I Want My MTV

by Craig Marks

  STEVEN ADLER was the drummer for Guns N’ Roses from 1985 to 1990.

  BRUCE ALLEN has managed Bryan Adams for many years and also represented Loverboy in the 1980s.

  JOEY ALLEN is the lead guitarist of Warrant.

  PETE ANGELUS conceived and directed the Van Halen videos “Hot for Teacher” and “Jump,” managed David Lee Roth from 1985 to 1990, and conceived/directed Roth’s “California Girls” and “Just a Gigolo” videos. He has managed the Black Crowes since 1990.

  ADAM ANT gained popularity as the leader of the new wave group Adam & the Ants and later as a solo artist and actor.

  MICHAEL ANTHONY played bass in Van Halen, of which he was a founding and longtime member. He now plays in Chickenfoot with Sammy Hagar.

  MIKE ARMSTRONG was a writer on Remote Control.

  DANIÈLE ARNAUD is a French-born model who starred in ZZ Top’s three most famous videos. She represents painters and photographers in the San Diego area.

  MEIERT AVIS is an Irish music-video and commercial director who’s worked with U2 and Bruce Springsteen.

  JEFF AYEROFF was the creative director of Warner Bros. Records and the co-chairman of Virgin Records America. Now semiretired in Kauai, Hawaii, he’s the copresident of Shangri-La Music.

  B-REAL is a founding member of the California rap group Cypress Hill, who debuted in 1991.

  SEBASTIAN BACH was the front man for the hard rock band Skid Row from 1987 to 1996.

  STEVE BACKER was a promotion executive for Epic Records. He is currently a managing partner at One Haven Music Publishing.

  TOM BAILEY led the new wave band Thompson Twins from 1977 until 1993. He has several current bands and also writes film scores.

  CAROLYN BAKER was MTV’s original head of talent and acquisitions. She is the CEO of Carolyn B. Baker & Associates, a philanthropy consulting firm.

  JOHNNY BARBIS is a former record executive. He manages Elton John.

  DON BARNES is the lead singer and a founding member of the Southern rock band .38 Special.

  PETER BARON was a video production executive for Arista Records and Geffen Records.

  SIOBHAN BARRON was a cofounder of Limelight Productions with her brother, Steve.

  STEVE BARRON is an Irish film director. His videos rank among the artform’s best loved: Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” a-ha’s “Take on Me,” and Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing,” among others. He was a cofounder of Limelight Productions.

  TONI BASIL is a singer, choreographer, director, and actor. She has been nominated for a Grammy, in the Long Form Video category, and an Emmy, and is best known for her worldwide number one hit “Mickey” from 1982.

  SAMUEL BAYER is a music-video and film director. His first video was Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

  ALISA MARIE BELLETTINI was the creator and executive producer of House of Style.

  PAT BENATAR has won four Grammy Awards and sold more than 22 million records in a career that has produced nineteen Top 40 singles.

  DAVID BENJAMIN is the former head of business affairs for CBS Records. He is currently a senior vice president at the Universal Music Group.

  JAC BENSON was a producer for Yo! MTV Raps.

  GEORGIA “JO” BERGMAN is an executive at Warner Bros. Records, where she’s worked since 1972. She was Warner Bros.’ first director of video and television.

  MARSHALL BERLE managed the LA rock band Ratt and later cofounded Laugh .Com, a comedy record label.

  JOHN BEUG was a senior vice president of video production for Warner Bros. Records.

  BIG DADDY KANE is a Brooklyn-born rapper whose 1988 debut album was Long Live the Kane.

  MICHAEL IAN BLACK is a member of the State, the first comedy troupe with their own MTV series. He has starred in the TV shows Ed, Viva Variety, Stella, and Michael & Michael Have Issues, and the film Wet Hot American Summer.

  NINA BLACKWOOD was one of the five original MTV VJs. She hosts a daily show on Sirius XM Radio’s ’80s on 8 station.

  REBECCA BLAKE is a photographer and director. She directed three videos for Prince, including “Kiss.”

  SUSAN BLOND was vice president of media relations for Epic Records, where she worked with Michael Jackson.

  JULIA BOLINO was a model who appeared in the video for Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love.” She currently owns a makeup service in London.

  BOY GEORGE is the lead singer of Culture Club.

  DALE BOZZIO became famous as the lead singer of the 1980s pop/new wave band Missing Persons.

  GEORGE BRADT worked at MTV from 1983 to 1988 as research analyst, supervisor of music scheduling, and associate producer, and later cofounded Kinetic Records.

