In 1983, Quiet Riot released a cover of Slade’s Cum On Feel the Noize and changed rock history. Although the band never had the love of the critics, the song became the first heavy metal single to reach the top 5 of the pop charts. The strength of the video/single took the album to #1 on the album charts, making Quiet Riot the first heavy metal band to have a top 5 hit and the #1 album in the same week. Their success paved the way for artists like Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, etc. to get regular rotation on MTV.  Thus, the hairband juggernaut can be traced to this quirky video with a guy in a Hannibal Lecter mask.

WATN? Lead singer Kevin Dubrow passed away this year, so don’t expect any new music from QR.

Rating:

Ground Breaking Video

You probably couldn’t watch MTV for more than an hour or so in 1984 and not see this video. It broke new ground as one of the first videos to heavily use computerized effects.  The video helped push the song to #7 in the U.S. It broke ground again by winning the very first MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year.

WATN? Benjamin Orr died in 2000, ending any hopes of a reunion tour. However, several members reformed with Todd Rundgren under the name The New Cars.

Trivia: Despite a string of hit videos, it was the first and last VMA the Cars won.

Rating:

Ground Breaking Video