If you are a fan of the 8 Track Tape, I’m sure you’ve heard all the usual comments… Those silly things? What’s the point? They sound terrible! etc etc etc.
Let’s set the way-back machine to 1966…
I’m 11 years old and owned one of the little RCA 45 players that were common in the day. The home HI FI Stereo was off limits to children and only available under the strictest supervision. At this age I am totally into Monster Models, cool toys and 45 rpm records. Then along comes this new format and by golly they look and handle like little toys! The plastic tubs and the players that had no buttons, you could just shove them into the machine, and you had the full album at your disposal in a really neat little package.
American technology was on the move to the future! This was the era of space launches and exploration, Corvettes and Mustangs… and now you could take your music on the road with you? an alternative to the Radio? These were exciting and heady times.
With a little stand-alone unit, I was ready to go. Everything about them was magic… and the mystery! How did they work? How could such a big sound come out of these little machines? And most importantly, how cool did they look on your shelf next to your Frankenstein and car models!
They were such a unique American invention. When I finally opened one up and found out it was a continuous loop!?!! How could it pull from the middle and re-wrap itself and come around again?
How did it change tracks? And why the heck didn’t they just make it like a reel to reel, which is what cassettes would do a little later? These questions are unanswerable, it’s an “only in America” kind of thing and I’ll leave it at that.
But it was a flawed technology and problems did arise. Being the kind of kid I was, the problems fascinated me. I was a natural builder and fixer. But more on the maintenance and upkeep in the next session of… “I Love My 8 Track Tapes”
Cheers!