HC Modern Marvels - The Phonograph (1996)

In 1877, for the first time, voices, music, the barking of dogs–and all sorts of other sounds could be recorded, played back, and preserved for posterity. All through the marvel of the phonograph. Surprisingly the man who created the phonograph, Thomas Alva Edison, had no theoretical background in acoustics, and only a few months of formal schooling. And ironically, he was half deaf. 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. First radio and then electronic recording contributed to the eventual decline in the phonograph's popularity. With more than 1,000 patents to his credit, Thomas Alva Edison was perhaps the greatest inventor in history. But his favorite creation–the one he always called “my baby”–was one of his first the phonograph. How did a man with so little schooling and no background in acoustics invent a way to turn vibrations into a replayable recording? This extraordinary program follows Edison on his great journey of discovery, from the early tinkerings with telegraphy and his first recording (“Mary Had a Little Lamb”) to his triumphant demonstrations at the White House. New information and rare photographs introduce Edison's chief rivals, including the famed inventor Alexander Graham Bell, and reveal how Edison's team approach outfoxed the competition.

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