Karaoke machine inventor Shigeichi Negishi died at the age of 100 yesterday in Japan. He invented the karaoke machine in 1967 after getting the idea to create a machine that would allow anyone to sing their favorite songs again when needed.
Shigeichi Negishi has a habit of listening to the radio show Pop Songs without Lyrics every morning in Japan which is broadcast on minus one in Japan. One morning he was reprimanded by the staff of the Nichiden Kogyo company where he worked for singing alone when entering the office. He then got the idea of using an 8-track tape recording of the Pop Songs without Lyrics broadcast which was then combined with a speaker system, microphone and money collection machine. With this machine he can sing with background music support when needed.
The first prototype was produced in three days with the help of an engineer. The first song played on the karaoke machine was Mujō No Yume which was popular in Japan. Realizing he needed more background music recordings without vocals, Shigeichi contacted a friend who worked at NHK. He was told by a friend in the industry that "karaoke" tapes are commonly used when concerts are performed outside the city by singers who cannot bring musicians. Karaoke is a combination of two words "kara" for empty and "oke" for orchestra.
The first karaoke machine produced by Shigeichi was the Sparko Box with flashing lights on the front and an 8-track turntable that could be changed according to the song you wanted to play. It comes with a lyric book that ensures songs are sung correctly. Users only need to pay 100 Yen for one song using Sparko Box.
Although he was the inventor of the karaoke machine, Shigeichi Negishi never received any profit after this machine became popular worldwide because he never patented the design due to the process being too complicated and expensive.