The DC Traveler

I can’t sing to save my life. Ask me to sing and the room clears out faster than if I had called in a bomb scare. 

So I deeply admire those who can sing well.  And like most of us, I don’t much appreciate those who think they can sing… but really can’t.

Karaoke was made popular in 1971 by musician Daisuke Inoue in Japan. He combined a car stereo, a coin box and a small amplifier to make the world’s first karaoke machine. 

He started producing his karaoke machines and leasing them to bars.  As their popularity grew, he regularly added new music (sans vocals), recorded by his band.

But he unwisely didn’t patent his invention, which would have made him one of the richest men in Japan today.  Twelve years later, the karaoke machine, as we know it today, was patented by another man, dashing any hopes Inoue had of participating in the now $10 billion annual karaoke business.

Karaoke booths led to karaoke clubs and swept Asia and then the world. It also probably helped spawn television programs like American Idol. 

In 2004, Inoue was awarded the Ig Nobel Peace Prize by Harvard University, a joke award for his invention, “thereby providing an entirely new way for people to learn to tolerate each other.”  Strangely, he never tried out his machine in public until 1999.

Inoue doesn’t speak English but his favorite American tunes include the Ray Charles classic “I Can’t Stop Loving You”, because, as he said, “it’s easy to sing”. 

You can find karaoke seven nights a week across the region, some with some great singers, some, well…destined to become the next American Idol reject.

The bigger karaoke nights are Wednesdays through Saturdays, with more than 40 places in the area offering karaoke on the big night, Thursday. But if you are just starting out by moving from the shower to a more public venue, you can try one of the quieter nights, Sunday or Monday.

So if you’re looking for one of the many places to belt out a tune,  check out Karaoke DC for a list of bars and restaurants that let you sing your heart out.  

Remember to check the establishment’s website as schedules change often.

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