Thomas Edison and the phonograph
23 Jun 1877
the phonograph was the first ever recording and listening device which was invented in 1877. This was a pivitol moment in music history as it allowed for ownership and without ownership nothing could be sold.
The television
3 May 1920
A very crude version of the television was available in the early 1920's however after WW1 a much improved version became popular in the UK and the USA. In the 1950's television had a primary function of influencing the nation yet by the 1960's color broadcasting was introduced to the US and most other developed countries.
Fred Astaire
23 Jun 1934
With a career that spanned over 76 years the American singer, choreographer, dancer, musician and actor starred in a total of 31 musical films, winning a number of television awards in the process. This is another example of the calabaration between music and film.
Battle of the ice
1 Dec 1938
Sergei Eisenstein directed the 'Alexander Nevsky' a Russian propaganda film. The film climaxes to the so called 'Battle of the ice' which is accompanied by music to give a strong feel of patriotism.
Fantasia
23 Jun 1940
Disney's Fantasia is arguably the first music video. Walt Disney was a huge fan of classical music and in order to promote it among the younger generations he designed a film from his ever popular cartoons. This was the first time that a film or video had been written for the music rather than the other way around, however many Disney and Fantasia fans debate this.
Singin' in the rain
1 Jan 1952
Eugene Curran Kelly more commonly known as Gene Kelly starred in the hit musical 'Singin' in the rain'. Musicals became more and more popular as other such as 'West side story' began to arise in the 1960's.
Jailhouse rock
24 Sep 1957
Elvis Presley was able to promote 'black music' and used the music in a significant way. The Jailhouse rock video is choreographed well and has uses lots of different cameras to achieve the final video.
ITV and music
23 Jun 1963
ITV had a television show dedicated to music, the artist mimed their songs on air in order to persuade viewers to invest in a copy of their vinyl and by 1965 the show became completely live.
The animals
19 Jun 1964
The animals were a completely fabricated band, they were put together to sell. This has been happening for years as the Bee Gees experienced when their lead singer was told to stay at the back due to his appearance. Only now are we openly experiencing this with the X-Factor creating bands
Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody
31 Oct 1975
The video was iconic for its simplicity of the four heads but was also revolutionary in terms of its editing, transitioning and effects
Peter Gabriel, Sledgehammer
25 Apr 1986
This video which saw Peter Gabriel lay under a sheet of glass for 16 hours whilst animators worked around him, the video was a huge success and in many respects surpassed the song which may not have taken off without this.
Madonna
21 Mar 1989
In the 1980's Madonna became hugely controversial using religious iconography and sexual metaphors in her 'Like a prayer' video.
Sabotage
28 Jan 1994
The Beastie boys used intertextuality in abundance in this 80's police detective parody, the video uses similar titling and editing to police dramas from this era to create a music video closer to the Naked Gun than any other music video before its time
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