Warner Cable launches MTV

Rock fans now had somewhere else to hear new music - cable television! Warner Cable, wanting a music channel, launched MTV (Music Television) on August 1, 1981. Bands and artists produced video footage to go with their songs, and MTV became the first network to play these videos 24/7. Warner billed this as "radio with pictures" and even had "VJ's", instead of DJ's, to announce them. A revolution in music was born!

The first video shown on MTV? Video Killed The Radio Star by the Buggles

Foreigner's "Beatles" Moment

Just four months into the new Album Rock Tracks Chart a rare moment happens! On the July 18th issue of Billboard, Foreigner's Urgent entered the chart at Number 2! This harkened back to 1964, when the Beatles' Can't Buy Me Love moved from 27 to 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was nearly unprecendented to see a song/track enter that high!

Urgent was the first single released from Foreigner's soon·to·be enormously successful album 4 - the album titled because it was their fourth album - and the first track to be played on AOR stations across the country.

As expected, Urgent moved to Number 1 the following week, in the July 25th issue.

The Rolling Stones' "Elvis" Moment

Another historic moment happened the first year of Billboard's Album Rock Tracks Chart when the Rolling Stones' Start Me Up spent a stunning 13 weeks at number one - the longest stretch at the top of any Billboard chart since the 1950's! This highly successful stretch at the top by a highly successful band harkened back to Elvis Presley's 2·sided hit Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel topping the chart for 11 weeks back in 1956. More than a decade would pass before another track lasted this long at the top of the Album Rock Tracks Chart.

This no doubt helped Billboard's Album Rock Tracks Chart become successful also, which it did!

Film Heavy Metal Becomes Cult Classic

The Rock music adult·themed sci·fi fantasy film Heavy Metal debuted in theaters in 1981. The movie, based on the Canadian magazine of the same name, tells the story of an intergalactic battle between good and evil^[1], and features music from Rock icons such as Sammy Hagar, Blue Oyster Cult, Black Sabbath, Journey, and Don Felder (the Eagles), to name a few. Although the film only achieved modest success at the box office, it did become a cult classic among Rock fans. The soundtrack album enjoyed decent success on Rock radio stations as well, reaching number 6 on Billboard's Rock Albums chart.