Throwback Thursday: Pocket Rockers

General

Back for another installment of Throwback Thursday? After several weeks of technology focused throwbacks, we’re going to revisit the retro toy scene as December 25th is right around the corner. If you’re a young music aficionado, there is a good chance you’ve already swindled your parents into buying you an iPod or digital music player of some sort. Heck, if you’re parents are really nice you might even have one of those new fangled “smartphones” that functions as a music player. However back in the 1980′s, such things didn’t exist. Sure, there was the Sony Walkman, but they were a hot item and not typically something bought for an adolescent. If only there was something that could fill the void in the market, if only there was… Pocket Rockers.

Marketed by Fisher Price in the late 80′s, the Pocket Rockers was a small, cassette-based music player with a built in speaker and headphone jack. The device played proprietary miniature cassettes that held two songs and, like all cool things in the 80′s, could be worn on your person. The commercials depicted young music lovers dancing around, with their feathered bangs and rolled-up jeans, wearing the Rocker-cassettes of their favorite artists. After all, who would want to keep the fact that they love Debbie Gibson a secret? Tiffany, Genesis, and Cutting Crew were a few other artists that had two-track cassettes available for the player.

If you’re still having a hard time remembering, follow the jump. There is an awesomely bad 80′s commercial waiting to jog your memory.

Special thanks to S. Cox for this week’s Throwback Thursday suggestion!

BGR’s Throwback Thursday is a weekly series covering our (and your) favorite gadgets, games, and software of yesterday and yesteryear.

14 Comments
  • Anonymous

    i was too young for this but i saw these in all the 80′s movies…. im the Shockwave generation

    • Anonymous

      pocket rocker also sounds like a dude who keeps his hands in his pocket…a lil to the left.

  • http://twitter.com/FondelMaJunk Sofonda Cox

    And who gave you this idea, ANDREW???? Sofonda Cox!!! Me!!!!! Give credit where credit it due!!!!

    • http://twitter.com/FondelMaJunk Sofonda Cox

      Oh there it is…ahahah thanks.

  • Anonymous

    I was so madly in love (1st time) during that time that I absolutely do not remember that at all.

  • http://www.vgchartz.com SuperChunk

    I remember those, but never had one. I did however roll my pant legs like that, lol. Watch the video closely when it shows one kids shoes; the pant leg is rolled/folded up. That was the skater fashion then.

    • http://www.smallfish-bigpond.com/ Kerensky97

      My parents never sprung for one either. I was really bummed that (I thought) I would be missing out on exchanging wearable songs with my friends. Like 1980′s file sharing we’d each buy different cassettes and exchange them; but it turns out nobody else ever got them either.

  • http://twitter.com/NICKVALENTIN0 Nick Valentino

    I remember that Twix commercial!! Yello – Oh yeah It was the SHIT! OW OWW!

  • MatthewM85

    I remember jamming to the Cool Runnings soundtrack on my Sony Walkman lol

    • http://www.bgr.com Andrew Munchbach

      Hey Sanka, are ya’ dead yet?

  • Champaigno

    lols i had a blue one with a bon jovi tape and the pee wee herman song on the other side.

  • Anonymous

    Hahah that’s awesome! I probably still have my white one in my closet along with the tapes and these cheap external speakers I used to connect to them for three channel sound lol

  • Anonymous

    Hahah that’s awesome! I probably still have my white one in my closet along with the tapes and these cheap external speakers I used to connect to them for three channel sound lol

  • Cassandra

    I had one of these!!! I think my parents only bought me like three of the tapes but I definitely remember one being Walk Like and Egyptian. Good times.

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