Happy 40th birthday, Walkman

CNN ^ | July 1, 2019 | Staff

[C19fan]

It was 40 years ago today that Sony, not Apple, revolutionized the way we listen to music.

The Walkman, a portable cassette player that, for the first time, let us take our music with us without bothering our neighbors, hit the market on July 1, 1979. The portable cassette player revolutionized how people listen to music. The Walkman wasn't the first of its kind, but it was the first affordable and manageable portable music player -- others like the German Stereobelt were too clunky and expensive, so they never took off.

[C19fan]

There were transistor radios before the Walkman but Sony delivered a device with stereo sound and that played cassettes so one was not at the mercy of the radio stations playing list.

[Jimmy The Snake]

But Tom Scholz of the group Boston in the late 1980s made a battery powered guitar amp that was about the same size as a Walkman called a ROCKMAN and it sounded like a huge stack of Marshall Amps. Truly that Boston guitar sound. I still use one today in the studio and have 2 of them. Way Cool

[newfreep]

Before the walkman, there was the small transistor radio.

As a kid, I had an early morning paper route - waking at 3am, walking to the distributor's house to get my papers and then walking back to my route. Eventually I bought one of those new transistor AM radios - a small, hand held device that kept me company during those early hours listening to the local rock and/or roll station.

A 11-14 y/o walking the city streets at 3am was totally safe - never had an ounce of concern.

[BBB333]

I still have my Sony TPL-L2.

It was a real game changer — loved skiing with it!

[babble-on]

also cheap disposable headphones appeared then and never left.

[Erik Latranyi]

Radios did not allow you to play your own music.

[Army Air Corps]

Thanks for sharing that! Now, I want one!

[deadrock]

Before that, there was a product that was about the size of a standard cassette player that you strap to your chest.

Designed for skiers....only played monotone.

And for the life of me, I can't remember the name of it.

[1Old Pro]

Before that, there was a product that was about the size of a standard cassette player that you strap to your chest. Designed for skiers....only played monotone. And for the life of me, I can't remember the name of it

I had one, I think the name was something like astral tunes

[deadrock]

Oh yeah, and the headphones were like a rigid stethoscope

[deadrock]

You were right.

[Jamestown1630]

I had one exactly like that. Somewhere I’ve still got the earplug.

[Army Air Corps]

Ping.

[real saxophonist]

Here you go

[Dilbert San Diego]

Brings back memories. I had a similar transistor radio. I remember listening to music on the AM radio, when AM stations played music.

I used to enjoy listening after dark, when you could receive stations from distant locations.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Can’t find one anymore. I used to walk for 3 hours while listening to the big fella. Now it’s iPod. They don’t make the little ones now so I’m screwed.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I LOVED mine! Best tool I had at the time to motivate me to run every day. :)

[moovova]

Had a couple of Walkmans. Still have this little Sony bauble around someplace. It was originally a Christmas present to one of our kids. Spent a good bit of Christmas day trying to sign up thru Sony in order to load music...PITA. Once loaded...sweet little device. No bigger than a 12ga shotgun shell. Even had radio! The kid eventually abandoned it for something Apple. I used it for awhile but It was replaced by an Android...currently one with a 256 gig card.

[Army Air Corps]

Interesting.

[Army Air Corps]

Thank you!