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As the art form grows so will this history. Submit your facts and additions here. We appreciate your contributions and remain open minded to your suggestions or corrections. There is a famous qoute: "those who don't know the past are doomed to repeat it" for that reason we want to help educate the world about turntablism by helping to chronical the evolving artform. Special thanks to all the sources who have helped in chronicaling our artform. Special thanks to www.scratch-dj.com for the analog historical facts.
(History items of intrest to digital turntablists are blue in color)


1850's - The phonoautograph is developed by French Researchers. The device records sound waves on a rotating cylinder

1870's - Thomas Edison begins to develop a tinfoil phonograph or speaking machine. The machine included a cardboard cylinder wrapped in tinfoil on a threaded axle. A mouthpiece and diaphragm were connected to a stylus that embossed the sound waves on the tinfoil. To play back the recording, a reproducer replaced the mouthpiece. To test the invention for the first time, Edison recited "Mary Had a Little Lamb" into the mouthpiece.

1876 - Elisha Gray invents the Musical Telegraph. Alexander Graham Bell beats him to the patent office and patents the technology, calling it a graphophone.

1877 - Edison unveils the first hand-cranked phonograph.

1878 - Edison patents the phonograph and intends it to be an office machine.

1887 - Bell's graphophone used wax cylinders and included a floating stylus for clearer sound. Edison improves the phonograph by using a solid wax cylinder and a battery-driven motor to replace the original hand crank.

1890 - Musicians begin recording their music. The cylinders of the phonograph had the ability to record 2-4 minutes of audio. Around 1890, musicians began to record their sessions by setting up several phonographs to record at the same time.

1892 - Flat recording discs are invented; the first of which is called the gramophone disc.

1895 - Edison begins mass production of the phonograph and continues to improve the original design by adding a large horn to amplify the sound.

1901 - The Victor Talking Machine Company of New Jersey is incorporated, and the first Victor gramophones is introduced.

1906 - A new Victor gramaphone was introduced, which featured a concealed (inside) horn. It was dubbed the Victrola.

1919 - Invention of the Theremin, by Leon Theremin (Lev Sergeivitch Termen).
The Theremin is considered the predecessor to the Moog Synthesizer. It is unique in that it is the first musical instrument that can be played without being touched.

1920's - The first electronic instruments appear. Theremin, Ondes Martenot and Trautonium

1925 - Electrical amplification (the microphone) was introduced. This invention forced engineers to re-design reproducers.
The Victor Company's answer to this revolution in sound was the Orthophonic Sound Box, which was very sensitive to high and low frequencies.

1931 - EMI researcher Alan Dower Blumlein invents stereophonic sound for recording.

1939 - Invention of the magnetic tape.
John Cage composes imaginary Landscape #1: the first piece to use electronic reproduction. The piece was performed on variable-speed turntables with RCA test tones and other sounds.

1940s - The first DJs emerge as entertainers for troops overseas.
During WWII, persons armed with a turntable, an armful of records, and a basic amplifier would entertain troops in mess halls, spinning Glen Miller, the Andrews sisters, and Benny Goodman. It was much easier than sending an entire band overseas.

1950s - 45 RPM, 7 inch records are invented.
45 RPM records were cheaper to make and easier for American youths to carry to parties.
In Jamaica, as popularity of Jazz and R'n B increases, sound systems are used to promote the music. Sound systems developed from enterprising record shop disc jockeys with reliable American connections for 45s. They would load a pair of hefty PA speakers into a pickup truck and tour the island from hilltop to savannah, spinning the latest hits.

1951 - John Cage composes imaginary Landscape #4: the first piece to use radios as instruments.

1956 - Ska develops in Jamaica, which makes the sound system explode in popularity.
Karlheinz Stockhausen's 'Gesang der Junglinge' uses both natural sounds and electronically generated noises.
Duke Reid and Clement Dodd emerge as sound system operators in Jamaica.

1958 - The E-Piano is invented.

1959 - Artist begin conducting recording sessions that center on sound systems.
Duke Reid held his first recording session. This included the duo Chuck and Dobby, and the Jiving Juniors. He also recorded Derrick Morgan and Eric Morris for sound system play. Clement Dodd also held his first recording session recording over a dozen tracks with artists like Alton (Ellis) and Eddie (Perkins), Theophilius Beckford, Beresford Ricketts and Lascelles Perkins.

