Computers and Tandems Go Way Back

I learned something earlier this week.

The first song ever sung by a computer was a song written by Harry Dacre in 1892 that mentions a tandem bicycle. Apparently, back in 1961, a team of computer engineers with Bell Labs wanted to make the newfangled computer more sexy.

The IBM 7094 was a new machine that could run mathematical equations at hyper speed. It was very expensive (around $3 million back then) and not many were built. So the team decided to see what else these machines could do by experimenting with music. I imagine that a computer that could both do impressive math and sing would only improve IBM’s chances at selling more of these digital behemoths that were still a bit scary to the general public.

So the Bell Labs team, somehow, landed on “Bicycle Built for Two,” a song about a marriage proposal. The man says he’s too poor to wheel his fiancée off on a “carriage.” But apparently he has a tandem.

Daisy, Daisy,
Give me your answer, do!
I'm half crazy,
All for the love of you!
It won't be a stylish marriage,
I can't afford a carriage,
But you'll look sweet on the seat
Of a bicycle built for two!

How the Bell Labs landed on that song is a puzzle to me. This article, by

Ted Gioia

, is incredibly fascinating. Give it a read, and then, listen to the eerie song.

Later on, when computers could do a lot more than just math and sing, the same song was sung by an actor in 2001: A Space Odyssey as Hal 9000.

I really appreciated Gioia’s thoughts on Bell Labs’ decision to teach a computer the lyrics to a song that is a marriage proposal.

“I’m especially fascinated by the decision to teach the computer lyrics that are essentially a marriage proposal … When the first AI chatbot proposes marriage in the year 2025, the happy couple ought to play this song at their wedding.”

I might also suggest the happy couple should be riding down the virtual aisle on a tandem. Or maybe an electric tandem.