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Sound Recording

The Life Story of a Technology

David L. Morton Jr.

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How did one of the great inventions of the nineteenth century—Thomas Edison's phonograph—eventually lead to one of the most culturally and economically significant technologies of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries? Sound Recording traces the history of the business boom and the cultural revolution that Edison's invention made possible.

Recorded sound has pervaded nearly every facet of modern life—not just popular music, but also mundane office dictation machines, radio and television programs, and even telephone answering machines. Just as styles of music have evolved, so too have the...

How did one of the great inventions of the nineteenth century—Thomas Edison's phonograph—eventually lead to one of the most culturally and economically significant technologies of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries? Sound Recording traces the history of the business boom and the cultural revolution that Edison's invention made possible.

Recorded sound has pervaded nearly every facet of modern life—not just popular music, but also mundane office dictation machines, radio and television programs, and even telephone answering machines. Just as styles of music have evolved, so too have the formats through which sound has been captured—from 78s to LPs, LPs to cassette tapes, tapes to CDs, and on to electronic formats. The quest for better sound has certainly driven technological change, but according to David L. Morton, so have business strategies, patent battles, and a host of other factors.

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Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
6
x
9.25
Pages
232
ISBN
9780801883989
Illustration Description
28 halftones
Table of Contents

Introduction
Timeline
1. Birth of Recording
2. Out of the Laboratory
3. The Commercial Debut of Sound Recording Devices
4. The Introduction of Discs
5. Recording in the Business World
6. The Heyday of the

Introduction
Timeline
1. Birth of Recording
2. Out of the Laboratory
3. The Commercial Debut of Sound Recording Devices
4. The Introduction of Discs
5. Recording in the Business World
6. The Heyday of the Photograph
7. The Talkies
8. Records and Radio in the United States
9. The Crucial 1930s
10. Recording in World War II
11. The Postwar Scene
12. Hi-Fi
13. Revolution in the Studio
14. Mobile Sound
15. Cassette to Compact Disc
16. Record Companies versus the World
17. Online Music and the Future of Listening
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

Author Bio
Featured Contributor

David L. Morton Jr.

David L. Morton Jr. is a historian of technology with expertise in the history of sound recording, electronics, and electric power. He is the former research historian for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.