How MTV Unplugged became hugely influential in the music world

The Ringer

“The show,” says longtime producer Alex Coletti, “wasn’t meant to be a thing that went on to win Grammys and sell albums,” Coletti adds. “That all happened. But it was meant to be a Sunday morning, cup of coffee, just something different than the Milli Vanilli world that we were living in. You remember, 1989, people didn’t have amazing-sounding speakers built into their TVs. But something acoustic actually cut through, and it sounded good. And again, with that Milli Vanilli kind of backdrop, getting people who can actually sing and play—there’s no hiding it, you’re doing it in front of me—was very special.”