'2001' Geeks, Rejoice! World Learns Why HAL Sang 'Daisy'

by Terrence O'Brien on November 4, 2009 at 05:30 PM

We're sure many of you are familiar with the death-of-HAL scene from the Kubrick classic '2001: A Space Odyssey,' in which the rebellious computer slowly, and childishly, drones the lyrics to 'Daisy Bell.' It's one of the most memorable scenes in a film loaded with iconic images (the ~~obelisk~~ monolith) and phrases ("Open the pod bay doors, HAL."), yet we've always wondered: Why 'Daisy?'

It turns out that the choice of 'Daisy Bell' was a tribute to the IBM 704, which, thanks to the brilliant programmers at Bell Labs, became the first computer to sing, way back in 1962. The popular ditty from the late 19th century was chosen by geniuses John L. Kelly, Carol Lockbaum, and Max Mathews as part of a demonstration of speech synthesis. Before he'd penned the film's namesake novel, author Arthur C. Clarke, who also co-wrote the screenplay, paid a visit to a friend at Bell Labs. There, Clarke was treated to a performance by the IBM 704, and later, inspired by what he'd seen, reproduced it in the dramatic death scene of HAL 9000.

You can hear the audio of the entire speech demo here, and watch the '2001' scene played back-to-back with a clip from a 1963 documentary about the Bell Labs demo here. Or you can just watch the video below (ignore the incorrect year and model number) to hear the IBM 704 sing 'Daisy Bell' without the rest of the demo, or any comparison to the evil, paranoid machine from '2001'. [From: Bell Labs, via Boing Boing]

Tags: 2001 a space odyssey, 2001ASpaceOdyssey, arthur c. clarke, ArthurC.Clarke, bell labs, BellLabs, film, HAL 9000, Hal9000, history, movies, stanley kubrick, StanleyKubrick, top

Comments

P CostSep 3rd 2010 1:25PM

Neutral

I believe if you go back further in Bell System history you will
find the choice for Daisy at Bell labs was in tribute to Alexander
Graham Bell's marketing ploy to sell the earliest telephones. Audio quality
in the early telephones was not good, but, by demonstrating them by
singing a song that everyone knew the lyrics (Daisy), meant the
potential customer would fill in the garbled parts and another
happy customer was signed up. I believe they were sold in pairs
so that you would have at least someone you knew to call.

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jetmechnaNov 5th 2009 2:55AM

Neutral

That's fascinating, about Alexander Gram Bell being the first to use Daisey and the reason why he used it... and Bell Labs using it later, then Kubrick. That would make "2001" a fitting tribute to real world computing and telephony.

I remember going to the Cinestage theater in downtown Chicago to see the Chicago premiere of "2001." In 1968 everything in Chicago was "Mod"....(for "modern"). They had picture phones set up on the streets so people could talk to each other via picture phones on different streets. You didn't know the other person but hey, you were both using a picture phone just like in the movie. Cool! Also the Marina City twin towers apartment buildings had recently opened and they were pretty futuristic looking themselves. We took a tour of them too. As I recall, they did some sort of special effects right in the theater somehow to enhance the movie showing. I can't recall exactly what it was....whether it was injecting aromas into the air during the cave man sequence or whether it was matching the temperature to the scene....but I recall that the Cinestage Theater did something like that to enhance the special showing of "2001 A Space Odyssey".

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TapeNov 6th 2009 8:58AM

Neutral

Of course, there were millions of people who already knew this.

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BrendanNov 6th 2009 10:08AM

Neutral

Indeed. My electronic composition professor told me a pretty great story about a conference he went to where Max Matthews (one of the guys involved in making the computer sing Daisy) was presenting a piece. He was 80-something years old at the time, and it happened to be his birthday. After presenting his piece, someone started singing "Daisy", and by the end of it the whole crowd had joined in. It sounded like a pretty nice moment.

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Monica DickeyNov 6th 2009 11:44PM

Neutral

Yeah even I knew this. I guess I'm geekier than your average person but this isn't some sort of secret either.

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ClayBrattNov 6th 2009 10:21AM

Neutral

Um Im pretty sure this has been known for years

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_Bell

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LilrickyNov 6th 2009 10:22PM

Neutral

Yes, but then Terrence would have had to come up with an actual story and not something he pulled out of his a$$.

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DavidNov 6th 2009 10:24AM

Neutral

Hey jetmechna - I was there! 10 years old and saw 2001 in downtown Chicago. Reading you post brought that day back to me. Thanks!

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Dan S.Nov 6th 2009 10:42AM

Neutral

Terrence, maybe you've watched a different cut of "2001: A Space Odyssey" than the rest of us -- I recall 3 distinct Monoliths, but zero Obelisks.

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RalphNov 6th 2009 10:53AM

Neutral

This is a pretty good rendition of "Daisy," even by today's standards. Sadly, the quality of computer singing has advanced very little since 1963.

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RevelationNov 6th 2009 10:21PM

Neutral

I don't know, Ralph. Britney-bot and Lopez-bot do a fairly convincing job.

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MikeNov 6th 2009 4:46PM

Neutral

This isn't a new discovery (excuse the pun). I even read it myself in one of Clarke's books over a decade ago, and it's quite common knowledge among fans of the movie.

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Bob HawkinsNov 26th 2009 11:13AM

Neutral

Ah, but do you know the secret of the chess game?

Earlier in the voyage of the Discovery, one of the astronauts plays a game of chess with HAL. He makes a move and HAL says, "I think you missed it..." and gives a series of moves that ends in him checkmating the astronaut. The astronaut gives the moves a quick once-over and concedes the game to HAL.

But the astronaut could have made a different move than HAL showed him and gotten a draw. HAL scammed him. Foreshadowing that HAL would later kill him, and showing that HAL was losing it.

C'mon, I can't be the only one who gets this?

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frank.boisvertNov 16th 2009 8:11PM

Neutral

Uh. This is nowhere near new information.

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