The Museum of Flight, Seattle, WA, will host a presentation on June 13 exploring the connection between aviation pioneer William Lear and the development of the 8-track tape system, a technology that became a fixture in American automobiles during the 1960s and 1970s. The program, titled Planes, 8-Tracks, and Automobiles: William Lear’s Music on Wheels Takes Off, will be presented by music and media scholar Amy Skjerseth and begins at 2 p.m.
While Lear is best known in aviation circles for the Learjet business aircraft, he was also involved in the development of consumer electronics. Before introducing the Learjet in 1965, Lear helped create an early commercial car radio for Motorola. Later, he played a central role in bringing the 8-track tape player to the automotive market. Skjerseth’s presentation will examine the origins of the 8-track system, its widespread adoption in automobiles, and its influence on music consumption during the latter half of the twentieth century. The program will also look at how developments in passenger entertainment systems found applications beyond the automobile industry, including aviation.
A little about Amy Skjerseth: she is an assistant professor of popular music at the University of California, Riverside, where her research focuses on the relationship between music, media, technology, and material culture. She is the editor of the forthcoming Routledge Companion to Voice and Identity and author of Preprogrammed: How Electronic Presets Changed Music and Media, scheduled for publication later this year. The June 13 presentation is included with general museum admission and is free for museum members. For more information and to support The Museum of Flight, click on this link: www.museumofflight.org.
