in Liverpool. This music was very important as it was one of the worlds first tastes of psychedelic video effects, the music video was named as one of the best ever videos made. -
Bohemian Rhapsody
1975 brought about the release of Queens 'Bohemian Rhapsody' the music video, the music video was one of the most influential of its time, the music video involved the band singing in a contemporary fashion while the lighting and background changes to suit the lyrics being sung. -
Top of the Pops
Created in 1964, Top of the Pops. The introduction of Top of the pops was a very influential event within the music society, this was the one show that most/ every artist would want to be featured on. The show was a very good way to gain popularity and gain many fans among the general population. The show was a great way for artists to gain exposure while also showing people what their persona is like. The show helped many of the mainstream artists of today become as popular as they are now. -
MTV Launch
1981 brought about the launch of the hit music video television channel 'MTV' this channel helped gain attention to a plethora of music videos, all videos shown on this channel had started to gain much more success due to the ease of access of the music videos. -
More sopphisticated videos effects.
This phase in music videos started the trend that artist started using much more sophisticated video effects, these made the videos much more credible and the music producers and their video producers also gained a lot more credibility. The introduction of editing programs such as Sony Vegas and after effects also had a knock on effect on the quality of the effects in these music videos, however many of the majorly popular artists would use much better editing programs. -
Michael Jackson, "Thriller"
Michael Jackson's Thriller is a 13-minute horror themed music video for the song of the same name released on December 2, 1983. It was directed by John Landis, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Jackson. The song was released from his sixth studio album of the same name. This music set the standard quality for music to come after for generations, this music video was very much the best music video of the era at the time. -
Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel song)
"Sledgehammer" is a song written, composed and performed by English rock musician Peter Gabriel. Produced by Gabriel and Daniel Lanois. It hit No. 1 in Canada on 21 July 1986, where it spent four weeks; No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States on 26 July 1986 and No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart, thanks in part to a popular and influential music video. It was his biggest hit in North America and ties with "Games Without Frontiers" as his biggest hit in the United Kingdom. -
Guns N' Roses, "Welcome To The Jungle"
"Welcome to the Jungle" is a song by the American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on their debut studio album, Appetite for Destruction (1987). It was released as the album's second single initially in the UK in September 1987 then again in October 1988 this time including the US, where it reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 24 on the UK Singles Chart.The song was very influential in the fact that it changed the way the genre of metal was viewed in society. -
Like a Prayer
"Like a Prayer" is a song by American singer Madonna, from her studio album of the same name. Sire Records released it as the album's lead single on March 3, 1989. She co-wrote and co-produced the song with Patrick Leonard. The track denoted a more artistic and personal approach to songwriting for Madonna, who felt she needed to cater more to her adult audience. The song played with the idea of subtly opposing the patriarchal society that she lived in, while also improving public view on sex. -
Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
It is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album, Nevermind (1991), released on DGC Records. Written by Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dave Grohl (lyrics by Cobain, music by Nirvana) and produced by Butch Vig, the song uses a verse-chorus form where the main four-chord riff is used during the intro and chorus to create an alternating loud and quiet dynamic. The song was very influential as it raised the bar for not only this genre of song but all songs altogether. -
Britney Spears, "...Baby One More Time"
Baby One More Time" is a teen pop and dance-pop song that refers to a girl's feelings after a break-up with her boyfriend. The song received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised its composition. The songs music video was also somewhat seen as controversial as it dealt with the sexuality of women and the idea that women were best suited for domestic jobs, the music video gave a lot of producers the courage to be more experimental with them female artists music videos.
