The History of the Boombox, NPR Music

Before iPods (or even CDs) there were boomboxes. It's been 20 years since they disappeared from the streets, but the nostalgia they evoke is about more than stereo equipment. We've changed the way we listen to music - and to each other. Watch a video about the history of the boombox. Learn more about the boombox at www.npr.org/tem....

[@JxT1957]

Back in '84 i bought a Conion c100f (the biggest boombox of the time) for only $250 off of a truck selling boomboxes along a highway in Tampa, Florida. Pulling over and stepping inside that truck and seeing all those brand new silver boomboxes on display was literally boombox heaven, i felt like a kid again in a toy store.

[@landonjohnson3829]

Thanks for the video I tracked down every boom box 6 years ago I ever wanted on eBay and so far I have 15 and I thank GOD for them they are my stress reliever

[@Video-Games-Are-Fun]

ebay is an excellent resource for all memories past from every hobby

[@brigganthewolf1461]

@@Video-Games-Are-Fun But not if you want to find a good deal for every occasion. Those prices are scorching hot!

[@ac1inblue]

This is a great piece on n 80's Cutural icon. Seeing these boxes, takes me back to my youth when I would be transported to another place by the music my BoomBox was playing. It was my therapy. "Long live the BoomBox". THAFUZZ ;-)

[@ScaperSteph]

This brings back memories. I remember walking around Washington D.C. on vacation as a kid (8 or 9) in the 80's. This tall black guy had a huge boombox on his shoulder listening to hip hop. He was dancing around with his friends. I guess he was moving around too much. All the batteries fell out the back. Everyone around started laughing. LOL

[@artismylifeinc]

I love it!!!! I am going to use this in my classroom as we talk about the history of audio technology!

[@sirernest7]

Thanks for sharing , i have a sweet spot forever with these

[@willd7582]

Only reservation I have about this piece is that at ground zero NYC shown there, they were initially playing soul Funk and disco on boxes; earliest rap and hip-hop tracks heard a little later late 70s

[@9MagTV]

The Sharp GF-777 Was The Pinnacle Of All Boomboxes.

[@donjames5761]

nah it was JVC RV-NB50

[@migz180]

@@donjames5761 nah it "IS" and will always be the Conion C-100FF

[@donjames5761]

@@migz180 JVC RV-NB50 sounded better it had more watts better speakers. is the c-100ff the only thing you could afford ?

[@willthetrill4849]

I'm very glad I bought my 1984 Panasonic RX-4920 boom box for $7 at a thrift store. I absolutely love it

[@1phatboy83]

I've been on a boombox search for almost two months!!!! I wont give up!!!

[@CoockieClassiCKeks]

Still walking around witch my sharp gf 777 through the city in 2024, 15 years now

[@80s_kid.]

i used to have about 60 boomboxes but had to downsize,i'm down to abot 30 now,mainly sharp,Jvc ext..collecting has always been in me since as far back as i can remember,probebly the late 70s when i was a kid..i've no idea why or how i got into them,its like they found me,rather than me finding it..its strange ! this is a good video,they should make more of these !!

[@cordcordero5772]

Got any left? Ya boy got $300 to spend and wants to jam

[@vigilbros]

Can I nominate this piece for some kind of award? great work!

[@Pei1983]

A boombox can change the world!

[@DjCalliber]

its not over yet. tdk boombox check it out. people will start realizing again that being able to take music loud around with you so you and all your friends can hear it is awesome

[@mick998r]

Excellent piece of work. Thank you for uploading it.

[@DanielMcfate]

Loved the old boom boxes back in the day. It was great to see all the 'crew's with their cardboard boxes breakdancing on the street with the boom box providing the music. Somehow it's hard to picture that with an ipod.

[@admiralackbar9307]

@Ruth Yoerg The funny thing is 80s boomboxes will still be working like new when iPods or MP3s are dead and gone, xD id like to see the disposable iPod or MP3 still working after 30+ years!

[@truthfulrobot9295]

Theyre pretty popular down here in san diego chicano park, there is even record shops packed with djs, nostalgic collectors, or musicians looking for LP records and cassettes.

[@hardcorehouse]

Google "boombox museum". I had one of the JVC classics. It sounded great. Still have some of the NYC tapes made on it, early 80s.

[@AMOKIAN]

LOve the boom box....I had several of them over the years and I still have my Fisher keyboard boom box!!! I miss some of my classic ones though ;( Memories!!!!!!!!!!

