Today in Music (1954): The transistor radio introduced.

October 18, 1954 The transistor radio was introduced.

“The idea of taking information and entertainment out of the living room all started with the transistor.” DTN The radio was once a large piece of furniture that took up the role eventually assumed by televisions in that it thrust news, entertainment, and other programming right into the family living room. Those radios used vacuum tubes which were large, cumbersome, and unreliable. DTN In 1945, Bell Laboratories started exploring a new way to amplify electrical current. They developed the transistor, which was patented on June, 30, 1948. DTN It “revolutionized the field of consumer electronics by introducing small, but powerful, convenient hand-held devices.” WK At first, their value was mostly for the phone company and “a handful of scientists building computers” PBS but they found wide-spread commercial use when introduced in the first commercial transistor radio – the Regency TR1 – eight years later. The first one was a joint project between Texas Instruments and the Regency Division of Industrial Development Engineering Associates. TI built the transistors while Regency built the radio. On October 18, 1954, the five-inch-high radio was introduced to the market. PBS It revolutionized how people could absorb music because it was now available to anyone, anywhere. Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, said, “My first transistor radio…I loved what it could do; it brought me music; it opened my world up.” TH However, at the time the invention wasn’t taken seriously by major radio manufacturers such as RCA. They thought transistors were just novel ideas which would appeal to hobbyists. TH While the Regency radio stopped production in the spring of 1955, it opened the door for other future-minded companies. A Japanese company called Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo decided to also make radios. Since their company name was unpronounceable to Americans, they renamed the company Sony because of the Latin word “sonus” which meant “sound,” and the phrase “sonny boys,” because it was a reference at the time to bright, young men. PBS Sony introduced their portable radio in 1957. TH For more important days in music history, check out the Dave’s Music Database history page. Resources and Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: “History Index” DTN Decades TV Network (2016). “Transistor Radio: The Beginning of the Mobile Revolution” PBS PBS.org “Transistor Radios” TH Treehugger.com (2/10/2021). “It’s Sixty Years Since the First Portable Transistor Radio Went on the Market and Started a Revolution” by Lloyd Alter WK Wikipedia.org “Transistor radio” First posted 10/6/2023.