Surely not!

[Lat-Literal]

.......well it was bound to descend into anarchy but it was saved from it with a clip by genuine anarchists. How ironic!

The Music Video Part 1

In 1894, sheet music publishers Marks and Stern hired electrician George Thomas and performers to promote sales of their song "The Little Lost Child". Using a magic lantern, Thomas projected a series of still images on a screen simultaneous to live performances. This entertainment known as the illustrated song was the first step towards music video.

It is not known whether Marks and Stern used a stereopticon. See Post 2586 etc of 'Phrases/words that set your teeth on edge' re the word 'stereopticon'.

In 1926, with the arrival of "talkies" many musical short films were produced. Vitaphone shorts featured many bands, vocalists and dancers. Animation artist Max Fleischer introduced a series of sing-along short cartoons called Screen Songs, which invited audiences to sing along to popular songs by "following the bouncing ball", which is similar to a modern karaoke machine. Early 1930s cartoons featured popular musicians performing their hit songs on-camera in live-action segments during the cartoons. The early animated films by Walt Disney, such as the Silly Symphonies shorts and Fantasia, which featured interpretations of classical pieces, were built around music. The Warner Brothers cartoons were initially fashioned around specific songs from upcoming films. Live action shorts, featuring such popular performers as Cab Calloway, were also distributed to theatres.

The Nicholas Brothers performed with Cab Calloway. The Nicholas Sisters never did. For background, Post 123 of 'The Somewhat Delayed Song Thread'.

Bessie Smith appeared in a two-reel short film called St. Louis Blues (1929) featuring a dramatized performance of the hit song. Numerous other musicians appeared in short musical subjects during this period. Soundies, produced and released from 1940-1947, were musical films that often included short dance sequences, similar to later music videos. In the mid-1940s, musician Louis Jordan made short films for his songs, some of which were spliced together into a feature film Lookout Sister. These films were, according to music historian Donald Clarke, the "ancestors" of music video. Several well-known music videos have imitated the style of classic Hollywood musicals from the 1930s to the 1950s. One of the best-known examples is Madonna's 1985 video for "Material Girl" which was closely modelled on Jack Cole's staging of "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" from the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Several of Michael Jackson's videos show the unmistakable influence of the dance sequences in classic Hollywood musicals, including "Thriller".

The Nicholas Brothers advised Michael Jackson on dance steps. Madonna was a 20th Century pop artist and consequently fits in neatly with this thread.

According to the Internet Accuracy Project, disc jockey–singer "The Big Bopper" was the first to coin the phrase "music video", in 1959. In his autobiography, Tony Bennett claims to have created "...the first music video" when he was filmed walking along the Serpentine in Hyde Park, London in 1956, with the resulting clip being set to his recording of the song "Stranger in Paradise". The clip was sent to UK and US television stations and aired on shows including Dick Clark's American Bandstand. The oldest example of a promotional music video with similarities to more abstract, modern videos seems to be "Dáme si do bytu" ("Let's get to the apartment") created in 1958 and directed by Ladislav Rychman.

Historicky první hudební klip světa, tehdy zvaný filmová a televisní pisnička. Irena Kačírková a Josef Bek - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6nSORnS0Jw

...............More from Wikipedia with helpful comments later!

[johncorrigan]

...........

The Nicholas Brothers performed with Cab Calloway. The Nicholas Sisters never did. For background, Post 123 of 'The Somewhat Delayed Song Thread'.

Bessie Smith appeared in a two-reel short film called St. Louis Blues (1929) featuring a dramatized performance of the hit song. Numerous other musicians appeared in short musical subjects during this period. Soundies, produced and released from 1940-1947, were musical films that often included short dance sequences, similar to later music videos. In the mid-1940s, musician Louis Jordan made short films for his songs, some of which were spliced together into a feature film Lookout Sister. These films were, according to music historian Donald Clarke, the "ancestors" of music video. Several well-known music videos have imitated the style of classic Hollywood musicals from the 1930s to the 1950s. One of the best-known examples is Madonna's 1985 video for "Material Girl" which was closely modelled on Jack Cole's staging of "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" from the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Several of Michael Jackson's videos show the unmistakable influence of the dance sequences in classic Hollywood musicals, including "Thriller".

!

Thanks Lat - reminds me that about 20 years back Channel 4 did a series of programmes showing some of these 'Soundies' - apparently they were released for short lived juke boxes that showed these films. Those programmes were must-watch for me with jazz, blues, danceband music, I seem to recall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY2VEPC0eW0

[Lat-Literal]

Thanks Lat - reminds me that about 20 years back Channel 4 did a series of programmes showing some of these 'Soundies' - apparently they were released for short lived juke boxes that showed these films. Those programmes were must-watch for me with jazz, blues, danceband music, I seem to recall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY2VEPC0eW0

Fascinating. Liked them all but especially enjoyed the opening sequence with the Delta Rhythm Boys and company and the 5 Spirits of Harmony, the Ali Baba Trio, Annisteen Allen and LaVilla Tulos. The more obvious selections would probably be the Fats Waller, the Count Basie and the Jubalaires. Not quite sure what to make of the Maurice Rocco and the Gloria Grey did seem later as the man on YT suggested. The good news on the music video is we only need the history up to the first ones so the follow-up post won't be 'huge'!

[johncorrigan]

Here's a sort of very, very short wee history, Lat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byGMBwKruwM

[Lat-Literal]

Here's a sort of very, very short wee history, Lat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byGMBwKruwM

You know a lot about this sort of thing, don't you JC.