[@KinglerCakes]

It's my goal to find or make a 'modern boombox'. Something that retains the beauty and charm of the 80's and 90's whilst having all the technology of the 2010's. Pop in my SD card with all my tunes in to my monster boombox and just play. TDK have tried, and in my opinion, have not quite gotten it right. Some of us want a return to the monsters of yesteryear, a musical item that brought everyone together. I want heavy steel, not shiny plastic. It's got to go the distance.

[@BrynnEvans-wh6em]

Any luck?

[@rezon8526]

Love this....still kickin my 1981 Hitachi trk 8600...still going strong:-)

[@ghettoblaster4life1]

I still listen to cassettes on my ghettoblasters... to me hip hop is in its true form when its comeing from a cassette and boombox.Thats how hip hop was supposed to sound.

[@DonnieBlaze28]

He straight dissed my lasonic trc-975! It's over 30 years old and still rockin, everything works too! Foh

[@TheSavethetigers1]

Now we are in the age of technology. We keep moving forward in time. These boom boxes are almost a collector's item.

[@merwin9999]

The model shown at 4:19 was my choice for mobile sound back in the day. It's still at my parent's house, in fact. The tape player won't spin anymore, but I refuse to get rid of it. Still looks amazing to this day.

[@brigganthewolf1461]

It's likely that the belts have turned to goo over the past several years. Get it replaced and you should be good to go.

[@samestuffdifferentday5712]

At 8:09 the lasonic tr931 is what I had . It was huge , it was loud and wherever I went with it somebody if not everybody could hear it.mine was the first generation by the way back in the 80s and it didnt say jumbo on it. It spoke for itself.

[@ngalahansel6066]

I was born in 1992 and we had these around until the early 2000s here in Cameroon, West Africa. Funny this is we actually called them "radios" here lol. Only heard the term 'boombox' today lol. Very nostalgic

[@EepSquared]

I used to carry just a simple Casio tape recorder playing Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" and walk with it since I didn't have an actual boom box.

[@TheSpambird]

great mini-docu!

[@ZoeyDawn]

Way cool video Thank you for the memories...You rock!!!

[@eiriknalder4683]

Tomy needs to come back! They had some fun things they made, but they need to do a little more on quality in the way of gears, this was a cool vid! 😊

[@ramboestrada]

Nice video. It's about time the boombox got some props.

[@rekording]

The transistor radio was the first boombox

[@EvaUnit_01]

My dad has one of those,and it still works!

[@freq32]

the slower the tape decks open, the better. EQ LED .. MUST HAVE. Shortwave 1 and 2.. NERD BONUS. HELL YES.

[@boomboxjapan1776]

Nice Collection!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@TheSavethetigers1]

I remember when people used to take their boom boxes ever where and they brought their music with them too.

[@tonymedina8640]

, mis those days when there was no cell phones, not just anybody had the coolest cassettes, miss my 80s

[@lynxnumber1fan195]

i still use my boom box in 2016

[@gustavoramirez-rangel5773]

They built quality back then.

[@KandiKlover]

Me too. I listen to shortwave radio on it.

[@80s_Boombox_Collector]

I still use all 50-60 of mine.

[@KandiKlover]

Vintage 80's Boomboxes Nah they just sit on a shelf only to tale one down for a video every now again. Hardly consider use. Humble yourself.

[@80s_Boombox_Collector]

I use at least one or two of them everyday, especially my Telefunken Studio 1, the best-sounding portable of the 80's.

[@quagmyer7230]

You think these video and comments are old? I still listen to tapes and FM radio in my spotless Crown CSC-850L boombox in 2023.

[@rwj777]

Now in 2022 the Almighty Boombox returns! 👌🏾🤗

[@port2344chester]

@hardcorehouse Nothing like the old school BOOMBOX... many last minute classic roller skating partys were started due too the youth of yesteryear playing classic traxs & a huge crowd gathered. If not for the foundation of the BOOMBOX.... 2days youth would not have the ipod. Dont you agree with me hardcorehouse? We had some awesome times back in the 70's early 80's N.Y.C.. Break dancers, poppers & up rockers....many classic moments.The youth of 2day wish the had it so good!

[@alexyy9]

This is go great, Roy!

[@256woodpusher]

never missed losing my cd players never missed losing my mp3 players but my lasonic trc-931 just went missing and i damn near shed a tear.

