FUV Essentials

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From child prodigy to elder statesman of American pop, soul, R&B, jazz and funk, Stevie Wonder's masterful musical journey has already stretched a remarkable 55 years and continues to evolve while marking major mileposts

On the first day that MTV launched, back on August 1, 1981, the seventh video played on the nascent channel was the Pretenders'

FUV Essentials, both on-air and online, celebrates the musicians who have shaped our cultural soundtrack for the past fifty years, examining their impact, influence and discography. Few American bands have balanced Southern Gothic, sun-splashed punk-pop, and bruising, abstruse rock 'n' roll more deftly than R.E.M., a quartet-turned-trio that thrived for 31 years, until its breakup in 2011.

FUV Essentials, both on-air and online, celebrates the musicians who have shaped our cultural soundtrack for the past fifty years, examining their impact, influence and discography. If you frequently drive down New Jersey's Garden State Parkway, you know that Exit 102 leads you to Asbury Park, a seaside city with a name that still resonates like a classic rock anthem—thanks to Bruce Springsteen.

FUV Essentials, both on-air and online, celebrates the musicians who have shaped our cultural soundtrack for the past fifty years, examining their impact, influence and discography. As a deep blues doyenne, a master guitarist, and owner of one of the most heartbreaking, wistful voices to command a breakup ballad or ballsy rocker, Bonnie Raitt is an indomitable force.

Producer, engineer and archivist Steve Rosenthal sadly had to close his 28-year-old recording studio, The Magic Shop, earlier in March 2016, falling prey to voracious New York rents. David Bowie recorded his last two albums at The Magic Shop, The Next Day and Blackstar. We reached out to Steve and asked if he'd write about his Five Essential David Bowie Albums as we celebrate Bowie as our first FUV Essential artist.

David Bowie was the very first FUV Essentials artist: a consummate shapeshifter, rock star, and genius innovator. No artist defined the restless progression and mutability of music over the past five decades quite like Bowie, who would have turned 75 on January 8, 2022.