1960's - During the 1960's, modern electronics enters the music domain.
The first Moog Synthesizer hits the market created by Robert Moog.
New concepts and sounds begin to be used in music composition, such as mathematically based compositions by Arnold Schonberg and Erik Satie and "machine" sound by Luigi Russolo.
The late 1960's brought the birth of Dub music and the first remixes *******ed by King Tubby.
1960 - The "afterbeat" and "syncopation" concepts are born.
Prince Buster and Voice of the People begin to emphasize the afterbeat, which became the essence of Jamaican syncopation.

1966 - Rocksteady comes onto the scene in Jamaica.

1967 - Stockhausen Telemusik uses shortwave radio as instruments to create a "world music."
Late 60's - reggae takes over Rock Steady
Foundations for remix and rap music emerge.
Lee "Scratch" Perry, Edward "Bunny" Lee and Osbourne Ruddock (King Tubby) begin operating multi-track studios; they become major reggae producers.

1968 - King Tubby develops cutting
In his position as master cutter for Duke Reid, King Tubby regularly cut acetates (soft wax discs) that were designed exclusively for his own, and a few other, sound systems. When he left out portions of the vocal on a 'dub plate', (the local term for the acetate disc) he effectively created a new 'version' of a song.

1969 - Kool Herc, considered to be the first hip-hop DJ develops "Cutting Breaks." Kool Herc adapted his style by chanting over the instrumental or percussion sections of the day's popular songs. Because these breaks were relatively short, he learned to extend them indefinitely by using an audio mixer and two identical records in which he continuously replaced the desired segment. His particular skill, later copied by many others, was to meld the percussion breaks from two identical records by playing the break over and over switching from one deck to the other. Hip hop derived from "hip hoppin" on the turntable.
"Toasting" begins in dance halls - considered to be a direct link to rap music.
Technics introduced the Direct Drive System, SP-10

Early 70's - Technics released the original SL-1200 as a hi-fi turntable.
Giorgio Moroder is considered to be the ******* of pro-synthesizer electronic disco music.

1971 - Ralf Hutter, Florian Schneider & Co. form Kraftwerk - the first electronic band.

1975 - Grand Wizard Theodore invents the scratch.

1979 - Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" is released. While they didn't really utilize the skills of a DJ, this song had a profound influence on the sound of commercial hip-hop during the early 1980's.
Late 70's - Technics does some work on 1200s turntables by improving the motor, redesigning the casing, and adding a separate ground wire and pitch control. It releases it as the sl-1200.

1980's - While playing at a club called the Warehouse, DJ Frankie Knuckles lays down drum machine-generated 4/4 beats on top of soul and disco tunes.
Marshall Jefferson develops a deep, melodic sound that relied on big strings and pounding piano. The result was 'Move Your Body' which became the house record of 1986.
12" disco records that included long percussion breaks (ideal for mixing) contribute to the emergence of House Music.
Grandmaster Flash is one of the first DJs to utilize the "breaks" of certain songs which when looped in a table to table fashion created the "breakbeat".

1980 - Roland introduces the TB-303 bassline machine and the TR-808 drum machine.
The compact disc is coinvented by Philips Electronics N.V. and Sony Corporation as a digital means of storing audio recordings and data.

1981 - Grandmaster Flash's 1981 single "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel" was Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five's first record to demonstrate hip-hop deejaying skills

1982 - Afrika Bambaata's "Planet Rock" samples Kraftwerk and creates electro.
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message" becomes a hit. "The Message" is seen by many as the first serious rap record. Davy DMX's "One For the Treble" is released.
The compact disc is commercially released for audio and data storage.

1983 - Grandmaster D.S.T.'s "Megamix" is released
Herbie Han****'s "Rockit" featuring cuts and scratches by Grandmaster D.S.T. brings turntablism to a much wider audience mid 80s - First affordable samplers (Akai s900) hit the market, which enable musicians to capture and manipulate existing sounds. Other Hip-hop DJs in New York begin to use the spinback capabilities of the Technics 1200 turntable for "scratching", and to extend grooves and "breaks" by cutting back and forth between 2 copies of the same record as first exhibited by Grandmaster Flash.

