Let’s raise a toast to the inventor of karaoke, the late great Japanese engineer Shigeichi Negishi. He devised the first karaoke machine in 1967, the “Sparko Box.” This invention changed the soundtrack of our lives forever. Negishi’s death was announced this week, at the age of 100, which means a century of making the world a louder, more tone-deaf place. His legacy is that all of us who are terrible singers can live out our tawdriest pop-star dreams for a few minutes of karaoke glory. We owe him so much.
- 3/16/2024
- by Rob Sheffield
- Rollingstone.com
Shigeichi Negishi, the Japanese engineer who gifted the world one of its greatest inventions — the karaoke machine — has died, The Wall Street Journal reports. He was 100.
While Negishi’s death is just being reported now, he died of natural causes on Jan. 26 after a fall. His daughter, Atsumi Takano, confirmed his death.
Negishi’s pioneering karaoke machine, dubbed the “Sparko Box,” was first prototyped and released in 1967. The engineer loved to sing, and the idea for the machine came one morning at his electronics company in Tokyo after an employee...
While Negishi’s death is just being reported now, he died of natural causes on Jan. 26 after a fall. His daughter, Atsumi Takano, confirmed his death.
Negishi’s pioneering karaoke machine, dubbed the “Sparko Box,” was first prototyped and released in 1967. The engineer loved to sing, and the idea for the machine came one morning at his electronics company in Tokyo after an employee...
- 3/15/2024
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
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