On this very day 30 years ago…12:01a.m….pop culture as we knew it was changed forever!! MTV launched with the words “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll,” spoken by John Lack, and played over footage of the first Space Shuttle launch countdown of Columbia (which took place earlier that year) and of the launch of Apollo 11. Those words were immediately followed by the original MTV theme song, a tune composed by Jonathan Elias and John Petersen, playing over photos of the Apollo 11 moon landing, with the flag featuring MTV’s logo changing various colors, textures, and designs. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs, and 30 years later it’s done that and SO MUCH MORE. I mean, what would life be without Snooki and DJ Pauly D, amiright? LOL! Thank you, MTV, for being pop culture pioneers!! We wish you many more decades of success!!
