Pocket Rockers
Pocket Rockers was a brand of personal stereo produced by Fisher-Price in the late 1980s, aimed at elementary school-age children.[1] It played a proprietary variety of miniature cassette (appearing to be a smaller version of the 8-track tape) which was released only by Fisher-Price themselves. Each tape had two songs in mono. Tapes were available from several pop stars, including Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Tiffany, or Debbie Gibson and even rock stars like Bon Jovi or The Bangles. They were designed to be as much of a fashion accessory as a music player, and for a brief period they were enough of a youth craze to be banned in some schools.
Type | Portable audio player |
---|---|
Company | Fisher-Price |
Country | United States |
Availability | 1988–1991 |
The advertisements featured a song in the tune of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Down on the Corner".
The Pocket Rockers line was discontinued in 1991, following a sharp decline in sales. Today, the player and cassettes are sought after by collectors.
Recording technology
Inside the Pocket Rockers cartridge, the same 3.81 mm (0.150 Inch) tape like in the Compact Cassette is used, running at same tape speed of 1⅞ Inch per second. The upper two tracks contain one mono recording, each. Winding the tape into a Compact Cassette, the recording is playing backwards. The lower two tracks were not used. The tape head is bottom top mounted Compact Cassette player head. The small Endless tape cartridge based on a technology invented by Bernard Cousino is operated by a belt-driven capstan. Unlike standard cassettes, the pinch roller is part of the cassette rather than the player.[2]
List of featured artists and songs
- Breakfast Club
- "Right on Track" / "Kiss and Tell"
- Danny & the Juniors
- "At the Hop" / "Rock 'n' Roll Is Here To Stay"
- The Fat Boys
- "Wipe Out" / "Rock Ruling"
- Whitney Houston
- "How Will I Know" / "The Greatest Love of All"
- "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" / "So Emotional"
- The Jets
- "Cross My Broken Heart" / "You Got It All"
- "Make It Real" / "I Do You"
- Huey Lewis and the News
- "Doing It All for My Baby" / "The Power of Love"
- "Hip to Be Square" / "The Heart of Rock & Roll"
- Madonna"
- "Who's That Girl?" / "Material Girl"
- Mike + The Mechanics"
- "All I Need Is a Miracle" / " You Are the One"
- Pretty Poison
- "Catch Me (I'm Falling)" / "Nighttime"
References
- This Old Toy - Pocket Rockers
- Pocket Rockers - 1980s endless loop tapes for kids (YouTube video). Techmoan. 2018-04-20.