YEARS ON AIR: 1989-present
HOST: Jules Shear (for first 13 installments, before the role was eliminated)
Sure, it had been done before, perhaps most famously by an acoustic-guitar strumming Pete Townsend during a 1979 benefit concert called The Secret Policeman’s Ball, but the idea of placing a musical act on a stage cleared (usually) of any electrically powered instrument or device became the signature concept of an MTV show called Unplugged. It was an idea that yielded some terrific music. Artists found a way to revisit and reinterpret their songs; what their performances lacked in volume, they more than made up for in a more sharply focused energy. After a three-year hiatus following a Korn special in 2006, the show was revived in 2009, with most new concerts debuting on MTV.com.
NOTABLE GUESTS: Paul McCartney, Jay-Z, Eric Clapton, Alica Keys, Bob Dylan, 30 Seconds to Mars, LL Cool J, Lauryn Hill, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana (below, performing “All Apologies”)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWmkuH1k7uA]