Those who know me are aware that I can be a fan of throwback formats. In particular, I happen to still love my vinyl collection – some albums just sound best spinning on a turntable. But I never held much love for 8-track tapes.
For those of you too young to remember them, 8-tracks were large cassette tapes that were commercially popular from the mid-sixties through the end of the 1970′s. They took off when Ford started offering 8-track players pre-installed in several models beginning in 1966 – finally, you could take your favorite music wherever you went, without being dependent on a radio DJ to play it for you.
The smaller audio cassettes – and eventually the popularity of CD’s – killed the market for 8-tracks, and they were a distant memory by the early 1980′s. It was a tiny window in American history, gone too fast to really leave much of a legacy. Until now.
Texas self-promotion artist Bucks Burnett has launched the Eight-Track Museum in Dallas. According to its website, it officially opened Christmas day, but I’ve seen other reports saying it begins normal hours this week. Whatever the case, if you find you’ve got the itch to explore the roots of automotive music, and if you find yourself in the Dallas area, look up the museum, take a tour and let me know whether it’s worth the effort. I’d love to hear from anyone who’s actually been there – share your experiences!