MTV Unplugged is an American television series on MTV. It showcases recorded live performances of popular music artists playing acoustic or "unplugged" variations of songs. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999. From 2000 to 2009, it aired less frequently and was usually billed as MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. Since 2009, MTV Unplugged specials have aired occasionally, sometimes through online or subscription only. Episodes and specials have tended to showcase one artist or group, playing a combination of their hit songs and covers.
Many of the artists who appeared on the show in the 1990s released their Unplugged session as an album, and some of these albums were commercial and critical hits. Eric Clapton's Unplugged (1992) sold 26 million copies worldwide and became the best-selling live album of all time. Albums such as Mariah Carey's MTV Unplugged (1992), Nirvana's MTV Unplugged in New York (1994) and Alice in Chains' Unplugged (1996) became notable hits of the program. Other Unplugged albums that went platinum include Rod Stewart's Unplugged...and Seated (1993), 10,000 Maniacs' MTV Unplugged (1993), Tony Bennett's MTV Unplugged (1994), Page and Plant's No Quarter (1994), Shakira's MTV Unplugged (1999), Lauryn Hill's MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 (2001), Alicia Keys' Unplugged (2005) and Ricky Martin's MTV Unplugged (2006). Some of these albums produced successful singles as well, including Mariah Carey's No. 1 hit cover of "I'll Be There".
The show received the George Foster Peabody Award and three Primetime Emmy nominations, in its original form. A limited-run reboot of MTV Unplugged came in 2009, featuring six acts, which won the Emmy Award for Best New Approach. Directed by Matthew C. Mills and produced by Spacestation in New York, the season featured Katy Perry, Adele, Paramore, Vampire Weekend, Silversun Pickups and All Time Low. It is the only season of MTV Unplugged to win an Emmy Award. As of 2021, several episodes are available to watch on Paramount+.
Unplugged The term "unplugged" has come to refer to music that would usually be played on electrified instruments (such as an electric guitar or synthesizer) but is rendered instead on instruments that can be played without electricity, for example acoustic guitar or traditional piano, although a microphone is still used. In most cases, the bass (or bass guitar) is amplified, and a Hammond organ is sometimes used.
MTV launched MTV Unplugged in 1989. The show featured musicians performing unplugged versions of their electric repertoire. Many of these performances were subsequently released as albums, often featuring the title Unplugged. It was believed that the show was inspired by a 1989 MTV Video Music Awards acoustic performance by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora; however, the show was already in production. Although the showrunners have admitted that prior to the influence of that performance, the show was initially meant to be only for "young, up-and-coming artists" rather than the "big, stadium, electric-arena-type acts".
Launch of Unplugged The MTV show titled Unplugged, drawing on this phenomenon, was created by producers Robert Small and Jim Burns. Songwriter Jules Shear hosted the first 13 episodes. The pilot and first seven episodes were produced by Bruce Leddy, after which Associate Producer Alex Coletti took over for the remainder of the series, producing the show through 2001. After the first 13 episodes, the role of host was eliminated. The show was produced by Viacom and RSE Inc and was most frequently directed by Milton Lage and Beth McCarthy.
The first episode of MTV Unplugged was taped on October 31, 1989, and aired about a month later on November 26.
Selected list of artists
1989–1992 The series first aired November 26, 1989, featuring Squeeze, Syd Straw and Elliot Easton. The first 13 episodes were hosted by American singer-songwriter Jules Shear and featured Aerosmith, Elton John, Sinéad O'Connor, Poison, Joe Satriani and Stevie Ray Vaughan among others. Joe Walsh appeared on the show in 1989 with Dr. John. According to the book I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution by Rob Tannenbaum and Craig Marks, Walsh wanted to perform the Eagles classic "Desperado", but Joel Gallen received a three-page fax from Don Henley denying permission to use the song. MTV invited Henley to perform on the show, but Henley wanted to have a show featuring only himself. At that point, MTV was sharing the time between different artists. Dr. John was not originally scheduled to be part of the episode. With only Walsh booked, producers went next door where a VH1 morning show was being taped with Dr. John, and asked if he would be willing to join Walsh on Unplugged. Henley performed his solo episode in 1990. The Cure performed their MTV Unplugged session in their London studios on January 24, 1991. Their playlist featured classic songs such as "The Walk", "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep", "Just Like Heaven" and a new song, "A Letter to Elise", which would be released on their next album. Paul McCartney's 1991 appearance was later released on the Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) album. On March 5, 1991, Sting performed a set mostly centered around songs by The Police or from his album The Soul Cages. Sting enjoyed the experience to the extent that the following month he did a similar set in his home town of Newcastle at the tiny Buddle Arts Centre. On April 10, 1991, Unplugged aired its first ever acoustic rap show. The special kicked off with individual performances by LL Cool J along with MC Lyte (Cappucino), De La Soul (Ring Ring Ring), and A Tribe Called Quest ("Can I Kick It?") and a five-piece back-up band, Pop's Cool Love. The highlight of the show was LL Cool J's energetic renditions of "Jingling Baby" and "Mama Said Knock You Out". In 1992, Mariah Carey performed a cover version of The Jackson 5's hit "I'll Be