In 1988, Fisher-Price developed Pocket Rockers: a portable music player system marketed to kids. Following popular fashion trends of the late '80s, they were marketed as not only a way to take you music with you, but to do so in style. The system in its entirety consisted of the base player, proprietary 2-track cassettes, and a ton of accessories designed to allow the user to carry their cassettes with them and make a fashion statement at the same time. The base players were sold in a variety of designs and colors and came with a starter cassette which varied. It had a built-in speaker and a headphone jack as well as a wrist cord and a clip on the back so it could be worn on a belt. The line saw big popularity initially with sales dropping off as CDs became more popular; it was cancelled in 1991.
The cassettes were small 2-track tapes which were made by Fisher-Price. Each contained 2 songs by an artist or band. They came in a variety of colors and featured album art from their full-length counterparts. The library of tapes is impressive as it contains entries from Michael Jackson, Phil Collins, Huey Lewis & The News, Madonna, Cutting Crew, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and many more. They included a card with the full album art and artist information. They came with a clip that could be used to wear the tape on your clothes or belt.
The accessories for this thing were crazy. There were headphones and speakers which allowed for alternatives to the built-in speaker (which wasn't very good in the first place) which also came in a variety of colors and designs. The popular selling point of these accessories was the variety of clips and portable cassette storage that allowed you to take multiple cassettes with you. Unlike the popular Sony Walkman which played standard cassettes that were impractical to take more than one or two with you, Pocket Rockers allowed you to carry a whole library of tapes with you in the same amount of space. Alternatively you could use the clips to carry tapes on your belt, bag, shoes, or any other place you could clip them to.
My Pocket Rockers sadly no longer work very well. They worked great when they were new though and I enjoyed it very much. A great many of these units don't work anymore as time has degraded the components. They really weren't built to last. That's not to say that none of them work as many still do but they were not able to take the beating of being dropped multiple times by kids. This is odd considering they were made by Fisher-Price which had developed a child's tape player in 1980 that was designed with rough use in mind. Still, these are very collectible and some seek to own every variety of tape and player that were made.
On eBay, a used unit will run you about $40 with a "new in box" unit running upwards of $200. The cassettes themselves can be found for about $10-$15 each used and around $40-$60 unopened. The accessories are the most valuable items as they tend to be as expensive as the player if not more. This isn't too bad considering the sheer variety of designs but it is a little steep for accessories. If you are in the market for the player or cassettes, be aware of their condition and working order. As with all magnetic storage media, the tapes have degraded over time and may not sound great if they were not properly cared for.
I really enjoyed my Pocket Rockers and I think any kid these days would if they have not yet been exposed to digital players of today. The packaging and multitude of designs was appealing and fun. I think they missed their mark on the player design though. If they had instead made the front plate swap-able with more plates available for purchase then it would have made for more customization. I don't think that would have effected the overall sales appeal though. The ability to carry a variety of tapes around with you, and clip them anywhere, was quite a concept. The small proprietary cassettes were fun to use even though they were limited to two tracks.
For a look at the various designs and accessories available as well as a comprehensive listing of cassettes, visit This Old Toy's Pocket Rockers page!
