History of VH1

Launched on January 1, 1985, VH1 (which was an acronym for Video Hits One) originally focused on music and, later, pop culture-related programming aimed at older audiences than its sibling channel at the time, MTV.

[3] VH1's aim was to focus on the lighter, softer side of popular music,[3] including American and foreign musicians such as Olivia Newton-John, Kenny Rogers, Carly Simon, Tina Turner, Elton John, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, Sting, Donna Summer, Rod Stewart, Kenny G, Michael Bolton, Anita Baker, Chicago, and Fleetwood Mac, in hopes of appealing to people aged 18 to 35, and possibly older.

It was introduced on January 1, 1985, with the video performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Marvin Gaye,[3] who died a year before the network launched (the national anthem was also played at the launch of Cable Music Channel) It was programmed to fit many of the radio formats popular with adults at the time including soft rock, smooth jazz, oldies and adult contemporary.

[citation needed] Later VJs included Bobby Rivers, who joined in 1987, Tim Byrd of WPIX-FM (the current day FM rebroadcast of WFAN), a station whose eclectic ballad-and-R&B oriented format mirrored that of VH-1, Roger Rose - Actor and comedian (Ski Patrol), and Alison Steele ("The Nightbird" of WNEW-FM).

[citation needed] The format left room for occasional ad-libs by the VJ, a godsend for emcees such as Imus and O'Donnell.

In true Imus style, he used a 1985 segment of his VH-1 show to jokingly call smooth-jazz icon Sade a "grape" for her oval-shaped head.

It was later replaced in 1991 by a larger, vertically oriented font, with the year the video was made added to the lower column that identified the label on which the album was released.

The channel's playlist was gradually expanding, and, by 1994, included contemporary musicians such as Ace of Base, Melissa Etheridge, Sheryl Crow, Lisa Loeb, Amy Grant, Seal, and other slightly heavier, or more alternative rock-influenced music than what it had originally played, although favorites such as Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Rod Stewart, Cher, Elton John, Madonna, Phil Collins, Janet Jackson, and Céline Dion still continued to receive heavy play for several more years as well.

Max intended to use the cars for an art project, but it never got started and the entire collection was left in an underground parking lot in New York City for over 20 years, and deteriorated into poor condition.

A combination of record sales, radio airplay, video spins, message board posts, and conventional mail would decide the order of the countdown.

Along with Davies, the series has featured a widely diverse list of artists, including Culture Club, Stone Temple Pilots, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Kanye West, Tom Waits, and Def Leppard.

Episodes have ranged from Aaliyah to Stryper to Keith Moon, as well as others such as, Meat Loaf, Tori Amos, MC Hammer, Cher, Oasis, Steppenwolf, Fleetwood Mac, TLC, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Megadeth, Britney Spears, Selena, Petra, Pantera, and Eminem, with more episodes being produced periodically.

The artists profiled so far have included Aerosmith; the Bee Gees; David Bowie; Johnny Cash; Eric Clapton; The Clash; George Clinton; Sam Cooke; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; The Doors; John Fogerty; Aretha Franklin; Marvin Gaye; The Grateful Dead; Guns N' Roses; Jimi Hendrix; Michael Jackson; Eminem; Elton John; Janis Joplin; B.B.

King; Led Zeppelin; John Lennon; Curtis Mayfield; Nirvana; Pink Floyd; The Pretenders; Red Hot Chili Peppers; Queen; Bruce Springsteen; Tina Turner; U2; Stevie Ray Vaughan; The Who, and Neil Young.

[27] The second installment of these "diva" shows was produced in 1999 featuring Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, Cher, LeAnn Rimes, Mary J. Blige, Billy Joel, Chaka Khan, Brandy, and special "divo" Elton John.

[28] It became a huge success and was featured in the following years starring Diana Ross, Donna Summer, Destiny's Child, Kelly Clarkson, Jordin Sparks, Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Hudson, Shakira, Deborah Harry, Anastacia, Dixie Chicks, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, and Jessica Simpson.

Over the next three years, they made over a dozen movies, including bio-pics on Jim Morrison and The Doors, Ricky Nelson, MC Hammer, The Monkees, Meat Loaf, and Def Leppard.

[citation needed] VH1 eventually warmed up to harder rock acts such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Foo Fighters, the Stone Temple Pilots, and Metallica.

[3] The latest videos by Eminem, Nelly, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott, and Eve began to be shown in VH1's rotation and even started to cut up on VH1's top 20 countdown.

[citation needed] VH1 also plays music from Latin artists such as Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, Enrique Iglesias, Thalía, and Shakira.

Films produced by other studios have also been aired as rockDocs, including Woodstock, Madonna: Truth or Dare, Tupac: Resurrection, Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That!, a documentary on the Beastie Boys, and most recently Last Days of Left Eye which documented the last month of Lisa Lopes's life from the band TLC, and N.W.A.

Each episode was dedicated to a specific genre, ranging from past child stars to Aaron Spelling's notable productions, to controversial news figures.

VH1 also aired a series of promos in 2003, featuring animated kittens from the online animation website Rathergood, lip-synching popular songs such as "I Love Rock n' Roll" written & performed by Alan Merrill of the Arrows since 1975 (US cover hit by Joan Jett in 1982), Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon" and Guns N' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle".

The success of VH1's I Love the '80s, coupled with the growing nostalgia for ever-more-recent times, led the network to create an array of similarly themed programs.

So eager was the network to capitalize on the trend while it was hot, that it devoted a series to the 2000s, despite the fact that the decade had not yet ended (I Love the New Millennium, broadcast in 2008, covered only the years 2000–2007).

Gross used a hyphenated form of the word ("celeb-reality") to describe the tendency of certain contemporary celebrities to downplay the traditional trappings of Hollywood glamour.

I'm using the term "celebrity" loosely here—we're not talking about Russell Crowe, Julia Roberts and Dame Judi Dench eating bugs and scrubbing latrines.

Other bands include Alpha Rev, Civil Twilight, Mat Kearney, One eskimO, SafetySuit, Thriving Ivory, Trailer Park Ninjas, and Ryan Star.

Since 2014, VH1 programming was noted to be shifting towards shows focused around African-American personalities, similar to BET and its sister networks (eight years until its acquisition).

Thanks to the success of shows like Love & Hip Hop, Stevie J & Joseline Go Hollywood, K. Michelle: My Life, and Mob Wives, the channel has moved ahead as a Top Five network for adults.