The History of Pop Videos

Bessie Smith

The history of pop videos started with Bessie Smith who was a blues singer. She was a part of one of the first music videos which included a narrative; which had never been done before. Smith's song was included in a short film called St Louis Blues (1929), this film was shown in cinemas for approximately four years. The significance of it being shown in cinemas for so long, is that because the song became so well known many heard it for years, which would never happen today. In the 1920s this was a way to get an artist's music heard by the public, and that was how the song gained popularity.

Bing Crosby

Crosby was one of the biggest stars of the 1940s, he was an actor who starred in many films. He was also a singer whose talents were showcased in films. This example comes from the film White Christmas (1942), here it shows all attention on Crosby as the camera centres it's attention on the singer. This was so that the viewer could focus on the song and his voice, this then helped make the song popular amongst the public. He also featured in a TV special which featured Dean Martin, who was an up-and-coming star. Martin being shown in this special alongside Crosby helped him gain stardom. 

Frank Sinatra 

Later, Sinatra replaced Crosby as the world's biggest star. Likewise to Crosby, Sinatra also starred in many films where he sang songs such as "New York, New York". The film On The Town (1949) was a musical which was previously a musical on broadway. Frank Sinatra was apart of The Rat Pack, where he performed in concerts.  

Elvis Presley 

Presley was one of the biggest rock n roll stars of the 20th century. Likewise to the previous actors/singers, Presley starred in many films where his music was heard. An example where Elvis Presley starred in a film was Blue Hawaii (1961). This movie portrays Presley as a playboy surrounded by girls, this was showed to get Presley attention from teenage fans. Similarly to Sinatra, Presley sung in concerts but he only toured the USA.

The Beatles

The Beatles showcased their music on Top of the Pops, which gained them popularity amongst the public as this was a very popular music show in the UK. The attention that show gave them allowed their music to progress in the charts. These musicians also had their own film called A Hard Days Night (1964). In this debut feature film we got to see the individual personalities of The Beatles; this fast pace film is full of action which would attract younger audiences. As this film showed them getting into mischief younger fans could relate to their behaviour, and featured their music. Also, The Beatles had the first ever official music video with their song Paperback Writer in 1968. 

Top of the Pops & MTV

Top of the Pops began in 1964 and ended in 2006, which aired on BBC. It was shown every week on a Thursday where artists would perform their song on stage. It also featured the weekly chart update of the latest popular music. 

The first music video that was broadcasted on MTV was Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles (1981). In this music video there are a variety of special effects, this was a milestone for music videos as more variety was introduced to pop videos. There is also a little girl there which shows how they are trying to reach a different demographic.