Introduction: the 1950 - 1960 era
From its commercial inception in the late
1890s, phonograph technology remained virtually unchanged for
sixty years. There had been improvements in studio recording
technology (what might be termed the 'software'), but records
from the beginning of that era could still be played on
practically identical 'hardware' at its end.
Experiments had been made in making
smaller-sized records with a finer groove; vinyl had come to be
used as a substitute for shellac; but for the record-buyer the
only real advancement was the bonus of having a track on both
sides of what had started out as a single-sided record.
The old-fashioned 78 rpm record would
become obsolete at precisely the same
time as rock'n'roll surged around the world
via the transistor radio, virtually obliterating all other
forms of popular music.
The 33 1/3 speed 12-inch LP (introduced by
Columbia in 1948) offered multiple
tracks by virtue of a 'micro-groove' four
times smaller than that found on the
10-inch 78, the saving of surface space allowing for about 25
minutes of music time per side, compared to the four minutes of
a 78.
The LP sleeve (which for the 78 rpm record
had been little more than a brown paper bag with a die-cut hole
in the middle) took over point-of-purchase sales appeal from
the pasted-on label.
The 7-inch 45 rpm double-sided 'single,'
introduced by RCA in 1949 after a 10-year development process,
was lighter, smaller and less fragile than its 78 rpm
counterpart. Usually, the 45 received the same packaging
treatment as the 78, a single-color paper bag bearing little
more than the record company’s name.
Just as jazz music did not spring from
barren ground, but morphed out of minstrelsy and ragtime,
rock'n'roll was preceded by 'doo-wop,' a distinct style
featuring the close vocal harmony of a
male quartet, whose members were
often from the same ethnic background.
The roots of rock’n’roll drew
nourishment from a rich compost of gospel, soul,
rhythm’n’blues, swing, ragtime, country and all
kinds of folk music, but its most fertile ground was always
(Afro-American) blues. Rare 78 rpm records of a small number of
black artists like Robert Johnson would strongly influence all
music that followed, in the same way that Louis Armstrong had
impacted that of his generation.
Early 1950s rock on 78 rpm records, such as
Elvis Presley’s original Sun releases, can command
astronomical figures at auction.
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