- Shigeichi Negishi created the world’s first karaoke machine in 1967
- His machine was called a Sparko Box and it led to other versions being made
- He died after a fall on January 29, but has only recently come to attention
The man who invented the karaoke machine has died after a fall at the age of 100.
He died on January 29.
Shigeichi Negishi was born in Tokyo in 1923 and grew up managing an electronics company.
His light bulb moment came when a colleague heard him singing at work and mocked him for being so bad.
He thought to himself that if he could sing to a backing track, this would change everything, and in 1967 the world had its first karaoke machine.
Negishi invented the Sparko Box, which led to other companies creating different types of machines.
Shigeichi Negishi, inventor of karaoke, has died after a fall at the age of 100
The Sparko Box started out as a microphone connected to a deck with tape
Negishi took the invention home and showed it to his family – the very first karaoke session
Matt Alt, author of the book ‘How Japan Made The Modern World’ said: ‘Farewell to another legend.
“He earned the enmity of artists who saw his machine as a threat to their jobs.
‘It’s an eerie precursor to the debate over the impact of AI on contemporary artists,’
The subway reported that when his new device first came out, professional singers were afraid it would put them out of business.
After his Sparko box was released, others soon made their own versions, with musician Daisuke Inoue releasing the 8 Juke box four years later in 1971, often credited as the first.
According to Alt, the All-Japan Karaoke Industrialist Association recognized the Sparko Box as the first, paving the way for karaoke as it is today.
Although his idea sparked a worldwide craze, it didn’t make him millions as he never patented the invention – and he even gave up making sing-along boxes because he “got tired of the conflict with musicians and the grind of going from house to house.” -house sales and maintenance.
However, his daughter, Atsumi Takano, said he was happy to know that his idea had grown into something he enjoyed so much: “He felt very proud to see his idea evolve into a culture of having fun through songs around the world.
For him, a hundred years surrounded by his family was reward enough.’
Before his career in electronics, Negishi served in the Japanese army and subsequently became a prisoner of war in various camps in Singapore.
After his release, he returned to Japan and used the English language skills he acquired as a prisoner of war to sell cameras.
His invention led to other companies creating different types of machines like this one here
Author Matt Alt took to X to share the news that the 100-year-old inventor had passed away
Karaoke became a hugely popular pastime around the world, all because Negishi was mocked
Nowadays, karaoke machines come in all different shapes and sizes, like this one here
At the start of his adventure with karaoke, he commissioned an employee of his company to put together a device with a microphone, speaker and cassette deck.
The first song he played on this new device was an instrumental version of Mujo no Yume (The Heartless Dream) by Yoshio Kodama.
Negshi was so impressed with the new device that he took it home to show his family – and the very first karaoke session took place.
Negishi chose the name karaoke because it had long been used in Japan to refer to singers who used backing tracks during their performances. The word itself is a mixture of the words ’empty’ and ‘orchestra’ in Japanese.