News & Events

Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison was the first person to record a sound with the intention of being able to play it back (see his Credo Reference topic page).

His Wikipedia biography includes a file of a 1927 re-enactment of his first Dec. 6, 1877 recording--Edison reciting "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

The first version of his invention, the phonograph, "recorded on tinfoil around a grooved cylinder. Despite its limited sound quality and that the recordings could be played only a few times, the phonograph made Edison a celebrity." (Wikipedia)

The History of Sound Recording

Although the phonograph was the first invention to record sound for playback, it wasn't the first invention to record a sound.

Curious? The Wikipedia article on Sound recording and reproduction explains:

"The first device that could record actual sounds as they passed through the air (but could not play them back—the purpose was only visual study) was the phonautograph, patented in 1857 by Parisian inventor Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville. ... An 1860 phonautogram of Au Clair de la Lune, a French folk song, was played back as sound for the first time in 2008 by scanning it and using software to convert the undulating line, which graphically encoded the sound, into a corresponding digital audio file."

Films about Thomas Edison and Recording History

All Films on Demand videos are closed-captioned and can be embedded in Canvas.

Thomas Edison (22-min. film, 1996) by A&E Biography
"This classic episode of Biography traces the extraordinary life of Thomas Alva Edison, from strange, misunderstood youth to unpredictable, egotistical genius."

Edison (1 hr. 53-min. film, 2014) by PBS
"Edison explores the complex alchemy that accounts for the celebrity of America’s most famous inventor, offering new perspectives on the man and his milieu, and illuminating not only the true nature of invention, but its role in turn-of-the-century America’s rush into the future."

Modern Marvels: Phonograph (44-min. film, 1996) by A&E
"Thomas Edison was not the first to record sound, but his competition with Alexander Graham Bell and other inventors led to the phonograph that created thousands of new jobs and gave birth to the music recording industry."

Recorded Sound: The Dream Becomes a Reality (51-min. film, 1999) by NVC Arts International
"From the jukeboxes of the 1880s to contemporary composers blending live and recorded music, this program examines the effects, both positive and negative, that resulted from the birth of the phonograph and the subsequent development of electronic and computerized music-making devices."

Recording History (32-min. film, 1997) by Planet Pictures
"When Thomas Edison devised a way to capture and replay sounds, he thought it useful for recording business letter dictation—but America had a different vision. This program examines the remarkable history of recorded music, from the Jazz Age, to the Big Band Era and World War II, to rock ’n’ roll and rap."

Naxos Music Library

Enjoy digital albums from Naxos Music Library, a database provided to you by the WCC Library.

Remember this week that Naxos and apps like Spotify, Pandora, etc., would not be possible without the amazing history of invention behind them.