HERE IS THE FIRST RECORDING EVER MADE BY THOMAS EDISON ON HIS NEW INVENTION, THE PHONOGRAPH.
It was 147 years ago (November 21, 1877), that Thomas Alva Edison announced the invention of his phonograph, Jukebox 92.7 salutes the birthday of recorded music and we're thankful for the heritage that invention has given us.
Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph, a way to record and play back sound.
Edison stumbled on one of his great inventions—the phonograph—while working on a way to record telephone communication at his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey. His work led him to experiment with a stylus on a tinfoil cylinder, which, to his surprise, played back the short song he had recorded, “MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB”. Public demonstrations of the phonograph made the Yankee inventor world famous, and he was dubbed the “Wizard of Menlo Park."
Edison set aside this invention in 1878 to work on the incandescent light bulb, and other inventors moved forward to improve on the phonograph. In 1887, Edison resumed work on the device, using the wax-cylinder technique developed by Charles Tainter. Although initially used as a dictating machine, the phonograph proved to be a popular tool for entertainment, and in 1906 Edison unveiled a series of musical and theatrical selections to the public through his National Phonograph Company. Continuing to improve on models and cylinders over the years, the Edison Disc Phonograph debuted in 1912 with the aim of competing in the popular record market. Edison’s discs offered superior sound quality but were not compatible with other popular disc players.
During the 1920s, the early record business suffered with the growth of radio, and in 1929 recording production at Edison ceased forever. Edison, who acquired an astounding 1,093 patents in his 84 years, died in 1931.
In recent years, album sales have outpaced CDs. Vinyl records are making a comeback, and in 2024, again outsold all other kinds of reproduction. Although the Edison Wax Discs are not readily available, records are. Jukebox 92.7 plays the best oldies and classic hits from the records you grew up listening to!
(Sources: The History Channel, Wikipedia)
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