Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award
The Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, also known as the Video Vanguard Award or the Lifetime Achievement Award, is a merit given to recording artists and music video directors at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), a ceremony that was established in 1984. It is presented by MTV for "outstanding contributions" and "profound impact" on music videos and popular culture. As the ceremony's special category, the trophy is a gold-plated "moonman" rather than the silver ones of the other VMA categories. The Beatles and director Richard Lester were honored with the Video Vanguard Award at the inaugural VMAs for "essentially inventing the music video." David Bowie also received the award at the same ceremony. Two years later, Madonna became the first female recipient. In 1991, the award was renamed after Michael Jackson, who had previously won the 1988 trophy.
Image: The Beatles members at New York City in 1964
Image: Richard Lester Bologna 2014 (cropped)
Image: David Bowie (1987)
Image: David Byrne 2006
The MTV Video Music Awards is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards, the annual MTV Video Music Awards ceremony has often been called the "Super Bowl for youth", an acknowledgment of the VMA ceremony's ability to draw millions of youth from teens to 20-somethings each year. By 2001, the VMA had become a coveted award.
The 1983–1984 Video of the Year "Moon man" award
Radio City Music Hall, site of 12 VMAs, including the first
Nirvana performing at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards
Kanye West taking the microphone from Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards