This week saw the birthday of the iconic Sony Walkman. Yes, on the 1st of July 1979 the Sony Walkman celebrated 45 years and yes i am two days late in posting this but better late than never.
So what did the Walkman mean and why was it so important? It meant freedom, yes thats a cheesy answer but its true! After years of vinyl, large record players or large cassette decks which could not be carried around like a portable device there was suddenly an option! Cassette tapes were small compact and popular thanks to Dolby Noise Reduction making them good enough in sound quality. The first Radio Recorder was invented in 1966 with Boom Boxes being developed in the west and in japan in the early 1970s. This also opened the door for ‘Mix Tapes’.
The story of the Walkman is up for debate, one history states that the German inventor Andreas Pavel was the first to develop a portable hi-fi system. He applied and was awarded a patent in 1977 in Italy and then the following year in the US and then Japan.
In July 1979, Sony debuted its own now iconic version of the portable player which many say had been inspired by Pavel’s concept. In the US release it was called the Soundabout and in the UK it was called the Stowaway. This was finally rebranded as the Walkman.
‘Sony credits founder Akio Morita with the concept of the portable music player, popularly known as the Walkman. But the firm has just paid several million euros to a German inventor who patented the idea in 1977.’ – CNET
Whatever the origin, we had the Sony Walkman and over 385 million would be sold worldwide.
My first portable stereo was not a Sony, it was a made in Taiwan randomly branded make that i cannot remember, the size of a brick but it was mine, similar to the early Sony tape recorders (below left) that proceeded the actual Walkman. Big foam headphones but that was the norm.
The first actual Sony Walkman I owned came along in the late eighties and it was such an improvement. The foam headphones were still around but the newer designs with the earbuds (airpods anyone) on a wire started to become available which were a big improvement.
Then late eighties I got what i thought was the Rolls Royce of the Sony Walkman range. It was just a bit bigger than a cassette tape which to modern standards is like carrying a mobile phone around. The only problem was it came with an outer case that held an AA battery, I never invested in the clever slimline battery. I was kid without unlimited funds. I still have it, somewhere and i will find it after a couple of house moves.
One memory that makes me smile to think about now is a future prediction that I so wanted back in 1986. A B movie called Iron Eagle was released. Ok this is a tenuous link but there was one thing I loved about that film. At the beginning he flew a Cessna in an illegal race, before he took off he got his Walkman out, strapped it to his leg and plugged the jack lead in and he was flying to music. He got in his Mustang, got his Walkman out, plugged the jack lead in to the car, Velcrod it to the dash and his music sounded awesome, the same later on when flying the F16. The idea of that Walkman transferring to every scenario was the best thing to a kid who loved music ……. hello Bluetooth and Steaming Music!
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