is an
American TV Network started in
May 8 ,
2000 . It is operated as part of
MTV Networks , a subsidiary of
Viacom . It primarily features music videos and concert footage from the '70s through the mid-'90s. It formerly showcased '50s music, which has disappeared from the channel. Occasionally, a video from the '60s is shown on the channel.
The network originally played only videos but is more frequently showing non-musical programming like movies, holiday specials and showing repeats of some
VH1 shows like ''
Behind The Music ''. The recent trend away from music videos mirrors the other channels in the MTV family.
Hosts of the network are
Amy Scott ,
Eddie Trunk ,
Toni J. ,
Andrea Mineo , and
Lynn Hoffman .
- Shows that play videos only:
- ---'' VH1 Classic 120 Minutes '' – Formerly ''The Alternative''. A block of classic alternative videos.
- ---''Class of...'' – Focuses on videos of a particular year
- ---'' Metal Mania '' – A block (1 hr Mon/Fri, 2 hrs Sat, with late-night extended showings on occasion) playing all forms of Heavy Metal , hosted by Eddie Trunk. The show also includes news of upcoming tours & album releases and a rock trivia segment.
- ---'' Pop-Up Video '' – The classic VH1 series with pop-up bubbles of information during videos.
- ---''Rock Fest'' – Classic rock music videos from the 1960s , 1970s , and 1980s , including concert footage.
- ---''Tuesday Twoplay'' – Weekly block featuring back-to-back songs from various artists.
- ---''VH1 Classic Current'' – An artist's well-known songs, paired with new releases.
- ---''We Are the Eighties'' – Videos from the 1980s . Not genre-specific.
- ---''You Can't Stop Hip Hop'' – Hip Hop videos from the 1980s.
- ---''Hip Hop Honors'' – Hip Hop videos from the 80s.
- Shows that are not video-focused: (Some of these programs may show videos but that is not the primary focus of the show. Some are reruns that were originally aired on VH1.)
- ---'' Classic Albums '' – Tells the story behind the making of the greatest albums of all time through interviews the artist and producers. Artists include The Who, Phil Collins, Meat Loaf, Pink Floyd, Def Leppard, Fleetwod Mac, The Band, Judas Priest, Jimi Hendrix, Elton John, Bob Marley, Motörhead, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Nirvana, Cream.
- ---''Rock and Roll Picture Show'' – Originally part of VH1, films that are music oriented are presented.
- ---''BBC Crown Jewels'' – A BBC acquisition vintage concert series, shows include Sight and Sound in Concert, In Concert, The Old Grey Whistle Test, and Rock Goes To College. Artists include The Faces, The Police, The Kinks, Joni Mitchell, AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Tom Petty, Joe Jackson, Thin Lizzy.
- ---''Classic Concert'' – classic artists' concerts presented in their entirety, although some are edited from commercial DVD releases these include Rush - '', No Doubt '' Rock Steady - Live ''
- ---''Classic Jukebox'' – A semi-annual show where celebrity guests are allowed to pick any video they want to see.
- ---''Hangin' with Encore'' – a music act spends time in VH1 Classic Studios and performs.
- ---''Headline Act'' – Features videos and interviews from a single artist. Usually a half hour in length, it has occasionally been expanded to an hour
- ---''History of Rock and Roll'' – miniseries that documents the rise of rock and roll.
- ---''Rock Docs''
- ---''Turn Tables'' – A segment where VH1 Classic veejays discuss a particular music topic.
- ---''Decades Rock Live - Legendary Performers with Today's Hottest Stars - Critically Acclaimed Live In Concert Series. The show debuted in 2005. As of 2007, the show has continued to air the prior episodes.
- - Well-known songs and artists.
- - 60s block.
- - An hour long program which aired videos and performances from artists of the 1970s. The clips shown were not genre-specific. It was replaced in 2006 by '''70s A to Z'''.
- - 70s block. Replaced The Super Seventies in 2006.
- - R&B from the 1960s through the 1990s.
- - Pop hits & stars.
- - Similar to ''All Star Jams'', but with rarely seen videos from either popular or obscure artists.
- - Viewer Requests by email. The show debuted in 2002. As of April 2007, it is no longer on regular rotation.
Each year VH1 Classic honors its viewers by inviting their favorite classic artists to join the VH1 staff for a
Thanksgiving dinner. There was also a similar show which was done for
Passover .
An annual VH1 Classic show that spotlights the
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
In May of 2006, VH1 classic, with some help from VH1, focused on '', and
VH1 Rock Honors .
On August 1, 2006, VH1 Classic re-created the first
day of
MTV in honor of the network's 25th anniversary. VH1 Classic showed the videos and short clips of other linking material from that day. They did not show the VJs.
Some videos were aired on VH1 Classic's tribute that were not among those known to have been played on MTVs first day. Those videos included:
# "All Night Long" by Rainbow
# "Come What May" by Lani Hall
# "Dangerous Type" by
The Cars
# "I Don't Want to Know" by Robin Lane and The Chartbusters
# "I Hope I Never" by Split Enz
# "I Wont Let You Down" by PhD
# "
Heart Of Glass " by
Blondie
# "Holiday" by
Nazareth
# "In My Arms Again" by The Shoes
# "
Johnny And Mary " by
Robert Palmer
# "Kid" by
The Pretenders
# "Let's Go" by
The Cars
# "
Living In The Plastic Age " by
The Buggles
# "Love Stinks" by
J. Geils Band
# "Message to You Rudy" by The Specials
# "More Than I Can Say" by Leo Sayer
# "Passing Strangers" by Ultravox
# "Primetime" by The Tubes
# "Rough Boys" by Pete Townshend
# "So Long" by
Fischer-Z
# "Tattooed Love Boys" by
The Pretenders
# "Tomorrow Night" by The Shoes
# "Turn It On Again" by
Genesis
# "
Turning Japanese " by The Vapors
# "Vienna" by Ultravox
# "Waiting For The Weekend" by The Vapors
# "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love & Understanding" by Elvis Costello & the Attractions
During the
Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductions in 2006, VH1 Classic dedicated the entire weekend to current Rockhall members. Artists included either true members like
Eric Clapton or related non-members like
Derek And The Dominos .
In 2006, the network began showing artists, songs and soundtracks that became the Top 20 Greatest on its list. The shows include
Top 20 Soundtracks ,
Top 20 Videos Of The 80s ,
Top 20 Videos Of All Time ,
Top 20 Metal Bands ,
Top 20 Women Artists and
Top 20 Love Songs .
- VH1 Classic UK is a British channel based on the same format as the US one, and has been on air since 1999.
- VH1 Classic European is an English language station broadcasting to Germany , Austria , Bosnia , Czech Republic , Sweden , Norway , Danmark , Finland , Hungary , Israel , Romania , Bulgaria , Russia , Slovak Republic , Portugal , France . This version has been launched on the 1st of December 2005. Previously, the UK version was shown.
Both these channels are operated by MTV Networks Europe in London.