1987 - The DMC (Disco Mix Club) holds its first annual DJ Competition

1989 - The rave scene develops.
The rave scene came out of Acid House and became so big that promoters came up with the idea of putting on huge events in the countryside outside London - events that held thousands of people and went on all night.

early 90s - Breakbeat emerges and produces Drum 'n Bass and Trip Hop.
Breakbeat, a descendent of Techno, has origins of Hip-Hop frenetic beats and high pitch samples. There are many variations of breakbeats: Darkside, Jungle and the most popular, Drum 'n Bass.
Trip Hop has roots in breakbeat and ambient and is a montage of beats, vocals, guitar & bass strings, and jazzy elements.
Steve Dee, strongly influenced by DJ Barry B. "The Cut Professor" from the Get Fresh Crew begins experimenting with "The Funk" which further develops and comes to be know as "beat juggling", or "remixing right before your eyes." He later founds the X-men who begin utilizing the style and take beat juggling to a higher level.

1990 - Mix Master Mike, and DJ Apollo form the first all turntable skratch band called "Shadow of the Prophet". They were the DJs for a rap group named F.M.2.0. and performed at various, radio shows and venues in the Bay Area.
January - ****** electronics introduces the 6020, the first professional DJ dual CD player.

1991 - Scratch DJ Innovator/Perfectionist DJ QBert gains worldwide attention in the Technics DMC DJ Championships.
The MP3 (short for Motion Picture Expert Group-1/level-3) format was invented at the Fraunhofer Institute, a German audio research lab. MP3 is a computer based compression technology that makes files of CD-quality sound.

1992 - DJ Flare introduces the "Flare" skratch
QBert, Mix Master Mike, and Apollo dubbed as the "Rocksteady DJ's" by Crazy Legs.
Sony Corp introduces the Minidisc.
February- Roland corp intoduces the DJ-70 workstation/keyboard. This sampling workstation included a jog wheel that allowed for scratching of sampled sounds. Unfortunatley the high cost of this unit prevented it from gaining wide spread acceptance and it was eventually discontinued. It represented the first sample based scratching unit.
92' also marks the year of the first skratch / battle record that was designed for ease of kutting and tricks because of the samples being on beat one after the other with no pause or lag time. It was called "Battlebreaks". The idea was then given to Darth Fader and the rest is history.
Denon Electronics releases the DN-2000F, dual rack mount CD player updating on it previous CD player. The 2000 becomes the CD player of choice for night clubs and DJs for the next 5 years.

1994 - Shortkut, Disk, and QBert form the band, "Tern Tabel Dragunz" and perform at local Hip-Hop events around the Bay during 94'.
Shortkut Wins the Rap Pages DJ Battle in L.A. Strongly influenced by Steve Dee and the X-men, he also introduces his patented "Strobe" juggling technique and later in 94', wins the Technics DMC west coast championships.
Qbert's mixtape "Demolition Pumpkin Squeeze Musik" (dubbed by Rap Pages as the greatest Mixtape of all time) ignites the fire of the experimental skratch / mixtape revolution.
DJ Shadow releases "In/Flux" further fueling the movement towards a more sampler oriented movement in turntablism
******* releases the CDJ-500G CD/ CD+G player, the first table top CD player or digital turntable, features included seamless looping an a large wheel for manipulating pitch and tempo.

1995 - Perhaps the winningest competition DJs ever, Qbert and Mix Master Mike, retire from the DMC to become judges and enter a new challenge, the creation of music with turntables.
Mix Master Mike and Disk unknowingly create the name "Invisibl Skratch Piklz" for the crew by jokingly throwing out hundreds of goofy names for bands.
1995 also marked the birth of the first "all samples skratched song" by QBert entitled, "Invasion of the Octopus People" which starts another phase in turntablist culture.
Philips and Sony introduced a new type of disc, known as a digital video disc (DVD), which was able to store up to 4.7 gigabytes of data, such as high-definition digital video files. A DVD has the same dimensions as a standard CD but cannot be read by a standard CD player, although a DVD player can read standard CDs. DVD players use a higher-power red laser (0.65 micrometre) that enables smaller pits (0.4 micrometre) and separation tracks (0.74 micrometre) to be used. A DVD audio standard is later developed.
With the help of Shortkut's initial introduction to them in 95', ISP became the first DJ band to be sponsored by, then a small manufacturer of DJ products, "Vestax". With the help of ISP's designs like the PMC 05 Pro, 06 Pro, 07 Pro and 05 Pro ltd., Vestax has now captured first place as the world's leader in sales of mixers and become the biggest DJ product company.
******* introduces the DJM500 mixer that includes an effects processor. It also adds the fader start feature allowing their CD players to be started via the mixers cross fader and channel sliders.

