His invention was instrumental

March 16, 2024 4:06 AM

Shigeichi Negishi, the inventor of the world's first commercially-available karaoke machine, has died in Japan. He was 100 years old.

Negishi was in his 40s when he came up with the idea of prototyping a mass-produced, coin-operated karaoke machine, branded "Sparko Box," after a colleague at the consumer electronics assembly business he ran in Tokyo criticized his singing.

posted by snofoam (24 comments total)

I was 19 years old in 1985 when mom invited me to accompany her on a trip to Japan, a life long wish of hers, because both her father and mine had traveled extensively for work bringing bits of Japan home to her for most of her life. Their business partners in Tokyo invited the two of us for a sumptuous traditional meal in a private room upstairs in a traditional tea house (with geishas). There was a karaoke box, the first time I saw one, and Kugo-san jumped up after the meal to demonstrate how it worked to me. He sang in Japanese with the chorus in English - iirc the song was "I just called to say I love you" but my memory is not 100% convinced. One of those contemporary hits from the early 80s. I have NEVER forgotten the experience of my first introduction to karaoke. Much more rambling here but I stop here.

Thank you for this memorial post to the man who changed an unexpected part of his world (and mine).


RIP Negishi-san.
posted by infini at 4:47 AM on March 16 [23 favorites]

🎤
posted by chavenet at 4:48 AM on March 16 [5 favorites]

What a beautiful thing he gave the world.
posted by zymil at 5:40 AM on March 16 [3 favorites]

I was an unthinking karaoke skeptic for years until my work colleagues decided it would make a change from group dinners at restaurants, and after my first try was an instant convert. Pure joy. What a gift to the world, indeed.

My biggest hit/top tip: "It's Not Easy Being Green."
posted by rory at 5:58 AM on March 16 [3 favorites]

.

If there is a wake, I bet it will be a party.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 6:17 AM on March 16 [3 favorites]

I wonder if video games like Singstar would've even existed without karaoke.

.
posted by May Kasahara at 6:19 AM on March 16 [2 favorites]

My second trip to Japan, circa 2000, was a whirlwind of tourism with friends from college. We set ourselves a goal: sing karaoke in every city we visited. At one point we thought we'd have to break our streak because we would only be in one city for a few hours, but we found a karaoke box near the train station. Mission accomplished. Thank you for hours of fun, Negishi-san.

.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:24 AM on March 16 [4 favorites]

.
posted by evilDoug at 6:27 AM on March 16

I have never partaken in karaoke. You do not want me to partake in karaoke. Trust me on that. Nevertheless, I recognize how much fun it has brought to so many, and that is an awesome thing.

.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:21 AM on March 16 [1 favorite]

Karaoke is a gift and a pleasure. 🎤
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:22 AM on March 16

Thorzdad, there's something for every one, if you can speak in time with music you can do karaoke, even if you only say one word of every line. I mean there's even a song for it, tequila. Please don't deprive yourself or it. A friend does a great karaoke to the wiggle fruit salad, it's mainly him going yummy yummy yummy and it is great.
posted by Iteki at 8:45 AM on March 16 [5 favorites]

Careless Whispers, that was the name of the song Kugosan sang ;p

clearly I have had nothing better to think about all day except karaoke
posted by infini at 9:14 AM on March 16 [4 favorites]

It would be great if, should any of us have access to a karaoke machine or a bar that facilitates karaoke, we could do some sort of song in honor of Negishi-san; something somewhat elegiac, say, like "And When I Die" or "People Who Died." The latter is good for people who think that they can't sing, because Jim Carroll is rapping/chanting the lyrics.
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:15 AM on March 16 [1 favorite]

.
My bestie got back to karaoke recently. Good outlet for him as he's got a good voice. I keep giving him song suggestions.
posted by luckynerd at 11:38 AM on March 16

I won't sing into a microphone in front of a crowd, but I am able to execute both Rock Me Amadeus and One Night In Bangkok pretty well. Both of them are a fuckton harder than you think they are.
posted by hippybear at 11:43 AM on March 16 [7 favorites]

I should probably add West End Girls to my repertoire.
posted by hippybear at 11:43 AM on March 16 [4 favorites]

.

I live in Finland, which is very much a karaoke culture, there’s even a 24-hour karaoke bar in downtown Helsinki, but I’ve felt a bit out of the culture because essentially all I can sing are English-language songs.

One resolution during the early part of this year was to learn my favorite Finnish perennial hit well enough to be able to sing it at karaoke.

It’s funny, I’ve never really thought to consider that karaoke was any one person’s idea. It seems like such a natural thing, that fit so snugly into modern existence, that it’s difficult to think of it not being a part of the modern fabric.

Shigeichi Negishi had a simple idea, but it traveled and wove itself into so many cultures.
posted by Kattullus at 1:57 PM on March 16 [5 favorites]

I have such a distinct memory of the first time a bar in my hometown had a karaoke night. It was karaoke in the way that eventually grew to become American Idol, so rather than being a bunch of people informally singing in the corner it was a Full On Talent Show Complete With Host Who Had Jokes And Everything. But it drew a gigantic crowd and other bars soon followed.

I think around these parts there are "karaoke hosts" similar to Trivia Hosts, who travel from bar to bar around the area doing nights for different groups in different locations a few nights a week. I haven't seen a bar with a pre-installed karaoke set-up for a long time -- they're mostly brought in by the hosts now.
posted by hippybear at 2:04 PM on March 16

🎤
posted by clavdivs at 2:28 PM on March 16 [1 favorite]

Not to rain on everyoneʻs parade too much, but in my recording studio Iʻve run across a few too many karaoke singers who are of the strong opinion that they can actually sing. The more modest ones have asked if I would consider hiring them when I needed background singers. Many had a difficult time accepting the truth that background singing is a craft unto itself, much more demanding than soloing. And that wasnʻt even entering into the quicksand topic of pitch.

The finest singer I ʻve ever had the pleasure to make music with is, of course, a killer karaoke singer. She continues to love the karaoke bars.
posted by Droll Lord at 2:45 PM on March 16

My voice has shifted as I’ve gotten older. A long time ago, I could sing More than Words decently well, but those days and ranges are beyond me now. I haven’t been in years (thanks Covid), but to this day, I need no screen nor lyrics to throw down the most perfect karaoke renditions of Bon Jovi’s Wanted (Dead or Alive) and Poison’s Every Rose Has Its Thorn you could ever be blessed to hear.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:50 PM on March 16 [2 favorites]

A friend in art school back in 1982 was a fantastic singer/entertainer and was telling me that he'd got a weekend job demoing this machine from Japan that played backing tracks. Being an early 80s art student, I thought it was the tackiest thing I'd ever heard of.
posted by brachiopod at 6:42 PM on March 16 [3 favorites]

I've always found the idea of karaoke to be fun, but since I've never been a 'listen to the latest pop hits often enough to karaoke them', I've always found the track listings seriously lacking.

The first time I ever karaoke'd it was Devo's Whip It, which I only knew from tv commercials. I'd never heard the whole song. Sorry everybody.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:28 AM on March 18

“What can karaoke teach us about AI?,” Matt Alt, Pure Invention, 26 March 2024
posted by ob1quixote at 9:48 PM on March 25