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Whether it’s your favorite hip-hop group of the 90s, or the best boy band to date, you had to have something to listen to those smash hits on. In our permanent exhibit, American POP, we’re turning up the volume on nostalgia with music players from the past.
Unfortunately, music players didn’t originally put you in control of the playlist OR fit in the palm of your hand—We’re looking at you, current teenagers. Music players were bulky, and required AAA, AA, or bigger batteries. That’s right, no chargers for these guys. So before you go on that refreshing jog with your wireless headphones or plug in your aux cord on the drive home today, consider this Top 10 list of music players curated from the museum's collection. How many have you owned?
#1. Console stereo phonograph with AM/FM radio
“Come on, baby...Let’s do the Twist!” Where's the music coming from? With the top closed, Delmonicol Nivico's Consolette stereo phonograph disguised itself as a table with brown laminated top. The turntable features an automatic record changer to allow several albums or smaller 45s to be stacked and played sequentially. An AM/FM radio is included with the phonograph. Functionable and fashionable, this was every cool mom’s dream in the 60s.
Delmonicol Nivico
1961
#2. Panasonic transistor radio
From bulky to bite-size, this transistor radio was indicative of design trends in the early 70s. Its size made it easily portable—check the keychain feature. Had you been listening to this radio in 1970, you might have heard the Jackson 5's "ABC" or "Roadhouse Blues" by the Doors.
Panasonic
1968-1975
#3. Portable 8-track tape player
This is what “portable” looked like in the early 70s. Now there are Bose bluetooth speakers that don’t require thick, ancient tapes, just an iPhone and a Spotify subscription. 8-track players were a big deal because they allowed individuals to express their taste in music wherever they went...for the world to hear (or just a group of friends).
Panasonic
1974
#4. Toot-a-Loop wrist radio
Barbie probably had this multi-purpose accessory. Panasonic's early 1970s "Toot-a-Loop" portable battery-operated wrist radio (say that 5x fast...yikes) was also a bracelet! What tunes might you swing to in that era? Maybe Bobby Sherman's "Julie, Do Ya Love Me?", The Partridge Family's "I Think I Love You," or the Jackson Five's "One Bad Apple."
Panasonic
1968-1975
#5. Portable “Sports Walkman” cassette player
The Walkman changed the way people listened to music, combining choice with portability. Once you picked and mixed your favorite tracks on a compact-cassette tape, you’d take this baby out for a stroll. The plastic bright yellow case and black hinge protected the tape from water while exercising—with headphones! The Sony Walkman was a must-have for teenagers (at the time).
Sony
1980-1986
#6. Barbie radio
Mattel’s Barbie phenomenon wasn’t just making waves in toy stores and shopping malls, but Barbie was branding radio waves too! Happy little girls and boys could tune in by turning that pink dial and set their dolls to dance to their favorite station.
N.A.S.T.A., Inc.
1982
#7. Rolls Royce Phantom II radio
Roll up and get down! Big brands were taking advantage of tech by creating novelty radios and selling or rewarding them to loyal clients. At the time, Rolls Royce was known for their automobiles (not the aerospace guru we know today). This radio is a replica of the Phantom II released in 1929. Fun fact: 8-track players were a standard fit in most Rolls Royce cars!
Justen (maker)
#8: Boombox
Boomboxes meant quite the opposite of business in the 70s. This box was the original bass-dropper. And for louder, heavier bass, you need a bigger, bulkier box. If you weren’t reppin’ one of these bad boys up top with big hair and parachute pants below...did you even 80s?
JVC
1980
#9: Discman CD Player
Maybe the Walkman was a little too slow for the late 80s. By then, durable CDs had begun to rapidly replace cassette tapes as the preferred form of capturing and listening to music. Laser technology provided clearer sounds and easier maintenance.
Sony
1997
#10. iPod Nano
Apple was ahead of the curve with the release of the iPod mini—users could curate playlists from their music collection and add it to this super-compact clip music player, but the Nano? The Nano had a screen. The first generation launched in 2005, and it wasn’t long before the iPod Nano’s sleek design and user-friendly interface revolutionized how we collect, organize, and listen to music today. Everyone had one, and if you didn’t, you were borrowing your friend’s when they weren’t using it.
Apple
2nd generation
2006
Catch a few of these classic music players and hop through time with other iconic objects in our permanent American POP exhibit.
