Shigeichi Negishi was a Japanese engineer who invented the world’s first commercially available karaoke machine, the Sparko Box.
- Died: January 26, 2024 (Who else died on January 26?)
- Details of death: Died in Japan of natural causes at the age of 100.
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Shigeichi Negishi’s legacy
Born in Tokyo, Negishi was a World War II veteran and former prisoner of war who went into electronics after leaving the military and created the Nichiden Kogyo company in 1956. In 1967, a comment by a colleague in the industry helped change the course of leisure and entertainment history – specifically, a comment about how bad Negishi’s singing allegedly was.
Negishi set to work, bringing together eight-track tapes, printed lyrics, a speaker, a microphone, and brightly colored lights, and the Sparko Box was born. It was the first commercially available karaoke machine. With the help of a distributor, around 8,000 Sparko Boxes were sold.
However, Negishi never patented his invention, and his company folded in 1975. Several other inventors created similar devices around the same time, too, helping the pastime to quickly proliferate. In 1971, nightclub DJ Daisuke Inoue created a similar device that could change keys to better accommodate singers. Karaoke has since become an international phenomenon. As for the Sparko Box, there is only one functioning unit left in the world, currently in the possession of the Negishi family.
Tributes to Shigeichi Negishi
Full obituary: NPR
