The Sony Walkman, released in 1979, was not technically the first portable music player ever created, but it was the groundbreaking product that brought music on the go to the mainstream global market. Its release in the US and UK in 1980 under names like "Soundabout" quickly made it an iconic and massively popular symbol of 1980s culture. Credit: Sony | History In Pictures

#MusicHistoryMonday: We mark the introduction on July 1, 1979 – 45 years ago today – of the Sony Walkman. The Walkman was the first entirely portable, high-fidelity (or at least fairly high-fidelity) audio cassette player, an absolutely revolutionary device that allowed a user to listen to entire albums anywhere, anytime. Introduced initially in Japan, the higher-ups at Sony expected to sell 5000 units a month for the first six months after its release. Instead, they sold 30,000 units in the fir