I hadn't realised there was this string to your bow!!!

The Music Video Part 2

In the late 1950s, the Scopitone, a visual jukebox, was invented in France and short films were produced by many French artists, such as Serge Gainsbourg, Françoise Hardy, Jacques Brel and Jacques Dutronc.....Its use spread to other countries and similar machines such as the Cinebox in Italy and Color-Sonic in the USA were patented. In 1961, for the Canadian show Singalong Jubilee, Manny Pittson began pre-recording the music audio, went on-location and taped various visuals with the musicians lip-synching, then edited the audio and video together..... In 1964, Kenneth Anger's experimental short film, Scorpio Rising used popular songs instead of dialogue. Also, the Beatles starred in their first feature film A Hard Day's Night, directed by Richard Lester. Shot in black-and-white and presented as a mock documentary, it interspersed comedic and dialogue sequences with musical tones. The musical sequences furnished basic templates on which countless subsequent music videos were modelled. It was the direct model for the successful US TV series The Monkees..... The Beatles' second feature Help! was a much more lavish affair, filmed in colour in London and on international locations. The title track sequence, filmed in black-and-white, is arguably one of the prime archetypes of the modern performance-style music video, employing rhythmic cross-cutting, contrasting long shots and close-ups.

In 1965, the Beatles began making promotional clips ("filmed inserts").....so they could promote their record releases without having to make in-person appearances..... By the time The Beatles stopped touring in late 1966, their promotional films, like their recordings, had become highly sophisticated. In May 1966 they filmed two sets of colour promotional clips for their current single "Rain"/"Paperback Writer" ....... The colour promotional clips for "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane", made in early 1967 and directed by Peter Goldman took the promotional film format to a new level. They used techniques borrowed from underground and avant garde film, including reversed film and slow motion, dramatic lighting, unusual camera angles and colour filtering added in post-production. At the end of 1967 the group released their third film, the one hour, made-for-television project Magical Mystery Tour.....Although poorly received at the timefor poor narrative......it showed the group to be accomplished music video makers in their own right.

So - The colour promotional clips for "Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane", made in early 1967 and directed by Peter Goldman took the promotional film format to a new level.

The monochrome 1966 clip for Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" filmed by D. A. Pennebaker was featured in film documentary Dont Look Back. Eschewing any attempt to simulate performance, the clip shows Dylan standing in a city back alley, silently shuffling a series of large cue cards..... Pink Floyd were pioneers in producing promotional films for their songs, ie "San Francisco: Film"...The Who featured in several promotional clips, beginning with their 1965 clip for I Can't Explain.....The Rolling Stones appeared in many promotional clips for their songs. In 1966, Peter Whitehead directed two promo clips for their single "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?". ....The group also filmed a colour promo clip for the song "2000 Light Years From Home" ..... In 1968, Michael Lindsay-Hogg directed three clips for their single "Jumping Jack Flash"....Nancy Sinatra had filmed a music video for her song These Boots Are Made for Walkin' in 1966. In June 1968, Elvis Presley recorded music videos to promote Trouble/Guitar Man.

During late 1972–73 David Bowie featured in a series of promotional films directed by pop photographer Mick Rock, who worked extensively with Bowie in this period. Rock directed and edited four clips to promote four consecutive singles - "John, I'm Only Dancing", "The Jean Genie", the December 1972 US re-release of "Space Oddity" and the 1973 release of the single "Life on Mars?"...........Country music also picked up on the trend of promotional clips to go along with songs. Sam Lovullo, the producer of the television series Hee Haw, said his show presented "what were, in reality, the first musical videos," while JMI Records made the same claim with Don Williams' 1973 country song, "The Shelter of Your Eyes".

The Australian TV shows Countdown and Sounds were significant from 1974 in developing and popularizing the music video genre. .....and one Australian, Mulcahy, made successful music videos for several noted British pop acts - his early UK credits included XTC's "Making Plans for Nigel" (1979) and his landmark video for The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" (1979) which became the first music video played on MTV in 1981......However, the long-running British Rock music show The Old Grey Whistle Test produced a number of pioneering videos made especially for the programme throughout the 1970s. And in 1974, the American rock band Sparks had been sanctioned by the UK to create a video clip to promote their hit single "This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us", and this use of music in video has been considered by many to be the first of its kind in Britain. ....... In 1975, The Who released their all-music feature film Tommy, directed by Ken Russell, based upon their 1969 rock opera. Plus in 1975, the band Queen ordered Bruce Gowers to make a promo video for their new single "Bohemian Rhapsody" to be shown on the BBC's Top of the Pops; this is also notable for being entirely shot and edited on videotape.

Bruce Gowers's late 1975 promo video for the Queen single "Bohemian Rhapsody" that was shown on Top of the Pops was notable for being entirely shot and edited on videotape.

[Lat-Literal]

HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY MUSIC VIDEO!

Official video:

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ

(And if you thought the explanation was long, you should see the blimmin' length of the full Wikipedia entry!)

[Globaltruth]

...Clutches vainly at straw to try and put some kind of WM sense into this inappropriately placed thread...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icNKgwDpTrg

[Serial_Apologist]

...Clutches vainly at straw to try and put some kind of WM sense into this inappropriately placed thread...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icNKgwDpTrg

One of the commentators says nothing can top the original - pity.

[Lat-Literal]

Can we do the 40th anniversary of this one in four months time?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLolL5ZIssk