Hear The Oldest Known Recording Of Voice And Music, From 1878

It’s a little scratchy, but at least you might recognize the nursery rhyme.

by Abdullah Saeed

October 26, 2012, 9:40pm

Photo credit: AP/Mike Groll

Recorded music changed everything. We take it for granted now that we can listen to just about any song ever laid down with the click of a button, but once upon a time music was only heard live. What on earth did young people talk about in a time when songs were merely ideas on paper until a band brought them to life, each rendition forgotten as soon as it ended? Who knows, but now there’s evidence of the moment that revolutionized the concept of music.

A CBS News report tells the story of the earliest known example of recorded music and voice, a demonstration of Edison’s phonograph recording device in 1878. Recorded onto a sheet of tinfoil, the recording features a cornet solo followed by recitations of “Mary Had A Little Lamb” and “Old Mother Hubbard.”

Though informative about this ancient method of recording, the CBS article fails to provide the recording itself for you to hear. Thankfully, the Reddit community turned up the unrestored recording, which you can hear below (thanks Liberationdemonology).