History of Pop Videos

1940

The 1940's is when traditional pop music was started, and the most famous artist of this time was Bing Crosby. He was known for his bass-baritone voice which made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation. He was the beginning of the evolution of pop music and music videos. However, Bing was only seen singing in films and his TV shows. He had many fans from these films and TV shows, which also made film and TV company very popular! 

This is Bing Crosby singing 'Only Forever' in the film 'Rhythm on the River' in 1940. 

Early 1950

Frank Sinatra replaced Bing Crosby for becoming the worlds biggest star in the 1950's. Similar to Bing Crosby, Frank was only seen on TV specials, films or his music concerts. Sinatra got his first break in the 1935 when his mother persuaded a local singing group, The Three Flashes, to let him join. With Frank joining the group, they thenm became known as the Hoboken Four and they sufficiently impressed Edward Bowes. After appearing on his show, Major Bowes Amateur Hour, they attracted 40,000 votes and won first prize. In which the first prize was a six-month contract to perform on stage and radio across the United States. Long after this Sinatra wanted to go solo and finally got signed to Columbia records where he then became one of the biggest stars in the 1950s. 

This is one of Frank Sinatra's biggest hits from the 1950s. 

Also, this film called 'High Society' made Frank even more popular during the 1950s!

Late 1950's.

In the late 1950's, Elvis Presley came onto the scene and then become 'the birth of Rock and Roll'.  Elvis was known to be the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century and got the name for himself as "the King of Rock and Roll" or simply "The King". Elvis became the leading figure of rock and roll after shown on a series of network TV appearances and chart topping records. He energised interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style in which made him very popular and controversial. Elvis then had a 2 year break and then went back stronger than ever, appearing in Hollywood films and recording the soundtracks for the films. After following a seven year break, in 1968 he returned to the stage and acclaimed his comeback which led to an extended Las Vegas concert and highly profitable tours. 

1960

The Beatles were introduced in the 1960s as an English rock band consisting of four people. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr became the greatest and most influential act of the rock era. The Beatles experimented with several genres such as pop ballads and hard rock. The Beatles built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over a three-year period from 1960.The band toured the UK three times in the first half of the year: a four-week tour that began in February, the Beatles's first nationwide, preceded three-week tours in March and May–June. By early 1964 they had become international stars, leading the "British Invasion" of the United States pop market. According to the RIAA, the Beatles are the best-selling music artists in the United States, with 178 million certified units. They have had more number-one albums on the British charts and sold more singles in the UK than any other act. They gained popularity in the United Kingdom after their first hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. Their only appearance on Top of The Pops was in 1967 where they sang both Paperback Writer and Rain. This became their final live TV appearance as a group.