![]() ![]() She wasn’t tall, but she had long black hair, slim legs, and a lovely fragrance. At least, to me then, she looked gorgeous. For some reason, I’m not sure why, I have a clear memory that it was the original, British version of the album, not the American or the Japanese version. The LP “With the Beatles.” The one with the striking black-and-white photograph of the four Beatles in half shadow. She was clutching an LP to her chest as if it were something precious. She was hurrying down the long, dim hallway of the old school building, her skirt fluttering. The new school semester had begun and things were starting to fall into a routine again. ![]() This was in 1964, at the height of Beatlemania. What I do know about her is that she went to the same high school as I did, and was in the same year (since the badge on her shirt was the same color as mine), and that she really liked the Beatles. And, naturally, I don’t know where she is now or what she’s doing. There’s one girl-a woman who used to be a girl, I mean-whom I remember well. The death of a dream can be, in a way, sadder than that of a living being. I think what makes me feel sad about the girls I knew growing old is that it forces me to admit, all over again, that my youthful dreams are gone forever. Though I never feel sad at the fact that I have similarly aged. What catches me off guard is, rather, how people from the same generation as me have become elderly, how all the pretty, vivacious girls I used to know are now old enough to have a couple of grandkids. Not that the youthful me from the past has, without my realizing it, aged. But it all started with the transistor radio way back in 1954.What I find strange about growing old isn’t that I’ve got older. While radio may be less significant these days, the concept of a small handheld device that provides access to music and ideas is more popular than ever in the form of today’s smartphone. The Boombox, the Discman, and the iPod arrived over the following decades, replacing the transistor radio and, further, eroding broadcast radio’s status as the most important way to reach the masses with music and ideas. The transistor radio began to decline in popularity in the late 1970s as the cassette and the Walkman took over. In providing this avenue for artistic expression and the dissemination of new ideas, the transistor radio played a significant role in many of the musical and cultural movements of the 1950s and 1960s. For the first time, young people had the freedom to listen to music and world news amongst themselves without the threat of parental disapproval. The transistor radio wasn’t just a revolutionary piece of technology – it also revolutionized music and youth culture. Many models even had a single plug-in earphone for private listening, not unlike the headphones used with later devices such as the Walkman and the iPod. In addition to lower prices, the first half of the decade also saw the addition of FM capabilities to the previously AM-only transistor radio. These Japanese models brought prices down significantly, and by the 1960s, transistor radios cost around $15 (about $117 today), making them affordable birthday and Christmas presents during the prosperous 1960s. ![]() Sony’s TR-55 and TR-63 were particularly notable, but Sharp and Toshiba also sold transistor radios. Shortly after the TR-1 went out of production, Japanese manufacturers began selling cheaper and smaller transistor radios to the American public. Image source: Stocksy United New Models & Further Improvements Instead of a family affair, teenagers began listening to the radio alone or with groups of friends. ![]() It was also highly portable and changed the way that Americans enjoyed radio. In contrast to these older models, the TR-1 was small and much less easy to break. In most cases, families would huddle around a single large wooden radio in their home and listen to programs together. Because these radios used breakable vacuum tubes, they were also very delicate. Previous models were large and mostly stationary. Signaling a Changeĭespite its short life, the TR-1 changed the face of consumer radio forever. Around 150,000 units were sold, but the TR-1 wasn’t produced for very long. However, it was quite expensive – the TR-1 retailed for around $50, which translates to nearly $400 today. It was able to receive AM radio stations and had an impressive 20-hour lifespan due to its 22.5v battery. It was easily portable, measuring just five inches high, and used four transistors. It featured a gold dial and was available in a variety of colors. On October 18, 1954, they released the Regency TR-1 just in time for the Christmas shopping season. Texas Instruments built the transistors and the Regency division of I.D.E.A. (Industrial Development Engineering Associates) and Texas Instruments. The first transistor radio was created as a joint project between I.D.E.A. Image credit: Julia Bujalski The Regency TR-1 ![]()
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