1996 - The I.T.F. (International Turntablist Federation) holds it's first world champioinship competitions
Showcasing the new era of turntablism, the historic battle at the Rocksteady Reunion between ISP and the X-Men (now called the X-Ececutioners) took place.
QBert gets filmed as a starring role in the movie, "Hang the DJ", which gets picked up by Miramax and plays in theatres in Europe, Canada, and the U.S.
ISP recorded the classic turntable orchestrated piece, "Invisibl Skratch Piklz Vs. Da Klamz uv Deth", on Vinyl.
******* introduces the CDJ500 II with several improvements further refining the digital turntable.
August- ******* sponsors the first international CD spin off is held at the International DJ Expo in Atlantic City, DJ 2nd Nature of Atlanta takes top honors.
DJ Gerald' World Wide' Webb begins working with ******* Pro DJ to promote digital turntablism.

1997 - Turntable T.V. was born on March 23rd (the day of the Lunar Eclipse) and has now turned into an international turntablist video magazine featuring the Piklz practicing and hanging out with DJs from all over the world showing off their talents, skills, tips, tricks, and other turntable entertainment.
ISP filmed the educational and hilarious "Turntable Mechanics Workshop" for Vestax (check out www.tracoman.com). In this video, skratches were more publicly defined and given names so that turntablists may now share a mutual "skratch language".
******* introduces the CDJ 700s CD player, further improving the digital turntable. The jog wheel allows for pitch bending, but scratching is still not possible.
******* holds its 2nd International CD spinoff held at DJ Times Magazine's International DJ Expo, DJ Neil Christian takes top honors.
August- DJ Gerald 'World Wide' Webb, aka DJ WWW, creates the G-spin, the first CD based beat juggling techique utilizing the CDJ 700s. He also vows not to spin vinyl again until CDs can be manipulated just like vinyl. He is also briefly featured on New York's WWOR, channnel 9 news, performing on the digital turntables, in a story on the Vibe music seminar. Making him the first digital turntablist to appear on a major market television show.

1998 - Yogafrog creates and gives away the first ISP music grant to aspiring artists in the Bay Area.
Tascam introduces the CD 302, the first CD player with a real time scratch feature.
August- ******* introduces the CDJ100, the first pro CD player with built in effects in a demonstration by DJ Todd 'Hot Toddy' Payson at the International CD spinoff.
DJ Roonie G unveils his CD "snapping" or "snaps" technique at the 3rd International CD spinoff. The Atlantic City Press does a story on the event becoming the first major newspaper to cover digital turntablism.
Mix Master Mike Joins the "Beastie Boys" in 98' and brings skratching to the eyes of the mainstream.
QBert receives a lifetime acheivement award from the DMC
******* releases the EFX-500 Effector, an board effects processor for DJs.

1999- January - Gerald 'World Wide' Webb (DJ WWW) creates the zip scratch, the first real time CD based scratch technique utilizing *******'s EFX-500 effector. He is named the world's first digital turntablist for his contributions to the digital artform, but still regularly encounters vinyl enthusiats who want to discount and discourage the digital extension of the art form.
September- Tascam introduces the CD302, the first CD player with a real time scratch feature. The scratch feature function is very rudimentary and the small wheel for manipulation makes scratching difficult. However, the unit is a definite step in the right direction and dramatically improves over time due to several firmware upgrades.
Mid to late 90s - Individual DJs and crews such as the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, BulletProof Scratch Hamsters/Space Travelers, Allies, Supernatural Turntable Artists, Fifth Platoon, Beat Junkies, 1200 Hobos, Scratch Perverts, X-Men/X-Ecutioners, Cosmic Crew, and many others continue to expand on the frontiers of turntablism as an artform.
CD recorders become affordable and accessible for pro DJ and consumer use. Companies like Marantz, HHB, Philips, and Plextor make both stand alone and PC based units available to consumers. The price of CDRs drop considerably during this time period from as high as $20 each to less than $1 each.

