re: #183 Occasional Reader

Um… you sure about that? I find this very hard to believe. MTV played whatever was popular, right from the outset, AFAIK. It’s not like MTV was around during the Jim Crow days.

They played a few such as “Electric Avenue” by Eddie Grant, but they would not play Rick James and others until CBS Records threatened to pull all their songs from MTV unless Michael Jackson’s songs (very popular on the radio) were played. MTV would not even play one of Jackson’s song until then. The first one was “Billie Jean”, and then went on to make MTV what is was for much of the ’80s.