A 45-rpm record, with its one-song per side format, was the perfect medium for rock and roll.
Image: Flickr/Ghindo
By Tony Long 01.10.08 | 12:00 AM
1949: The 45-rpm record is introduced by RCA. Can rock 'n' roll be far behind?
Flat disc records began replacing the cylinder for reproducing recorded sound as early as 1887. The original standard, what we know as the 78, had a 10-inch diameter disc with a rotational speed of between 75 and 80 rpm.
The 78 remained the standard for portable recorded sound until the mid-20th century, despite some severe limitations. For one thing, the disc didn't hold much, meaning that longer works, typically classical music, had to be broken in mid-composition (which makes the 78 seem a little like the vinyl forerunner of the four-track tape).
Columbia introduced the 33-rpm disc in 1948, which mostly solved that problem, and its rival, RCA, was right behind with the 45. Despite a diameter of only 7 inches, the 45 could hold as much sound as the 78, and was far more portable and cheaper to produce.
More important, though, was the timing. When rock 'n' roll started taking off in the mid-'50s, the 45 proved a perfect format for this music. With one song per side (the "A side" being the projected hit and the "B side" being filler, which often became the actual hit), the 45 had the distinct advantage of being affordable for most young fans.
The music also mirrored the technology. Fifties and early '60s rock was largely a string of singles, when the 45 reigned supreme. Bands started doing themed albums and "sides" -- the second "side" of Abbey Road, for example -- only after the LP had become the gold standard.
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Image: Flickr/Ghindo
By Tony Long 01.10.08 | 12:00 AM
1949: The 45-rpm record is introduced by RCA. Can rock 'n' roll be far behind?
Flat disc records began replacing the cylinder for reproducing recorded sound as early as 1887. The original standard, what we know as the 78, had a 10-inch diameter disc with a rotational speed of between 75 and 80 rpm.
The 78 remained the standard for portable recorded sound until the mid-20th century, despite some severe limitations. For one thing, the disc didn't hold much, meaning that longer works, typically classical music, had to be broken in mid-composition (which makes the 78 seem a little like the vinyl forerunner of the four-track tape).
Columbia introduced the 33-rpm disc in 1948, which mostly solved that problem, and its rival, RCA, was right behind with the 45. Despite a diameter of only 7 inches, the 45 could hold as much sound as the 78, and was far more portable and cheaper to produce.
More important, though, was the timing. When rock 'n' roll started taking off in the mid-'50s, the 45 proved a perfect format for this music. With one song per side (the "A side" being the projected hit and the "B side" being filler, which often became the actual hit), the 45 had the distinct advantage of being affordable for most young fans.
The music also mirrored the technology. Fifties and early '60s rock was largely a string of singles, when the 45 reigned supreme. Bands started doing themed albums and "sides" -- the second "side" of Abbey Road, for example -- only after the LP had become the gold standard.
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