- published: 01 Dec 2009
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Stereo 8, commonly known as the eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, or simply eight-track, is a magnetic tape sound recording technology. It was popular in the United States from the mid-1960s through the early 1980s, but was relatively unknown in many European countries. Stereo 8 was created in 1964 by a consortium led by Bill Lear of Lear Jet Corporation, along with Ampex, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Motorola, and RCA Victor Records (RCA). It was a further development of the similar Stereo-Pak four-track cartridge created by Earl "Madman" Muntz. A later quadraphonic version of the format was announced by RCA in April 1970 and first known as Quad-8, then later changed to just Q8.
The original format for magnetic tape sound reproduction was the reel-to-reel tape recorder, first available in the U.S. in the late 1940s but too expensive and bulky to be practical for amateur home use until well into the 1950s. Loading a reel of tape onto the machine and threading it through the various guides and rollers proved daunting to some casual users—certainly, it was more difficult than putting a vinyl record on a record player and flicking a switch—and because in early years each tape had to be dubbed from the master tape in real-time to maintain good sound quality, prerecorded tapes were more expensive to manufacture, and costlier to buy, than vinyl records.
The term stereophonic sound or, more commonly, stereo, refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two or more independent audio channels through a configuration of two or more loudspeakers in such a way as to create the impression of sound heard from various directions, as in natural hearing. Thus the term "stereophonic" applies to so-called "quadraphonic" and "surround-sound" systems as well as the more common 2-channel, 2-speaker systems. It is often contrasted with monophonic, or "mono" sound, where audio is in the form of one channel, often centered in the sound field (analogous to a visual field). Stereo sound is now common in entertainment systems such as broadcast radio and TV, recorded music and the cinema.
The word stereophonic derives from the Greek "στερεός" (stereos), "firm, solid" + "φωνή" (phōnē), "sound, tone, voice" and it was coined in 1927 by Western Electric, by analogy with the word "stereoscopic".
I've got you under my skin
I've got you deep in the heart of me
So deep in my heart that you're really a part of me
I've got you under my skin
I've tried so not to give in
I said to myself this affair won't go so well
But why should I try to resist when baby I know more
than well
I've got you under my skin
I've got you under my skin
And I've got you deep in the heart of me
So deep in my heart that you're really a part of me
I've got you under my skin
I'd sacrifice anything come what might
For the sake of having you near
In spite of a warning voice that comes in the night
And repeats, repeats in my ear
Don't you know fool you can never win
Use your mentality wake to reality
But each time that I do
Just the thought of you makes me stop before I begin
'Cause I've got you under my skin
I've got you under my skin
I've got you deep in the heart of me
So deep in my heart that you're really a part of me
'Cause I've got you under my skin
oooohhhh
ooohhh ooohhh
oooohhhh
ooohhh ooohhh
I've got you under my skin
I've got you deep in the heart of me
So deep in my heart that you're really a part of me