There" along with backup singer Trey Lorenz. That live version was released as a single and went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as in Canada, New Zealand, Netherlands, and became a hit elsewhere. Due to high demand, the performance was released as an EP, MTV Unplugged, which eventually sold over 10 million copies worldwide. The performance was released in video form as well, achieving success particularly in the US, Europe, Japan, and Australia. In 1992, Eric Clapton recorded an Unplugged performance at Bray Studios in London. He rearranged many of his classic songs for the acoustic context, and the resulting Unplugged album went on to become the best selling Unplugged album in the US and worldwide with sales of 10 million in the US and 26 million worldwide.Diamond Awards RIAA Retrieved January 28, 2011 Clapton earned six Grammy Awards for the album, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year ("Tears in Heaven"), Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Best Rock Male Vocal Performance and Best Rock Song.Billboard 6 Mar 1993 Billboard Retrieved January 28, 2011 While MTV has filmed over 101 Unplugged performances, fewer than 30 of them have been released as albums. Pearl Jam's March 1992 set was not released until 2009 as a DVD for their reissue of their debut album, Ten. This has been referred to as a breakout moment for the band during a time when the Seattle grunge scene was in high demand. Intense performances of the songs "Black" and "Porch" highlight this show with the latter featuring lead singer Eddie Vedder writing PRO CHOICE on his arm with a Sharpie. On April 27, 1992, Seattle-based heavy metal band Queensrÿche filmed their Unplugged performance, playing such songs as "Silent Lucidity", "The Lady Wore Black", "I Will Remember", "The Killing Words", and a cover of "Scarborough Fair". On July 3, 1992, Annie Lennox played an Unplugged show at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Nine of the twelve songs performed were released as part of the single series "Cold. Colder. Coldest." Each CD featured the studio version of Lennox's "Cold" as well as three songs from the MTV Unplugged show. Cold consisting of songs from Diva, Colder songs Lennox has recorded with Eurythmics and Coldest cover versions of songs originally by Ike & Tina Turner, The Detroit Emeralds and The Beatles.
1993–1994 On January 9, 1993, Swedish duo Roxette recorded the show at Stockholm Circus. During the show, they covered songs from other artists such as Aretha Franklin, Neil Young and The Byrds. In December 1992, Neil Young attempted to record an episode at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York but abandoned the performance after numerous false starts and disagreements with his backing band. Young eventually recorded a performance in February 1993 at Universal Studios in Los Angeles that was broadcast on MTV in March 1993 and released that June as his Gold selling Unplugged album. On April 20, 1993, Midnight Oil recorded an episode at Sony Music Studios in New York City. They recorded a 17-song set which included many of their hits and an encore cover of "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" originally recorded by Eric Burdon and the Animals. The set was broadcast edited in the US while Australia received a longer 9-song set. The full set was released on DVD in 2017. "One Country" was attempted in their session but was not finished and not released. On April 21, 1993, Soul Asylum performed their set two months before the release of "Runaway Train" music video. Lulu was the special guest who sang "To Sir With Love" in a duet with Dave Pirner, who was introduced to actress Winona Ryder backstage and they dated for the next three years. The MTV Unplugged special featuring Uptown Records artists, known as "Uptown Unplugged," aired on May 31, 1993 in the United States. It was taped at Universal Studios in Los Angeles and featured performances by Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, Father MC, Heavy D & The Boys, and Christopher Williams. The set of Jodeci ended with Stevie Wonder's "Lately". The group's version of the song was later released as a promotional single, claiming the number one spot on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart as the group's fourth number one R&B hit. Rod Stewart performed a session with Ronnie Wood on February 5, 1993, at Universal Studios, Los Angeles. Selections from this recording aired in May and were released on the album Unplugged...and Seated. On November 17, 1993, British rock group Duran Duran filmed their acoustic performance after a brief hiatus from their world tour due to lead singer Simon Le Bon's vocal straining after 11 months on the road. They played many of their classic hits as well as their 1990 single "Serious". Nirvana's performance on Unplugged was one of the last televised performances by Kurt Cobain, recorded on November 18, 1993, about five months before Cobain's death. Nirvana's set list consisted of some of their lesser known originals, and covers of songs by the Meat Puppets, Lead Belly, David Bowie and The Vaselines. The only real "hits" played during this performance were "Come as You Are", "Polly" and "All Apologies". This contrasts with other Unplugged performances, where artists largely perform their hit singles and other original material. Nirvana's performance was released a year later as MTV Unplugged in New York, about seven months after Cobain's death. It sold over 5 million copies and won Best Alternative Music Performance at the 38th Grammy Awards in 1996. It was also released on DVD in 2007. In 1993, Stone Temple Pilots filmed a 26-minute episode of MTV Unplugged, where they debuted the song "Big Empty" prior to the release of their 1994 album Purple. Other songs included "Creep", "Plush", and a unique acoustic rendition of "Wicked Garden". This performance was never released as an official standalone album release, although it does appear on the deluxe reissue of Core.