0
Latest

On the timeline

All articles →
Features

The Edit

ALBUM SPOTLIGHT Catch a Fire, 1973: How Bob Marley and the Wailers Took Reggae From Kingston to the World In 1973, Catch a Fire ignited a global phenomenon, launching Bob Marley and The Wailers from local Jamaican heroes into international music icons. This pivotal album meticulously crafted a sound that bridged the raw power of Kingston's streets with the sophisticated polish of a major label, forever altering the trajectory of reggae. Read more → VOCAL ICON Umm Kulthum: The Voice That Held a World Spellbound For over half a century, the voice of Umm Kulthum commanded unparalleled attention, uniting millions across the Arab world in rapt attention. Her epic concert nights became legendary events, broadcast live to an audience stretching from the Atlantic to the Arabian Gulf. Read more → WORLD MUSIC HISTORY The Whisper That Roared: Bossa Nova's Birth with João Gilberto and Jobim in 1958 In 1958, a quiet revolution began in Rio de Janeiro as João Gilberto and Antônio Carlos Jobim unveiled bossa nova, a sophisticated blend of samba and cool jazz. Their seminal recording of 'Chega de Saudade' didn't just introduce a song, but an entirely new musical language that captivated the world. Read more → AFRICAN MUSIC HISTORY The Ferocious Rhythms of Afrobeat: Fela Kuti’s 1970s Lagos Revolution In the vibrant crucible of 1970s Lagos, Fela Kuti fused West African traditions with jazz and funk to forge Afrobeat, a powerful sound of both music and political defiance. His groundbreaking work at the Afrika Shrine resonated far beyond Nigeria, forever changing the global musical landscape. Read more → SOUND TECHNOLOGY MILESTONES From Cylinder to Disc: How Edison and Berliner Forged the Future of Recorded Music The late 19th century witnessed a quiet revolution as inventors grappled with capturing sound, transforming transient vibrations into tangible forms. Thomas Edison's phonograph first made this dream real, but it was Emile Berliner's gramophone and its flat disc that truly unlocked music's global potential. Read more →
ALBUM SPOTLIGHT Catch a Fire, 1973: How Bob Marley and the Wailers Took Reggae From Kingston to the World Read more → VOCAL ICON Umm Kulthum: The Voice That Held a World Spellbound Read more → WORLD MUSIC HISTORY The Whisper That Roared: Bossa Nova's Birth with João Gilberto and Jobim in 1958 Read more → AFRICAN MUSIC HISTORY The Ferocious Rhythms of Afrobeat: Fela Kuti’s 1970s Lagos Revolution Read more → SOUND TECHNOLOGY MILESTONES From Cylinder to Disc: How Edison and Berliner Forged the Future of Recorded Music Read more →
Music Timelines

The world
on the record

From the first wax cylinder to the streaming chart: the worldwide music industry, and the sounds from Lagos, Havana, Rio, Cairo, Mumbai, Kingston, Seoul and beyond that changed how the world listens.

Read the timelineListen to The Long Play
PastPresentFuture
The timeline

Moments that changed the sound

  1. 1877RECORDING

    The phonograph

    Thomas Edison’s tinfoil phonograph recorded a voice and played it back, and sound could be kept for the first time.

    Read more →
  2. 1887THE DISC

    The gramophone

    Emile Berliner patented the gramophone: flat discs that could be stamped in quantity, the start of the record industry.

    Read more →
  3. 1948VINYL

    The long-playing record

    Columbia introduced the 33⅓ rpm LP in 1948 and RCA Victor answered with the 45 in 1949. The album and the single took the shapes they still have.

  4. 1958RIO

    Bossa nova

    João Gilberto’s recording of “Chega de Saudade”, by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, launched a quiet new sound from Rio de Janeiro that travelled the world.

    Read more →
  5. 1970sWORLDWIDE

    New sounds, new centres

    Fela Kuti built Afrobeat in Lagos, Bob Marley and the Wailers carried reggae from Kingston to the world, and DJs in the Bronx laid the ground for hip-hop.

    Read more →
  6. 1982DIGITAL

    The compact disc

    The CD, developed by Philips and Sony, went on sale in Japan in 1982, and the industry began its move to digital.

  7. TodaySTREAMING

    Every country, every phone

    Streaming carries recordings from everywhere to everyone, and the global charts now hold songs in Spanish, Korean and many other languages.

Browse by era

The eras

1877–1925

The acoustic era

Cylinders, discs and the horn: recording without electricity.

1925–1947

Electric & radio

The microphone, the radio set and the dance band.

1948–1981

Vinyl & tape

The LP, the single, the cassette and the world on record.

1982–Now

Digital & streaming

The CD, the file, the stream and the global chart.

The Long Play podcast cover
The podcast

The Long Play

The weekly podcast of Music Timelines: two lifelong listeners take the long way round the world’s music, the records, the scenes and the people behind the sounds, from every continent.

With Otis and Amara. New episodes every Friday.

All episodesRSS feed
Feed URL:https://musictimelines.com/podcast-feed
The Long Play S01E03 — Bob Marley, Catch a Fire, and Reggae's Global Journey
Nov 10, 2026 · 10:23
https://musictimelines.com Join us as we explore how Bob Marley and The Wailers' "Catch a Fire" album became a watershed moment, taking reggae's distinct sound from Kingston to the international s...
The Long Play S01E02 — Bob Marley, Catch a Fire, Global Reggae
Nov 10, 2026 · 11:01
https://musictimelines.com "Put the needle down" and journey back to 1973 as this episode explores Bob Marley and The Wailers' monumental album, *Catch a Fire*. Discover how this groundbreaking re...
The Long Play S01E01 — Bob Marley's Global Reggae Influence
Nov 10, 2026 · 13:29
https://musictimelines.com This episode delves into the revolutionary album *Catch a Fire* by Bob Marley and the Wailers, exploring how it launched reggae onto the global stage in 1973. Discover t...

Recommended