[@80s_Boombox_Collector]

The best thing about boomboxes is that you can position it right in front of your face. I'm sorry but no matter how good of a home audio system you have in your living room, it still can't give the same effect as a boombox sitting on your desk only a few inches from your face.

[@210UnderGroundRapper]

This was lit these youngins dont know history just what they see instead of know....

[@therealhardrock]

What was really important was the popularity with buskers who do hip-hop dancing.

[@cyberpunk004]

One of the other reasons the boombox fell out of popularity was most took D cell batteries while the walkman took 2 AA's and lets face it, spending 10-20 dollars to load the boombox gets expensive with alkaline batteries and the only real way of powering them in that era, a nicd D cell of that era was exactly equal to a AA now for energy capacity. Today we can fit 5 times that into a D cell so the environmental impact of a boombox is minimal on battery usage.

[@deborahchesser7375]

Man we had to take up a battery collection everyday LOL my buddy had the Sanyo with the center woofer

[@ericnoe3712]

I have a Rapor with triple cassette player and recorder that has a center woofer

[@ericnoe3712]

It’s an aka of the general mg 345

[@trankillodad]

WE SHOULD MAKE A NATIONAL DAY TO TAKE OUT THE BOOM BOX OR BOOM BOX EVENTS AT LEASE TWICE A YEAR... If you look around you would see many people with vintage stuff sporting. Like I said BRING EM OUT....

[@Tuttigiu]

BELIEVE ME: THE BOOMBOX IS GONNA COME BACK.

[@truthfulrobot9295]

Tuttigiu already is, here in san diego theres alot of collectors and ghettoblaster players. Funny thingnis these classic boomboxes had a more powerful sound than those bluetooth junk kids are using hahaha

[@Sahil-Singh.]

@@truthfulrobot9295 ya true

[@ajrg91]

They are coming back. There's boombox meets few times a year in San Diego LA area. I'm trying to get a meet going here in the Coachella Valley.

[@TheChadPad]

@@ajrg91 Wow. I need to get me a boombox

[@cryo_life]

QFX J-22U and the YOCO RO231. All available on ebay for brand new

[@KinglerCakes]

The Walkman and the iPod have removed the joy of musical interaction, made it too individual, too private. That said, the music these days isn't conducive to partying on the street corner. Anyone reading this from TDK, JVC...anyone, please...bring us a true modern boombox, none of this iPod dock crap.

[@OutandAboutwithTrev]

Nice production - I miss the era of the 'boomboxs' I just got into music during the middle of the 80's. My first stereo was a National RX-C37 model that I've still got and it still works. I love my ipod but also think that sooner or later we will see the next evolving of these. You can see it already with the portable bluetooth speakers..music is meant to be heard.

[@floatmasterjohn]

I'm so feeling that Boom Box is my life do you have any to sell

[@Searcher20010]

Amazing collection! grat! :-)

[@ld28diesel]

How times change What a time iy was great

[@LISTICPRO]

So true :) I do miss my old JVC M90. I've only found one new boom box that's alright, but I know what you're saying. Analog sounds better over all and the older boom boxes don't look anywhere near as cheap and tacky. And I want my 10 band graphic equaliser back.LOL. Those old speaker cones sounded more natural than the new ones. Something about 2 big subs and a simple tape deck. not portable indeed.LOL.

[@edgardosoto4193]

We used to connect equalizers on them so when we get them on it would blast everyone.

[@jadovyjbarbitur]

DAMN, SO COOL !!!

[@corriamo]

sorry I made grammar mistakes I mean : good history documentary I liked it so 5 stars

[@LISTICPRO]

That was a very nice video on boom box history and I think that with things like Facebook and Google+ people are wanting to reach out and have their say once again. As socialisation becomes easier with the internet we'll see the return of the Boom Box, although it'll be with longer battery life and play through different formats such as MP3, IPad USB, and Laptops. Music is so much easier to access online. Still I can't go past that old true analog sound. Love the JVC Boom Boxes. :) Thanks allot.

[@evermau2]

so mesmo atraves desses documentarios, para termos nocao da evolucao tecnologiacas.

[@ctfmuzik]

I have a realistic 2250 but you can bearly hear anything with the volume up any ideas on what i could do to get it loud again?

[@corriamo]

good histoy documentaey I liked it

[@andreacesaro8188]

I mean.. Is this the only boombox documentary here on KZbin?!

