Battle of the Speeds

The evolution of music recording spans decades of easy listening, R&B, rock 'n' roll, etc. way before the cassette tape, CD and MP3 player. Records and Record Players Through the Years have their own unique stories to tell. Those of us who personally owned (perhaps still own) phonograph records remember them best by their size (diameter in inches) and RPM (rotational speed at which they are played).

Today in Music History: February 1

RCA 7-inch 45 rpm fine-grooved vinyl record

Another spotlight for today in music history shines on the 45RPM for single recordings. 45MPH might seem more familiar than 45RPM with that insight, of course, being dependent upon in which era you grew up. With the advent of the 45RPM came the world's fastest record changer, the perfect portable personal music medium, as well as a smaller size allowing for longer playing time in jukeboxes since they took up less space. 'Jukes' went from offering 24 to 40 songs on 78s to having 100 to 200 songs on 45s. Simply put...More records. More music.

This era in the turn of the '50s was called "The Battle of The Speeds". Some people preferred the 33 1/3 RPM LP, others the new 45 RPM players and old timers who insisted on the 78 RPM speed. The other major labels mostly aligned with the 33 1/3 RPM LP for albums (Capitol however released albums in all three speeds) and 45 and 78 RPM for singles. The 78 RPM single began disappearing in the early '50s and the 78 RPM speed regulated to children's records through hand-me-down phonographs from their parents. The last American commercially released 78 RPM singles appeared in 1959, however they were still made for children's records and older jukeboxes until 1964. [Source: History's Dumpster]

On this day in... 

1949 RCA Records issued the first ever 45rpm single, the invention of this size record made jukeboxes of the 20th century possible.

 

Initially playing music recorded on wax cylinders, the shellac 78 rpm record dominated jukeboxes in the early part of the 20th century. The Seeburg Corporation introduced an all 45 rpm vinyl record jukebox in 1950, leading to the 45 rpm record becoming the dominant jukebox media for the last half of the 20th century. 33⅓-RPM, CDs, and videos on DVDs were all introduced and used in the last decades of the century. MP3 downloads, and Internet-connected media players came in at the start of the 21st century. The jukebox's history has followed the wave of technological improvements in music reproduction and distribution.

Top 5 Songs of 1949

1. Vaughn Monroe - Riders in the Sky
2. Frankie Laine - That Lucky Old Sun
3. Vic Damone - You're Breaking My Heart
4. Perry Como - Some Enchanted Evening
5. Jimmy Wakely and Margaret Whiting - Slipping Around

 Bring on the Music Memories...

Click the icon at left for the songs that were No.1 on February 1 from 1940 to 2016. Then, select a year to see all songs that hit No.1 in that year.

And the music goes on beating to the rhythm of the changing times...