Technology has come a long way since the days when Thomas Edison first introduced his phonograph in 1877. Many innovations have sprung up along the way making it easier to enjoy your favorite music.
 |
Thomas Edison with his invention, the phonograph.
|
This brings me back to my younger years when technology was beginning to expand upon it's never ending quest to better itself when it comes to enjoying your favorite music. Most specifically, in the automobile. There's is no doubt that anyone over the age of 50 can remember what entertainment was like before the advent of the "car stereo" in your auto. If your parents or you were lucky enough to own a vehicle with an AM radio you were one of the popular people on a Saturday night drag on Main Street. Listening to the monophonic sound emanating from the weak single speaker up in the dash that sounded as if it were blown out when the static charged reception reached only half a turn on the volume dial. Though we see them now as archaic, there were two types of AM car radios. The rotary and push button tuners. Most every body had a rotary radio tuner where you had to manually search for your favorite station but if you had a fancy car with one of those push button tuners it was like a magical genie was inside your radio, eager to tune in to your favorite music at the touch of a button.
 |
| Rotary Tuner |
 |
Push Button Tuner
|
What was really cool about the car audio inventors was that they would come up with new ways to enjoy personalized music. In the 1950's, Chrysler thought about giving their high end cars an extra edge by introducing the Columbia Turntable in the dash to play those platters of 45's you kept in your room. There were a couple drawbacks with that. The record would skip as the car ran over bumps and the makers of the turntable (Columbia) had a deal with Chrysler to only play Columbia recording artists only. No fun in that if you're wanting to hear the latest song from the Diamonds or Chubby Checker.
 |
| Chryslers, Columbia Turntable |
The car FM radio has been around since the early 1950's but it wasn't an option on the car window sticker until the later 1960's when the popularity of static free music was played on home stereo or High Fidelity systems. Ford and Chevrolet wanted to cash in on a new product and soon integrated a new form of listening enjoyment to the auto masses. It was called the eight track player. Coupled along with the AM /FM radio, audio enthusiasts would soon have music played through the means of a plastic cartridge having a magnetic tape wound around an internal spool that played music over eight different magnetic tracks on an ever changing four channel system. Not a bad idea unless you like your favorite song interrupted with a channel change.
 |
Lear Jet's under dash eight track player with AM or FM radio. Circa 1967.
|
Technology was ever changing and in the early 1970's the cassette was becoming a popular media. It was a small embodiment of the eight track but played two sides "A" and "B" without the channel change that always screwed up your favorite song. Most every teen driver in the 1970's owned one of these at one time. The KRACO cassette stereo system. It was cheap and the sound you got from it was about the same. Most of the time the sound emitted from this monster of audio grandeur was a high treble sound. KRACO could never master the bass in any of it's stereos. But it didn't matter when your favorite group could be heard any time you wanted .
 |
| KRACO stereo with cassette player. 1970's vintage. |
But not to worry, companies were out there looking to step in to the car audio after market and cash in on some new stuff that would soon make millions for those willing to take a gamble. In the early 1980's, BOSE was making headphones when they decided to jump into the car audio business. They introduced the first car specific audio system to auto makers such as Oldsmobile and Cadillac. Not meant for the blue collar worker, the BOSE system would usher in the era of JVC, Pioneer and Blaupunkt for those on a meager wage. No longer were American made stereos being placed in cars. The Japanese would take this market over with Sony and Panasonic leading the way in after market sales. Sony would sell it's new invention to the American masses called the CD player. At first they were only installed in Mercedes Benz but after news of the clear crisp sound that came from the system it was an all out explosion to all auto manufacturers that music was a main staple in the daily driving experience. And to get the best sound, auto makers would flaunt the opportunity to tell you all about it in there sales ads.
Today with bluetooth, satellite radio, mp3 with digital sound, music has come along way from catching a static filled radio station on your AM car radio. It was a simpler time, with less buttons and choices, when most of the time all one worried about was where are we going to stop to get a cold drink and a burger.
No comments:
Post a Comment