This week marked the anniversary of what, in my opinion, is one of the most influential pop culture moments of the 80s decade. On August 1, 1981 a new cable television channel went on the air called Music Television or MTV for short. The world would never be the same (though MTV is a far cry today from what it was in the 80s). I covered my appreciation for MTV in one of my most popular issues which includes my Top 80s Music Videos list. Please be sure to click on the link to check out that issue if you haven't before.

Many people know that the first video to air at 12:01 on that historical day was the prophetic "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles. A piece of trivia known by far fewer people is the video that was played second on MTV that morning. The answer is "You Better Run" by Pat Benatar. It was not particularly a hit song only peaking at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it was the first single off of her 1980 album Crimes of Passion which also included the song "Hit Me With Your Best Shot." The album went 5x Platinum and is her best selling album to date though she would have much more successful singles later on with "Love Is a Battlefield" in 1983 and "We Belong" in 1984.

In recognition of being the second video ever played on MTV, this week's Flashback Video is "You Better Run" by Pat Benatar...

Pat Benatar has not released a new studio album since 2003, but she is still touring playing her greatest hits for fans. Last summer (2009), Benatar toured with Blondie in what was titled the "Call Me Invincible" tour. Back in June (2010), Benatar's memoir Between a Heart and a Rock Place was released. The book touches on her battles with her record company Chrysalis, and the difficulties her career caused in her personal life.

That's all for another issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. If you want to see the past issues of Flashback Videos, just type that into the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column and it should give you a list of all of them. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use that Google Search Box to find any past issues or topics you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on the "Like" button. Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also follow Old School on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". Even though the blog only updates a couple times a week, I try to send out daily 80s tweets. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.