What phrase did Thomas Edison first record on his phonograph?

Thomas Edison first recorded the phrase “Mary had a little lamb” on his phonograph.

In 1877, Edison’s phonograph demonstrated that sound could be recorded and reproduced. He reportedly spoke the opening line of the nursery rhyme into the machine, then played the recording back. The event became one of the most famous demonstrations in the history of sound recording.

The phrase is sometimes described as the first song, but the important historical point is that it was the first words Edison is credited with recording and reproducing. The early phonograph used a stylus to trace sound vibrations onto a rotating cylinder.

Edison’s invention made recorded speech and music possible before later technologies replaced cylinders with other recording formats.