2000- February- Gerald Webb's skills on the digital turntable catch the eye of legendary hip hop DJ, Jam Master Jay of Run DMC. Jay becomes the first DJ of stature to support the digitalscratch movement and begins to help bring it to the attention of the DJ and hip hop industries.
July- www.digitalscratch.com is launched by it's founder, DJ Gerald 'World Wide' Webb, as the world wide center of the digital form of turntablism.
August- Gerald 'World Wide' Webb (DJ WWW) moderates and performs at the world's first digital scratch clinic at the International DJ Expo. Gerald teams up with Tascam's DJ Davey Dave as the world's first digitalscratch or CD based turntable crew for an exhibition at the showcase. DJ Times sponsores the event making it the first major magazine to cover digital turntablism.
Under Pressure Productions releases the world's first digital battle break CD specifically designed for Digital turntablists, "Digital Scratch Tools Volume 1" by DJ Gerald 'World Wide' Webb. The CD is immediatley embraced by digital turntablists like DJ Davey Dave (Tascam), DJ Skillz (American DJ), DJ Knappyhead Lovebones, DJ H-bomb, DJ Hot Toddy (*******) and legendary hip hop DJ Jam Master Jay.
OTS Jukebox software introduces the first MP3 scratch feature, allowing real time scratching of MP3s on a computer.
October - American DJ releases the Pro-scratch 1, a table top CD player with real time scratch effect. The scratch effect is very realistic, but there is still a slight delay in responsiveness. The large, motion sensative manipulation wheel gives it a familiarlarity with vinyl, but the delay, though slight, still leaves a gap between vinyl and digital turntablism, though it is a big step in the right direction for digital turntablism.
****** introduces the CDN-88, a dual CD player with real time scratch feature, the most responsive and true sounding CD scratch player to date, however the rack mount interface and small scratch wheel make manipulation very difficult.
DJ Craze wins an unprecedented third solo DMC Championship, he also wins the team championship teaming up with A-Trak.
www.digitalscratch.com publishes the first tips and tricks list for digital turntablists.

2001- January- The National Association of Music Merchandisers (Namm) officially recognizes the turntable as an instrument. It outsells guitars at a 2 -1 ratio making it the most popular instrument.
February- Grandwizzard Theodore calls for turntablists to boycott Heineken Beer after the company releases a television add which distorted the true history of turntablism. The add spoofs scratching's invention as happening when a dj, in 1982, accidently spills his beeer on the turntable and while wipping it off creates the scratch, giving no credit to the actual inventor of the scratch. Grandwizzard theodore actually created the scratch in the summer of 1975. Many of turntablism's elite have spoken out in outrage and in support of the boycott.
Former DMC champion Qbert squares off with the world's first digital turntablist, Gerald 'World Wide' Webb (DJ WWW), in the world's first CD versus vinyl scratch off at DJ Times magazine's DJ Expo West in San Francisco (the mecca of turntablism). The event is moderated by Yoga Frog (Invisible Skratch Piklz). It is very well recieved and attended by some of turntablism's biggest players like DJ Relm (former ITF champion), the Asiphonics, and Alex Hazzard of Vestax America. Digital turntablism takes a giant leap grabbing the attention of DJs world wide. Footage from the event is later released on the Turntable TV series of videos.
Gerald (DJ WWW) also hosts the second in his series of digital scratch clinics at the expo teaming up with Davey Dave and DJ Skillz for a three member digital scratch crew showcase.
Jam Master Jay of Run DMC asks Gerald (DJ WWW) to exhibit digital scratching in his "How To Be a DJ" video series, a Warner Bros Home Video release, giving digital turntablism mass distribution and more recognition.
April- Gerald (DJ WWW) is interviewed and performs alongside of highly respected vinyl turntablists Kuttin Kandi (5th Platoon), Rolirho (5th Platoon), Super Dave, and Mista Sinister (X-ecutioners) in a documentary dedicated to educating society about turntablism, directed by Rob Pricipe and moderated by Tony award winning writer and poet Reg E. Gaines (Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk).
May- Digitalscratch.com launches it's internet discussion board for digital turntablists.
******* introduces its newest CD player the CDJ1000 DVT (digital vinyl turntable), the first touch sensative CD player that duplicates the functionality of the vinyl turntable almost exactly, shattering the barrier seperating vinyl and digital turntablism.


Digitalscratch.com's predictions for the future:
2006- Digital turntables become wildly popular eclipsing analog turntables in sales and popularity.
2008- A digital turntablist wins the DMC or ITF competitions.
MP3 and DVD audio based turntablism begin to catch on.
2010- The Grammy awards add a DJ of the year category.
Grade and high school music programs begin to offer DJing as a class and turntables as instruments.
2015-Qbert is named to the Rock&Roll Hall of Fame as the best turntablist of all time. Yoga Frog, Cash Money, Craze and several others soon follow.
2020- The turntablist Hall of Fame is established in the San Francisco Bay Area.
3000 and beyond-Turntablism both vinyl and digital endure forever.

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