30 years ago: Karaoke came to Chattanooga!

Back in 1990, in my early days at Channel 3, I was playing softball for the KZ-106 Foul Tips.  One day my teammate Dewayne “The Big Kahuna” Gass (now widely known as the UTC Moc Maniac) said, “Hey, I’ve got a story for you.”  He told me that he was bringing something big to Chattanooga.  Dewayne operated a restaurant/bar at Northgate called “Shenanigans.”  He said, “I’m about to start something, and it’s been spreading around the country like crazy.”  Of course, I was all ears.  “What’s it called?” I asked.

Karaoke King Dewayne Gass in the fabulous 1990s

“I think it’s called karaoke,” Dewayne replied, although neither he nor I knew how it was pronounced.  He said it had originated in Japan, and would soon be a household word all over the USA.  “You can be the first local reporter to see how it works,” Dewayne said.  “You can even participate yourself.”  When I asked him what this karaoke thing was, he explained that he was buying a machine that played the instrumental tracks for hundreds of hit songs, with the lyrics simultaneously displayed on a big screen.  You grab a microphone, choose your favorite track, and sing to the music, just like Michael Bolton (random 1990 reference).

This was pre-internet for me, so I had no way of knowing that “Karaoke,” according to the Urban Dictionary meant singing without a live orchestra or band. Originally meaning “without orchestra” it is a combination of Japanese “kara” meaning “empty/bare-handed” as in “karate”, and the “okee” sound from the first syllable of “orchestra” as pronounced by Japanese. The guy who thought it up created a bar owner’s dream, because as patrons provide their own entertainment by singing along with a machine, management saves a fortune by not hiring talented musicians.

So a few nights later, my photographer and I headed to Shenanigans to see what all the fuss was about.  The place was jammed, and sure enough, Madonna and Randy Travis wanna-bes were singing their hearts out.  Some of them were pretty good, earning cheers from the crowd.  Others elicited polite applause, amid the tinkling of glasses, and folks urging each other to get up there and sing.  “You can do better than this guy,” was an oft-repeated phrase.

I interviewed Dewayne, and a few of the brave souls who sang not just for the audience, but for my TV camera.  We had our story, and were about to leave when Dewayne said, “Hold on there, Dave.  Did you forget something?”  I shook my head no, because we had our tapes, camera, and tripod.  We were good to go.  “Um, you’re an old deejay,” he said. “Surely, you can sing one for us!”  Two or three people nearby said something like, “Yeah, news guy, we got on camera for you, now it’s your turn!”

The sad part is, they didn’t have to twist my arm.  My son Chris was about three at the time, and as a responsible parent, I was trying to raise him right.  So I had played rock and roll hits in the car since the first time he was strapped in a car seat.  Of course, like all good drivers, I would sing along with these golden oldies at the top of my voice.  So I looked over the karaoke list, and there it was: a mercifully short two-minute song that I knew by heart.  My one and only live singing performance was captured on video, was broadcast on the news in August of 1990, and is now on YouTube for the world to appreciate.

Now I’m not saying my story, or my singing talent helped make karaoke a local, and national sensation.  But it seems like everybody got a karaoke machine for Christmas that year.  I’m just saying.  You may watch and listen by clicking the link below….if you dare.