  MARCY BRAFMAN was Fred Seibert’s first hire at MTV, in March 1981. She is now a visual artist and set-design consultant.

  RONALD “BUZZ” BRINDLE joined MTV in 1981 as director of programming. Before and after his time there, he worked extensively in the radio industry.

  BETH BRODAY is a music-video and television producer.

  BOBBIE BROWN was Miss Louisiana Teen USA in 1987, a Star Search champion, and star of Warrant’s “Cherry Pie” video.

  BOBBY BROWN is an R&B singer and a former member of New Edition.

  JULIE BROWN was a dancer on a British TV show before moving to New York at age twenty-six to work as an MTV VJ.

  JERRY BRUCKHEIMER has produced more than forty feature films, including Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop, Flashdance, and three Pirates of the Caribbean films.

  JIM BURNS is a television producer who created Unplugged with Bob Small.

  CLIFF BURNSTEIN is the cofounder of Q Prime Management, whose clients include Def Leppard, Metallica, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

  JONATHAN CAIN is the keyboardist for the band Journey.

  MARTY CALLNER is a television and music-video director. He has filmed videos for Twisted Sister, Heart, Whitesnake, Aerosmith, and Cher, among many acts.

  JOHN CANNELLI was a senior vice president of talent and artist relations for MTV.

  ANN CARLI was senior vice president of artist development at Jive Records.

  GERRY CASALE is a video director and also a singer and founding member of Devo.

  STEVE CASEY was a founding programming executive for MTV. He is currently a radio consultant.

  CHER is a recording artist and actress. She has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, and an Emmy Award.

  CHILLI rose to fame as a member of the R&B singing group TLC. She later starred in the VH1 reality show What Chilli Wants.

  CHUCK D is a rapper and author. He helped create politically conscious hip-hop in the 1980s as the leader of Public Enemy.

  KEN R. CLARK was a production assistant to MTV’s original five VJs, and later manager of on-air talent. He is currently a real-estate broker in Portland, Oregon.

  TIM CLAWSON was the head of production for Propaganda Films from 1988 to 1999. He is now an executive vice president at the Weinstein Company.

  LISA COLEMAN played keyboards for Prince’s backing band, the Revolution, and was one half of the musical duo Wendy and Lisa, with Wendy Melvoin. She and Melvoin won an Emmy in 2010 for their theme to the TV show Nurse Jackie.

  ALEX COLETTI was an executive producer and director for MTV and is now an independent producer.

  PHIL COLLEN is the guitarist for Def Leppard.

  PHIL COLLINS is a best-selling solo recording artist and drummer. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010 as a member of the band Genesis.

  MILES COPELAND was the founder of I.R.S. Records and the manager of the band the Police.

  STEWART COPELAND is best known as the drummer for the Police.

  ANTON CORBIJN is a Dutch photographer, stage designer, and director of feature films and music videos.

  LINDA CORRADINA worked at CNN and ABC News before joining MTV and running the news department.

  LAUREN CORRAO was a production executive at MTV. She is currently the president of Ellen Degeneres’s production c
ompany, A Very Good Production.

  CINDY CRAWFORD is a model and an entrepreneur, as well as the first host of MTV’s House of Style.

  LOL CREME was a member of the 1970s rock group 10cc and later worked as a music-video director, usually in partnership with Kevin Godley.

  KEVIN CRONIN is the lead singer for REO Speedwagon and wrote their number one hits “Keep On Loving You” and “Can’t Fight This Feeling.”

  ROBERTA CRUGER was a director of talent relations at MTV. She currently works as a freelance journalist.

  ADAM CURRY was an MTV VJ from 1987 to 1993. He founded and sold an interactive advertising firm, cofounded the Mevio video site, and now cohosts the No Agenda podcast and hosts the Big App Show.

  DJ JAZZY JEFF and rapper turned actor Will Smith comprised the hip-hop group DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince.

  DMC is a member of the hip-hop group Run-DMC.

  CLIVE DAVIS is the chief creative officer of Sony Music Entertainment Worldwide. He was the founder of Arista Records and its president from 1975 through 2000.

  MARTHA DAVIS was the lead singer of the Motels, an LA rock band, from 1978 to 1987, when she began a solo career.

  TAMRA DAVIS has directed music videos as well as feature films, including CB4, Billy Madison, Half-Baked, and Crossroads.

  JOE DAVOLA cocreated MTV’s Remote Control. Later, he was executive producer of the TV shows Smallville, One Tree Hill, and What I Like About You.