[@Justmyopinionlol]

no matter what people say boomboxes existed back in the 1980s because the streets were relatively safe. Nowadays, you get shot by just going to church or go watch a movie so you will not have people walking around with boomboxes, let alone gangster types with enemies.

[@zsaknorpowe8061]

whats that Jazz song that starts around 5:21. Sounds SO familiar!

[@williamallen25]

I don't know the exact song, but it sounds like a latin version of "A Love Supreme" by John Coltrane. That bit of info should help you out.

[@thepark698789]

old technology is much much better than new ones.

[@KandiKlover]

Yeah. Cheap lazy shit.

[@danielsaldana4663]

That's my childhood breaker from 1984

[@gustavoramirez-rangel5773]

I have over 300 nice boomboxes, I need more.

[@KandiKlover]

Can I have one?

[@overspray5281]

Pls make a video of your collection

[@crimcallsmebitchnugg]

lol We need a modern day, but retro boombox. That doesn't suck like the lasonic i93.

[@AbuBishir]

Now they have boomboxes that play mp3s. I wonder what they will play in the future

[@0ace0hitta0]

I found a Sharp Gf 8686 is it as good as the Gf 9696?

[@plan101]

the first time I heard Kashmir was through the means of Puff Daddy On the Godzilla film Sound track.

[@BoomboxVille]

❤❤

[@toneyisaiah3556]

Companies like Panasonic used to have some of them.

[@Carldancehard]

Cool :D

[@F3udF1st]

Just bought a Hitachi 3D80, one of the most menacing BBs of all time. If you were to run it off batteries it'd cost you $20 bucks a day.

[@frederikklarname149]

I don't like the shade that is thrown onto Lasonic boomboxe models. They are great.

[@toneyisaiah3556]

Expensive at the time . During the 1980s heyday.

[@trankillodad]

Nice that's one day I'll do the same

[@toneyisaiah3556]

Some boom boxes featured guitar amps.

[@CRASHDDZ]

@trankillodad I take mine to an event every year called the Zombie Attack. It's done every year on Michael Jackson's birthday. I walk around playing Thriller and it has become an annual event for me ha ha...

[@edgardosoto4193]

The best was the Conian..anyone remember those.

[@nathegotule4666]

Ghetto blaster way Awesome.... ✋👍🍺😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

[@jimmiesmith5811]

Right before they were called boom boxes they were ghetto blasters or jam boxes hot box and beat box

[@nenestoudemire8575]

my boombox is on the way

[@rod_triplxvi739]

I had a dream many years ago... That i was having a tattoo of two speakers on my back. But I dunno if the two speakers alone is cool to have inked on my back.. Since my personality loves music so much..And I was born in the early 80's (1981 to be exact) do you think this will suit me and my personality or just 2 speakers alone. please give me idea or the Marshall amplifier or speaker will do.

[@davenichole]

would like to get my hands on a ol school 50 pound boombox

[@plutoseventbb8263]

As a bboy, this is golden...

[@user-ld7nb6us4y]

❤ Sony

[@chan13153]

Boomboxes basically morphed into Bluetooth speakers. They serve the exact same purpose. So looking it like that they still exist.

[@MildMisanthropeMaybeMassive]

Chan A lot of modern boomboxes (and yes I mean boomboxes with the form factor, cassette deck, CD tray, radio) have 3.5mm ports, and Bluetooth specifically for connecting phones.

[@nugrahagilang1201]

i thought, i can get intensity if listen on my comp...

[@juanfelipezambrano.]

10 Facts 1. Your reading my comment 2. Now your saying/thinking thats a stupid fact. 4. You didnt notice that i skipped 3. 5. Your checking it now. 6. Your smiling. 7. Your still reading my comment. 8. You know all you have read is true. 10. You didnt notice that i skipped 9. 11. Your checking it now. 12. You didnt notice there are only 10 facts

[@coolingscythe02]

that point is now there at least 7 that walk around the school

[@DustyMiles]

1 cover u mouth wit u hand 2 make a wish into it 3close ur hand[make it into a fist] 4 holdur hand[the fist] to ur heart for 5 sec 5 send diz to 3 more videos 6 tomorrow will be ur best day of ur life

[@charlesreberto]

you gotta know your limits with a boom box

[@cryptonative]

interesting...

[@steezitup]

Tapes just sound extra dirtty cant go wrong with that when it comes to hip-hop