Inventor of the First Karaoke Machine, Shigeichi Negishi, Passes Away at 100

Shigeichi Negishi, the inventor of the world's first karaoke machine, passed away at the age of 100.

Negishi created the "Sparko Box" prototype in 1967, which is considered one of the devices that helped popularize karaoke in Japan. He died from natural causes in January, and his death was announced last week by Shiro Kataoka, the managing director of the All-Japan Karaoke Industrialist Association.

Born in 1923, Negishi started a company in northern Tokyo that put together car stereos for car manufacturers. He loved listening to a radio show where people sang along, so he connected a spare tape deck to a microphone and mixing circuit to sing along to music.

Negishi shared, "When I asked the factory engineer, he said, ‘It’s easy.’" He added a microphone input terminal to the car stereo, creating a prototype of a jukebox. This story was recounted by the All-Japan Karaoke Industrialist Association, a group representing karaoke businesses in Japan.

Today, there are over 8,000 karaoke box venues in Japan. Additionally, 131,500 bars in the country are equipped with karaoke machines, as reported by the All-Japan Karaoke Industrialist Association.

Author Matt Alt, in his 2020 book "Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World," shared in an interview with Negishi that the inventor initially tried out the device with an instrumental tape of Yoshio Kodama's 1930s song "Mujo no Yume."

"It works!" he excitedly told Alt, remembering the time he first heard his voice playing through the speakers with the music. "I was just thinking about how fun it was. Right then, I knew I had found something new."

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He marketed the device as the Sparko Box, selling them with lyrics cards and installing around 8,000 units across Japan, especially in bars and restaurants. By the 1970s, when Negishi stopped selling the products, there were already several competing machines in the market.

According to Negishi's profile on the All-Japan Karaoke Industrialist Association's website, singing in stores was not common at that time, so the Sparko Boxes were mainly sold as background music. Looking back, Negishi expresses some regret about this approach.

Shigeichi Negishi, then 95, shows author Matt Alt his invention in 2018.

Shigeichi Negishi, then 95, shows author Matt Alt his invention in 2018.

The industry body does not give credit to one person for inventing karaoke. Instead, they acknowledge multiple individuals who each created their own machines in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

One of the most well-known figures in the karaoke industry is Daisuke Inoue, a musician and entrepreneur. In 1971, he created the 8 Juke machine, inspired by a car stereo, which is widely recognized for popularizing karaoke.

Similar to Negishi, Inoue chose not to patent his invention, leading to electronics companies developing and selling their own karaoke machines. As a result, by the 1980s, "karaoke boxes" became a phenomenon in Japan, with private rooms becoming the preferred choice for amateur singers over traditional bars and restaurants.

Subsequent advancements, such as video karaoke and networked karaoke systems, played a key role in spreading the karaoke craze across Asia and beyond in the years that followed.

In present times, Japan boasts over 8,000 specialized karaoke box establishments, with 131,500 bars also offering karaoke machines. Estimates from the All-Japan Karaoke Industrialist Association suggest that the karaoke market was valued at a total of 387.9 billion yen ($2.6 billion) in 2022.

CNN’s Mai Nishiyama contributed to this report.

Editor's P/S:

The passing of Shigeichi Negishi, the inventor of the beloved karaoke machine, has brought a wave of nostalgia and gratitude for the joy he brought to countless people around the world. Negishi's humble beginnings, sparked by his love for singing along to the radio, led to a transformative invention that has become a global phenomenon. Today, karaoke is not just a form of entertainment but also a social and cultural activity that fosters community and brings people together.

It is fascinating to note that the invention of karaoke was not attributed to a single individual but rather a collective effort of several innovators. Negishi's Sparko Box played a significant role in popularizing the concept, but it was the subsequent advancements and the collaborative efforts of the karaoke industry that propelled it to the global stage. This highlights the power of collaboration and the importance of recognizing the contributions of all those involved in shaping a cultural phenomenon. joy, and a sense of camaraderie to people of all ages and backgrounds.