  JONATHAN DAYTON and Valerie Faris codirected MTV’s The Cutting Edge, many music videos, and the 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine, which won two Academy Awards.

  PAUL DEAN has been the guitarist in Loverboy since 1978.

  FREDDY DeMANN is a music executive who has managed the careers of Michael Jackson and Madonna.

  WARREN DeMARTINI was the lead guitarist in Ratt, and cowrote their biggest hit, “Round and Round.”

  HOWIE DEUTCH has directed feature films including Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful, and The Replacements, plus music videos.

  DENNIS DeYOUNG is a founding member and former lead singer of the band Styx.

  BRIAN DIAMOND joined MTV as an associate producer in 1981, moved to London in 1986 to launch MTV Europe, and is now a senior vice president at Spike TV.

  JIM DIAMOND sang and played guitar in Ph.D, who had the fifth video played on MTV.

  JOHN DIAZ is a music-video, television, and concert producer.

  NIGEL DICK is a music-video and film director whose credits include Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle” and Britney Spears’s “. . . Baby One More Time.” He was a cofounder of Propaganda Films.

  BRUCE DICKINSON was a product manager at Columbia Records in the early ’80s and has worked in many different departments for a number of record labels.

  TONY DISANTO is a television producer who got his start as an intern at MTV in 1987. Later, as MTV’s president of programming, he was responsible for the hit reality programs The Hills and Jersey Shore.

  THOMAS DOLBY is a musician and producer best known for his 1982 hit “She Blinded Me with Science.”

  KEVIN DOLE has directed Pee-wee’s Playhouse, music videos, and hundreds of TV ads. His first film, Kiss the Frog, is scheduled to begin production in 2012.

  PETER DOUGHERTY joined MTV as a freelance production assistant, cocreated Yo! MTV Raps, and worked as creative director of MTV Europe.

  ADAM DUBIN directed the Metallica documentary A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica and codirected two Beastie Boys videos.

  KAREN DUFFY joined MTV as a VJ in 1991. She has modeled for Revlon and wrote a book, Model Patient: My Life as an Incurable Wiseass, about her struggle with sarcoidosis.

  MICHAEL DUGAN has written for Remote Control, Beavis and Butt-head, The Jon Stewart Show, The Tom Green Show, and many other TV comedies.

  JONATHAN ELIAS wrote the MTV “Moon Landing” theme and produced Duran Duran’s 1988 album Big Thing.

  JOE ELLIOTT is the singer for Def Leppard. The Sheffield, England–based band has sold more than 35 million albums in the U.S.

  LEN EPAND was a video production executive for PolyGram Records.

  EVERLAST wrote and rapped on House of Pain’s 1992 hit “Jump Around” and made three albums with the group.

  FAB 5 FREDDY is a graffiti artist, filmmaker, hip-hop pioneer, and the original host of Yo! MTV Raps.

  SIOBHAN FAHEY is a founding member of the 1980s British trio Bananarama and later started the band Shakespear’s Sister.

  VALERIE FARIS and Jonathan Dayton codirected MTV’s The Cutting Edge, many music videos, and the 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine, which won two Academy Awards.

  TIM FARRISS plays guitar with INXS, whose sixth album, Kick, was a worldwide blockbuster, selling six million copies in the U.S. and earning five Video Music Awards, including Best Video.

  MARK FENSKE wrote and directed commercials and music videos, including Van Halen’s “Right Now,” and is a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.

  SIMON FIELDS is a music-video, TV, and movie producer. He was a cofounder of Limelight Productions and is currently a partner at JLE/Nuyorican Productions.

  AMY FINNERTY was a music programming executive at MTV from 1989 to 2000.

  PAUL FLATTERY was an English music-video producer who worked for Jon Roseman before cofounding his own production firm with Bruce Gowers and Simon Fields.

  FLEA is the cofounder and bassist for Red Hot Chili Peppers.

  WISH FOLEY was a regular on the 1970s TV series Family and later played Alice in Tom Petty’s “Don’t Come Around Here No More” video.

  TOM FRESTON was the CEO of MTV Networks from 1987 to 2006. Hired in March 1980, he was MTV’s first head of marketing. He runs Firefly3, a media investment and consulting company whose clients include Oprah Winfrey, Vice Media, and Tolo TV in Afghanistan. He is the chairman of the ONE campaign, an antipoverty advocacy group.

  MARTIN FRY and his group ABC had five Top 40 hits in the U.S. between 1981 and 1990.

