An invention that went around the world, but whose original author remained unknown.
Japanese Shigeichi Negishi, inventor of the first karaoke machine, has died at the age of 100, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
I took this video of karaoke inventor Shigeichi Negishi in 2018, when @Matt_Alt interviewed him for the book "Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World."
I remember how happy Mr. Negishi was showing off his Sparko box.
This video still makes me smile.
🧵 pic.twitter.com/AflgWkLm1L
— Hiroko Yoda (@Ninetail_foxQ) March 16, 2024
In 1967, Shigeichi Negishi created the “Sparko Box”, the first prototype karaoke machine, which automatically allowed you to sing along to a track of an already existing song.
The idea came to him after a colleague at his electronics assembly company made fun of him while he was singing at the top of his lungs in the office.
He then thought that his voice would be better if it had a backing track.
An invention never patented
The electronics engineer then connected a speaker, a microphone and a tape recorder, on which an instrumental version of the song “Mujo no Yume” by singer Yoshio Kodama was played.
This coin-operated “Sparko Box” played commercially distributed cassettes of instrumental recordings, accompanied by lyrics in a paper booklet.
It was the first karaoke machine to be mass-produced and commercialized.
Unfortunately, his company encountered problems, Shigeichi Negishi had to dissolve it, and never obtained a patent for his creation.
“By automating singing, he attracted the enmity of artists who considered his machine a threat to their work,” says Matt Alt, author of “Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World,” on X. “It’s a strange precursor to the debate around the impact of AI on today’s artists,” continues the specialist, who interviewed Shigeichi Negishi for his book.
The kinship of karaoke has been attributed to several Japanese personalities, who also created their own versions of these machines in the 1960s and 1970s. The word "karaoke", which already existed before the corresponding machines, became a trademark registered by the Kisaburo Takagi record store in the early 1960s. The Japanese had also created his machine equipped with a tape recorder and cassettes.
Later, musician Daisuke Inoue, who was also credited with the creation of karaoke, allowed the machines to include different tones, allowing a variety of fans to sing pop songs.
It was the inventor's daughter, Atsumi Takano, who confirmed his death to the Wall Street Journal.
Shigeichi Negishi died of natural causes after a fall on January 26, she said.