The Date
It’s Friday, July 29, 1983.
There’s a new television show about to begin on one of our local television channels, NBC (back then, my family didn’t have cable TV).
The show is called “Friday Night Videos” and it’s about to change the way we appreciate our favorite music!
My boyfriend at the time (now my husband) is at our house and we’re anxious to see this new show!
Fast Forward
While I couldn’t find a recording of the very first episode, this is the episode from the October 28, 1983 airing (including commercials – which are also fun to see). The recording is mostly complete – although some videos are shortened. Take a trip down memory lane with me and enjoy the show! Ah…. the nostalgia!
A Bit of History
Friday Night Videos aired from July 29, 1983 to May 24, 2002. Because MTV was only available to cable television subscribers, NBC created the show for local channels, based on the popularity of MTV (back when MTV actually played music videos).
When this show first aired, the audio was simulcast over FM radio so you could listen to it in stereo. Later, NBC was able to have stereo sound within its broadcast.
Remember the “Video Vote”? Each week, there were two videos competing for votes. Watchers could call in to a 900-number and place their vote for their preferred video. The video that won for the week would be the challenger the following week. After a video won most votes for four consecutive weeks, it became the champion, and then two new videos were introduced the week after and the voting would start over. If you called in to vote, you had a chance to win a free t-shirt. Sadly, we never won a t-shirt. 🙁
In 1985, Friday Night Videos started having weekly celebrity hosts for the show, and they added a fun element to each week. I especially liked the episode with George Carlin and another with Dr. Ruth Westheimer (they were funny).
Looking Back
In addition to looking forward to “date night”, Friday Night Videos became one of our favorite programs to watch back in the 1980s. Lots of fun memories of the show, and lots of great music, too.
We enjoyed seeing the visual interpretation of artist’s songs – some were funny, some were sexy… and some were odd and completely senseless. Music videos certainly changed artist’s popularity – it wasn’t all about great musicians, meaningful lyrics, and unforgettable melodies. A great music video could also “show a story” that gave us images into the artist’s interpretation of their music.
How about you? Did you watch this show? If so, do you have a favorite song, episode, or memory? Share in a comment below!