  JOEL GALLEN is an Emmy-winning television producer who produced MTV’s Video Music Awards and Unplugged.

  PATTI GALLUZZI joined MTV in 1988 and rose to senior vice president of music and talent.

  LES GARLAND, a former radio programmer and record executive, was the executive vice president of programming for MTV from 1982 to 1987. He currently owns a media consultancy firm, AfterPlay Entertainment.

  BOB GELDOF fronted the Boomtown Rats, starred in The Wall, and was the impetus behind “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” and Live Aid.

  BETSY LYNN GEORGE was Devon, the tempting teen in Billy Idol’s “Cradle of Love.” She was also seen in Deep Purple’s “King of Dreams,” TV shows including Wild Palms, and movies including Point Break. She lives in Pennsylvania and teaches yoga.

  GERARDO is a Latin rapper/singer who had a Top 10 hit in 1991 with “Rico Suave.”

  GARY GERSH is a music-industry executive who signed Nirvana to Geffen Records. He later comanaged Nirvana, and currently manages John Legend and Soundgarden.

  MARK GHUNEIM did video promotion for Beggars Banquet/4AD and for Columbia Records. He’s the founder and CEO of the marketing agency Wiredset.

  BILLY GIBBONS sings and plays guitar in ZZ Top.

  DEBBIE GIBSON is a singer whose 1987 debut album, Out of the Blue, released when she was seventeen, produced four Top 5 singles.

  MAK GILCHRIST is a British model who appeared in Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love” video.

  BOB GIRALDI has directed short films, award-winning TV ads, and videos, including Michael Jackson’s “Beat It,” Pat Benatar’s “Love Is a Battlefield,” and Lionel Richie’s “Hello.”

  NEIL “SPYDER” GIRALDO is Pat Benatar’s guitarist, producer, and husband.

  COREY GLOVER has been the lead singer in Living Colour since 1986.

  KEVIN GODLEY was a member of the 1970s rock group 10cc and later worked as a music-video director, usually in partnership with Lol Creme.

  GREG GOLD is a producer and
director. He was a cofounder of Propaganda Films.

  JULIAN GOLDBERG was an executive producer at MTV from 1981 to 1987.

  DOUG GOLDSTEIN was the tour manager for Guns N’ Roses from 1986 through 1989, then managed the band from 1989 to 2003.

  MARK GOODMAN was one of the five original MTV VJs. He currently hosts a variety of shows on Sirius XM Radio.

  BRUCE GOWERS is a music-video and television director whose clip for Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” in 1975, is often considered the most influential pre-MTV music video.

  CAMILLE GRAMMER was a dancer on Club MTV. She later posed for Playboy, married (and divorced) actor Kelsey Grammer, and starred on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

  BRIAN GRANT is a music-video and television director and producer. He was the cofounder of MGMM Productions, with Scott Millaney, Russell Mulcahy, and David Mallet.

  CEE LO GREEN has been a solo artist, a member of Gnarls Barkley, a member of Goodie Mob, and a coach on NBC’s The Voice.

  PAULA GREIF is a music-video and commercial director.

  MEG GRIFFIN has been a radio DJ since 1975 and was briefly an MTV VJ. She currently hosts several shows on Sirius XM.

  DAVE GROHL was the drummer for Nirvana and started his own band, Foo Fighters, in 1994.

  ALLEN GRUBMAN is an entertainment industry lawyer.

  SAMMY HAGAR recorded eight solo albums before joining Van Halen in 1986.

  ARSENIO HALL is an actor, comedian, and former host of The Arsenio Hall Show, which ran from 1989 to 1994. He hosted the Video Music Awards from 1988 to 1991.

  DARYL HALL is a cofounder of the duo Hall & Oates, which has sold more than 60 million albums. He created and hosts the Web series Live from Daryl’s House.

  HERBIE HANCOCK is a jazz pianist and composer. The video for his hip-hop song “Rockit,” directed by Godley and Creme, won five Moonmen at the inaugural Video Music Awards in 1984.

  JERRY HARRISON played guitar and keyboards in Talking Heads.

  DEBBIE HARRY is the lead singer of Blondie, who released the first-ever album-length music video, Eat to the Beat, in 1979.

  COLIN HAY is an Australian recording artist. He’s best known as the singer for the 1980s band Men at Work.

  GREG HAYMES is lead singer of Blotto, under the name Sergeant Blotto. Their “I Wanna Be a Lifeguard” video was an early MTV staple.