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Sound Recording The Life Story of a Technology
David L. Morton
Book Code: GR3090
ISBN: 0-313-33090-5
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-33090-2
240 pages, photos
Greenwood Press
Publication: 9/30/2004
List Price: $49.95 (UK Sterling Price: £27.95)
Discount Price: $34.97 Greenwood Press Fall 2008 Backlist Sale. Use code 0826. Save 30%. Ends 12/31/2008.
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects:
Series Title: Greenwood Technographies
Reviews:
  • Sound Recording traces the development of sound technology in the US and Europe from the first demonstration of the phono-autograph in 1857 to the latest MP3 technology. Morton skillfully blends a basic understanding of the physical principles involved in recording sound waves with an interesting chronological account that examines the cultural and economic issues affecting the development of sound technology. The inclusion of the discoveries of European inventors adds depth and dimension to this account; it really underscores the power and continuing influence that everyone involved had on the development of a common method of capturing sound waves. Sound Recording is written in an engaging style for general readers and includes references to primary and scholarly resources for readers who want to learn more....Recommended. General readers; lower- and upper-division undergraduates; two-year technical program students.
    —Choice     May 2005
  • [V]aluable.
    —CBQ Communications Booknotes Quarterly     Spring 2006
  • [H]ighly recommended for specialty collections....[t]ells the story of objects and technologies important to the evolution of the recorded music industry over the years. From 8-tracks up to CDs and beyond, this traces the history of a business boom which began with Edison's invention and continues to this day, in the process revealing intriguing glimpses of inventions which never quite made it.
    —MBR Internet Bookwatch/The Bookwatch     June 2005
  • [R]ecounts the history of recorded music and sound technology from Thomas Edison's invention of the phonograph to the present day.
    —SciTech Book News     December 2004
Description: How did one of the great inventions of the 19th century-- Thomas Edison's phonograph-- eventually lead to one of the most culturally and economically significant technologies of the 20th and 21st centuries? Sound Recording tells that story, tracing the history of the business boom and the cultural revolution begun by Edison's invention. Ever since, recorded sound has been all around us--not just in reproducing and playing popular music, but also in more mundane areas, such as office dictation machines, radio and television programs, and even telephone answering machines. Just as the styles of music have evolved over the years, the formats on which this music was played have changed as well --from 78s to LPs, from LPs to cassette tapes, from cassettes to CDs--not to mention lesser-known innovations in the motion picture and television industries. The quest for better sound was one of the drivers of technological change, but so too were business strategies, patent battles, and a host of other factors. Sound Recording contains much information that will interest anyone interested in the history of recorded music and sound technology, such as: <UL> <LI> The world-famous composer John Phillip Sousa once denounced sound recordings as a threat to good musical tasted. He nonetheless made many recordings over the years </LI> <LI> Two innovative new products were introduced by RCA in 1958--the first modern "cassette" tape cartridge and the stereophonic LP record. The tape cartridge, which was about the size of a large paperback, flopped almost immediately; the stereo LP was the music industry's biggest hit ever. </LI> <LI>Chrysler automobiles of the late 1950s offered "Highway Hi-Fi," a dashboard phonograph that could play a record without skipping </LI> <LI> The predecessor of the Compact Disc was a 12-inch home videodisc system from the late 1970s--the first of its kind--called DiscoVision </LI></UL> The volume includes a timeline and a bibliography for those interested in delving further into the history of recorded sound.
Table of Contents:
  • Birth of Recording
  • Out of Laboratory
  • The Commercial Debut of Sound Recording
  • The Introduction of Discs
  • Recording in the Business World
  • The Heyday of the Phonograph
  • The Talkies
  • Records and Radio In the U.S.
  • The Crucial 1930s
  • Recording and World War II
  • The Postwar Scene
  • Home Hi-Fi
  • Revolution in the Studio
  • Mobile Sound
  • Cassette to Compact Disc
  • Record Companies versus the World
  • Online Music and the Future of Listening
LC Card Number: 2004047541
LCC Class: TK7881
Dewey Class: 621
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