In 1970, a scientist released an album of whale songs that became a global hit and helped change public views on whaling

In 1970, an album with no lyrics, no instruments, and no human voice became a widely heard environmental album. It was simply the sound of humpback whales, groaning and calling to each other out across the open ocean. These weren’t random noises, according to the landmark 1971 paper, Songs of Humpback Whales, published in the journal Science by researchers Roger Payne and Scott McVay. The two researchers called them songs: structured, repeating sequences.

A dead whale started it all