1 July 2024

On 1 July 1979, today 45 years ago Japanese electronics company
SONY (established in 1946) introduced the very first WALKMAN.

It was revolutionary portable audio cassette player allowing music fans to listen to entire albums anywhere. The battery-powered device was marketed under a variety of names around the world, including the “Sound-About” in the US, the “Stowaway” in the UK, and the “Freestyle” in Australia. But within a few years, “Walkman,” had become the familiar name. By the end of the decade, more than 100 million Walkmans had been sold worldwide.

When the CD Player (launched in 1982) became globally popular, the Walkman eventually vanished. Along with vinyl’s great come back some years ago, the good old cassette also returned.