What Was the First Country Music Video to Air on MTV?

Before YouTube, TikTok, and endless scrolling took over our screens, there was one place to watch music videos, MTV. When it launched on August 1st, 1981, it quickly became the channel that mattered for music fans.

But it took a full five years before a country artist made it onto the network. The honor goes to Dwight Yoakam, whose “Honky Tonk Man” became the first country video to air on MTV in 1986.

Some argue that Juice Newton beat him to it with her 1981 hit “Angel of the Morning.” It did hit No. 22 on the country charts that year but with its pop sound (and her Grammy nomination in the pop category), it’s hard to call that truly country. So, the crown still goes to Dwight.