Memorex Corp. began as a computer tape producer and expanded to become both a consumer media supplier and a major IBM plug compatible peripheral supplier. It was broken up and ceased to exist after 1996 other than as a

consumer electronics Consumer electronics or home electronics are Electronics, electronic (Analogue electronics, analog or digital electronics, digital) equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for ...

brand specializing in disk recordable media for CD and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

drives,

flash memory Flash memory is an electronic non-volatile computer memory storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. The two main types of flash memory, NOR flash and NAND flash, are named for the NOR and NAND logic gates. Both u ...

, computer accessories and other

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

History and evolution

Established in 1961 in

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Count ...

, Memorex started by selling computer tapes, then added other media such as disk packs. The company then expanded into

disk drive Disk storage (also sometimes called drive storage) is a general category of storage mechanisms where data is recorded by various electronic, magnetic, optical, or mechanical changes to a surface layer of one or more rotating disks. A disk drive is ...

s and other peripheral equipment for IBM

mainframe A mainframe computer, informally called a mainframe or big iron, is a computer used primarily by large organizations for critical applications like bulk data processing for tasks such as censuses, industry and consumer statistics, enterpris ...

s. During the 1970s and into the early 1980s, Memorex was worldwide one of the largest independent suppliers of disk drives and

communications controller A front end processor (FEP), or a communications processor, is a small-sized computer which interfaces to the host computer a number of networks, such as SNA, or a number of peripheral devices, such as terminals, disk units, printers and t ...

s to users of IBM-compatible mainframes, as well as media for computer uses and consumers. The company's name is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words Memorex entered the consumer media business in 1971 and started the ad campaign, first with its "shattering glass" advertisements and then with a series of legendary

television commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

s featuring

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, i ...

. In the commercials, she would sing a note that shattered a glass while being recorded to a Memorex

audio cassette The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Otten ...

. The tape was played back and the recording also broke the glass, asking "Is it live, or is it Memorex?" This would become the company slogan which was used in a series of advertisements released through 1970s and 1980s. In 1982, Memorex was bought by Burroughs for its enterprise businesses; the company’s consumer business, a small segment of the company’s revenue at that time was sold to Tandy. Over the next six years, Burroughs and its successor

Unisys Unisys Corporation is an American multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. It provides digital workplace solutions, cloud, applications, and infrastructure solutions ...

shut down, sold off or spun out the various remaining parts of Memorex. The computer media, communications and IBM end user sales and service organization were spun out as Memorex International. In 1988, Memorex International acquired the Telex Corporation becoming Memorex Telex NV, a corporation based in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, which survived as an entity until the middle 1990s. The company evolved into a provider of information technology solutions including the distribution and integration of data network and storage products and the provision of related services in 18 countries worldwide. As late as 2006, several pieces existed as subsidiaries of other companies, see e.g., Memorex Telex Japan Ltd a subsidiary of Kanematsu or Memorex Telex (UK) Ltd. a subsidiary of EDS Global Field Services. Over time the Memorex consumer brand has been owned by Tandy, Handy Holdings and Imation. As of 2016, the Memorex brand is owned by Digital Products International (DPI).

Timeline

*1961 – Memorex is founded by

Laurence L. Spitters Laurence "Larry" Spitters is an American industrialist and investor who co-founded Memorex. Spitters began his career as an investment banker with Blyth & Co. in 1954 and worked on Wall Street before transferring to Blyth's office in San F ...

, Arnold T. Challman, Donald F. Eldridge and W Lawrence Noon with Spitters as president. *1962 – Memorex is one of the early independent companies to ship computer tape. *May 1965 – Memorex IPO's at $25 and closes at $32. *1966 – Memorex is first independent company to ship a disk pack. *Jun 1968 – Memorex is first to ship an IBM-plug-compatible disk drive *1970 – Memorex ships 1270 Communications Controller *1971 – With CBS Memorex forms

CMX Systems CMX Editing Systems (also known as CMX Systems) was a company founded jointly by CBS and Memorex; with help from many individuals such as Ronald Lee Martin, who later became a head of Universal Studios; that developed some of the very first comp ...

, a company formed to design

videotape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocasse ...

editing systems *Sep 1971 – Memorex launches its consumer tape business *1972 – Memorex launches its "Is it live, or is it Memorex?" campaign *Apr 1981 – Burroughs acquires Memorex *Apr 1982 – Burroughs sells Memorex consumer brand to Tandy *May 1985 – Burroughs exits OEM disk drive business, selling sales and service to

Toshiba , commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems ...

*Sep 1986 – Burroughs acquires Sperry and renames itself as

*Dec 1986 – Unisys spins off Memorex Media, Telecommunications and International businesses as Memorex International NV. *Jan 1988 – Memorex-Telex merger *Dec 1988 – Unisys mainly shuts down large disk business and spins off service and repair as Sequel. *Nov 1993 – Tandy sells Memorex consumer brand to

Hanny Holdings Hanny may refer to: First name: * Hanny Kellner (1892-?), Austrian diver who competed in the 1912 Olympics * Hanny Michaelis (1922–2007), Dutch poet * Hanny Mohammed, a member of the Australian power metal band Black Majesty * Hanny Nahmias (born ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

*Oct 1996 – The U.S. operations of Memorex Telex NV filed for bankruptcy and with court approval were sold November 1, 1996. *Jan 2006 – Imation acquires Memorex brand for $330 million. *Jan 2016 – Imation closed on the sale of its Memorex trademark and two associated trademark licenses to DPI Inc., a St. Louis-based branded consumer electronics company for $9.4 million.Imation 8k
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References

External links

Memorex brand site

Memorex History at Computer History Museum website
{{Hard disk drive manufacturers 1961 establishments in California American brands American companies established in 1961 American companies disestablished in 1996 Computer companies established in 1961 Computer companies disestablished in 1996 Defunct computer companies based in California Defunct computer companies of the United States Defunct computer hardware companies Computer storage companies Electronics companies established in 1961 Electronics companies disestablished in 1996 Electronics companies of the United States Technology companies established in 1961 Technology companies disestablished in 1996 RadioShack