first direct-drive turntable - Technics

The first direct-drive turntable was invented by Shuichi Obata, an engineer at Matsushita (now Panasonic), based in Osaka, Japan. It eliminated belts and instead employed a motor to directly drive a platter on which a vinyl record rests.

https://patents.justia.com/inventor/shuichi-obatahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technics_(brand)

+ FIRST SCRATCH!!

Released in 1979, the 12" maxi-single - Bunny Sigler - 'By The Way You Dance' - contains scratch in several places (4). This is the first scratch ever

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrv9AKZtrk8