The History of the 8-Track Player — The Cartridge That Put Stereo Music in America’s Cars

Comments · 47

• MA

  @matthewrice2004 · 19 hours ago

  Had both 8 tracks and cassettes. Good times.

  4

• TH

  @Thunder_6278 · 11 days ago

  My '78 T-bird still has quad 8 track. Still plays. Far out.

  12

• PA

  @pagemastr954 · 1 day ago

  I still have the 8-track player for my car I got as a graduatoin gift over 50 years ago.

  1

• MR

  @mrfusilli · 13 days ago

  Supertramp - Breakfast in America 8Track tape played on a Panasonic home stereo system... I was 9 listening to it over and over.  I was old enough to remember the end of the 8 Track tapes era but young enough to remember playing the tapes too.

  4

• VI

  @vincentlimoli5238 · 20 hours ago

  Had one in my '67 Fairlane 😎

• JO

  @Joe-ey7cu · 9 days ago

  In 1967 my father bought a brand new '67 mustang. He had the option of either a 4 or 8 track stereo tape player. The salesman suggested the 8 track was more popular so my dad went with that. I still have the 8 track tape that came with it called Ford family of fine music. It featured various artists.

  3

• TO

  @tomlinkusa · 23 hours ago

  I never had an 8-track in my car. I installed a cassette deck in my Pinto in '73. Never mentioned was that the commercial 8-tracks re-ordered the tracks to fit better. That was the nail in the coffin for me, as many 70s albums really needed to be listened to in the order the artists intended.

  1

• MA

  @markdecker6190 · 9 days ago (edited)

  My dad had a Chevron station in Summit, NJ and he liked to be on the cutting edge of things.  He was one of the first in the area to offer aftermarket 8-track deck installations in cars.  He had a display of one of Lear's tape decks on the shelf, connected to a standard outlet and speakers.  He sold a ton of them!  Not being able to record your own 8-track tapes wasn't entirely true.  My friend had an 8-track recorder and I used to make my own mix tapes from his turntable, just like people later did with cassettes.  It was near impossible to time the songs between the tracks so I'd just let it go and you'd hear a momentary interruption to the song when it clicked tracks.

  3

• RO

  @Rob-mk2sw · 13 days ago

  Oh what great memories this video brings. Bought my first new car in 1972, a Monte Carlo, and I installed an 8 track player and rear deck speakers. I learned the hard way how to respool a cartridge that messed up. My next car was a Ford Pinto and it had a factory 8 track. I had quite a collection of tapes, and when home units got affordable I bought a floor model 8 track stereo receiver that also recorded tapes. It was called a quad because it had 4 speakers. The hard part was the recording, because if you messed up you had to fast forward to the beginning again. 8 tracks defined my musical experience in the 70's along with vinyl, and it was years later that I finally tried cassettes. CD's came along then and both tape formats slowly disappeared. But I will always remember with fondness my first 8 track and the hours of enjoyment the music brought.

  2

• ED

  @edgardagosto1917 · 13 days ago

  Best audio ever no download fees to pay and 8track tapes come fresh from the recording studio  no joke

  1

• RO

  @robertcowart1 · 14 hours ago

  Rick Wakeman of Yes and a developer made the Birotron. It was an attempt to replace the Mellotron. It used 8trk tape cartridges instead of tape strips. It did away with the 8 second limit for notes pressed. The album "Going for the One" from '76 features it.

• 4C

  @4catsnow · 13 days ago

  And the greatest 8 track recorder ever produced...The Akai CR-81D.....Pre-recorded retail 8 track tapes generally sounded like they were processed under an old army blanket..

  6