Who invented the karaoke machine?

The karaoke machine was invented by a Japanese man named Daisuke Inoue. According to The Atlantic Monthly, Inoue was a drummer who was making his living by playing in bars when he got the idea for the machine.

Inoue claims that he got the idea when a local businessman asked him to create some tapes of music without vocals for an event. Afterwards, Inoue, who had some electrical knowledge from his school years, developed a machine to play recordings on cue. He never patented his invention because he did not expect it to become so successful. He continued inventing throughout his life and ultimately ran a successful business.