REO Speedwagon - Time for Me to Fly

What this video is

This video occupies a pivotal position in MTV history: filmed April 25, 1981, months before the network launched, it was pressed into service as one of the earliest American rock clips in MTV rotation. The scarcity of U.S.-made music videos in 1981 — most content came from British and European acts — meant that REO Speedwagon's live arena footage filled a critical programming gap. The song, originally a 1978 single…

Why it matters

As one of the first American arena rock videos in MTV rotation, this clip helped establish the template for live-performance music video as a legitimate format at a moment when the industry had not yet codified what a music video 'should' be. The slow editing pace (avg. shot 14.10s) and…

The director

Jay Dubin is a Brooklyn-born director who transitioned from a background in physics and engineering into music video direction circa 1980. He is recognized as a defining 1980s music video director, with credits including Billy Joel ('Uptown Girl,' 'Tell Her…