14 Audio Technology of the Baby Boomer Generation

14.1 Introduction

After World War II’s devastation and massive celebration, the United States saw exponential population growth between 1946 and 1964. Thus, becoming the generation we now refer to as the baby boomer generation (Clark C. 2022). This generation lived through some of the most influential events in American history, including the Civil Rights movement, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the moon landing. The men and women of this generation reached young adulthood between the 1960s and the 1970s and piloted the popularity of rock, soul, and folk music (Rafferty, J. 2017). Therefore, it became the core of the American hippie movement and allowed for the wild expansion of music and audio technology.

The soundtrack that shaped this generation ranged from “Jailhouse Rock” by Elvis Presley to “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye and substantially influenced society, the music industry, and audio technology. The rapid music explosion during this time led to the development of many audio technologies, including the Sony Walkman, cassette tapes, and the Heil Talk Box.

 “Elvis Presley Jailhouse Rock publicity still” by Fred Shibert is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

14.2 The Rise of Cassette Tapes

In 1963, Philips created a revolutionary invention that allowed people to play music easily. During this time, playing music required reel-to-reel tape recorders that were bulky and not consumer friendly. Thus, the following year, the company patented the invention as the Compact Cassette, which soon became the standard of mobile listening. The cassette tape was a convenient and inexpensive device that held tape which could record and replay audio recordings. This invention played over 90 minutes of music, compared to the vinyl LP, which averaged 45 minutes’ worth of music storage (Murdy, S. 2021).

Cassette tapes not only impacted how people listened to music but also influenced society, especially the baby boomer generation. This gave rise to what is known as “cassette culture,” where musicians created an extensive network to share never-heard-before music genres and styles. This helped pave the way for aspiring musicians to make a name for themselves without using record labels (Mirror Review. 2022). Hip-hop creators began to create identities within the music industry, indie music was on the rise, and post-punk music took off all due to cassette tapes. Consumers could mix and share their favorite songs using mixtapes and now assemble a collection of their favorite songs from various artists (Murdy, S. 2021. The cassette promoted society to become increasingly more connected by providing a simple way to share an experience and build a group identity for the baby boomer generation.

The future of audio technology was utterly changed because of the cassette tape. Many inventions followed the creation of the cassette in 1963, including the boom box, the Walkman, and various forms of tape players and recorders. By the 1970s, on-demand cassette players designed for cars gained popularity but were replaced later by CDs in the 90s. We even see the effects today from cassettes, as every modern car can play your choice of music at the touch of a button (Siegal R. 2018).

 “C60 Philips cassette 001” by Joxemai is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

14.3 The Sony Walkman

Cassettes opened the door for mobile listening, but there were few convenient ways to do so. Hence, sparking the idea for a simple audio technology that allowed consumers to listen to cassette tapes anywhere at any time. Thus, on July 1, 1979, the Sony Walkman TPS-L2 was introduced to the public as a portable music player (History. Com Editors. 2009). It all started when Masaru Ibuka, Sony’s co-founder, wanted to be able to listen to music on long flights without the hassle of carrying a bulky cassette recorder. This issue was solved with the Sony Walkman, a 14-ounce, portable cassette player that could be quickly and efficiently taken anywhere (Haire, M. 2009).

The success of the Walkman was unexpected because it could only play back cassette tapes, not record them. Yet, after the launch in 1979, there was a two-month-long waitlist at Bloomingdales in New York City. The Walkman took society by storm, becoming a status symbol and a fashion statement (Thompson, C. 2019). This small, aluminum device could be seen in the pockets of all those around you when walking down the street, riding the bus, and any time you entered a public space. But this convenience had consequences. Society became isolated from the world, as they could now cancel out all outside noises (Alt, M. 2020). To combat this issue, Akio Morita, an executive at Sony, ordered the second model of the Walkman to have two headphone jacks so multiple people could listen at once (Thompson, C. 2019). This audio technology dramatically changed society and how people communicated with one another.

The original TPS-L2 model evolved to other variations of the Walkman, including ones that were solar-powered, water-resistant, and could hold more than one cassette at a time. This established the Walkman decade of the 1980s– so much so that the word “Walkman” entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 1986. Mobile music listening only increased as the compact disc was introduced in the 1990s, and soon after, Apple released the iPod MP3 player (Haire, M. 2009).

 “Sony Walkman” by Mark Mathosian is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

14.4 The Heil Talk Box

Along with creating new technologies for listening to music, devices were made during this time that created a unique sound for listeners. One technology that changed how music sounded and performed was the Heil Talk Box, which modified an artist’s voice by changing the frequency to create a unique effect.

In 1939 Alvino Ray plugged a microphone from a WWII airplane into a guitar to test the effects it would have on his voice. This idea progressed in the 1940s when Pete Drake created the “Talking Actuator” and was later made famous by Joe Walsh. Years after, Bob Heil used these ideas to develop the Heil Talk Box in 1973 (Sawyers, J. E. 1997). The Heil Talk Box was revolutionary as it allowed artists to change the sound of their voices and add a more diverse sound within their genres.

Heil’s Talk Box can be seen everywhere in the music of this era, from the song that made the instrument gain its popularity, “Rocky Mountain Way,” by Joe Walsh, to one of the most well-known songs of all time, “Livin’ On a Prayer” by Bon Jovi (Brakes, R. 2021). It spanned various genres and generations, connecting people of different tastes and ages.

Today, we can see the effects of the Heil Talk Box as it inspired the invention of auto-tune, which is heard daily on the radio. You can still hear modified versions of the talk box used by top-charting artists, such as Bruno Mars in his smash hit “24K Magic” (Nicastro, M. 2017). The Heil Talk Box also inspired other audio technologies, like the Vocoder, which is used with a synthesizer to create a vocal effect (Pryn, R. 2022).

“DUNLOP_HEIL_TALK_BOX” by believe Kevin is licensed under CC BY 2.0

14.5 Audio Technology’s Effect on Sales and the Music Industry

As different forms of audio technology formed, consumers bought recorded music in other formats. Below is a chart illustrating the U.S recorded Music Sales Volumes by arrangement. Cassette tape sales increased as the Baby Boomer generation reached adulthood in the 70s, and how they eventually replaced the use of vinyl tracks.

Figure 14.5: Above is a visual chart that represent different audio technology sales through the years 1973-1995.

“U.S Recorded Music Sales Volumes by Format” by Recording Industry Association of America is used with permission from the copyright holder

Chapter Summary

Audio technology changed drastically as the baby boomer generation reached adulthood in the 60s and 70s. Inventions like the cassette tape, the Sony Walkman, and the Heil Talk Box helped to expedite the vast development of music during this generation.  These new technologies impacted how society interacted and how music was dispersed and listened to. As new devices entered the music scene, this inspired other audio technologies to be created and change the theme for all future generations.

Review Questions

References

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