What song was number one when MTV launched in 1981? August 1st, 1981: it was another ordinary, but also not so ordinary, day. In the middle of it all, MTV fizzed its way onto the airwaves, and music as people knew it was changed. I can bet you’re already thinking this is going to be about ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’, aren’t you? What were the number ones on the day MTV began?