By Jim Schuh

Just over a week ago (on June 18), The Wall Street Journal reminded readers that it was 70-years ago that the music industry released its first long-playing (LP) record.

The fact that I can remember when that happened makes me an old person. (I don’t mind people calling me old because I favor calling things as they are.) I was 10-years old when the LP made its appearance in 1948, and at that time, had no idea I’d spend my working years in radio, even spinning LPs for a time. I also never realized I’d build up a record collection that would include long-playing records. That didn’t start until five years later in 1953.

My second job happened to be in a record department of the old Schuster’s Department Store at 12th and Vliet Streets in Milwaukee. I spent four-years working there part-time during my college days at Marquette. Not only did we sell 12-inch wide LPs, which spun at 33-and 1/3 revolutions per minute (r.p.m.), but the 45 r.p.m records as well – and even a few of the old 78 r.p.m. discs that were fading from the record scene quickly at that time. I suspect that many folks have never paid attention to which came first – the 33-1/3 LP or 45 r.p.m. records. For the record, it was the LP.

Columbia Records introduced the 33-1/3 r.p.m. long-playing record – the invention of the company’s chief scientist Peter Goldmark and his team. Columbia offered 10 and 12-inch LPs, before abandoning the 10-inch versions. In case you’re wondering, the first 33-1/3 LP recording Columbia released was
Mendelssohn’s Concerto in E Minor by Nathan Milstein on the violin with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Bruno Walter.

In recalling the introduction of the LP, here’s what The Wall Street Journal wrote back then: “A 12-inch phonograph record that will play as much music as an album of six or seven conventional (78 r.p.m.) records will hit the market soon. The revolutionary new disc will provide up to half an hour of continuous music, up to an hour if you play both sides. That means you can hear on a single platter an entire symphony or the full run of a musical comedy score.” The Journal also noted that Magnavox would produce a new record player for the 33-1/3 LPs that would cost $25 more than the single speed 78 r.p.m. models.

But 12-inch wide 33s would not be the last word in contemporary technology. RCA Chief David Sarnoff wasn’t about to let competitor Columbia have the last word – his company introduced the RCA Victor 45 r.p.m. disc the following year – 1949. It measured just seven-inches across. Both 33-1/3 and 45 r.p.m. records had grooves about one-third the width of the old 78s, allowing for much more music on each disc. There’s disagreement about the first 45 r.p.m. that RCA Victor released. Some claim it was “Texarkana Baby” by Eddy Arnold, but others say RCA released a trove of 45s on the first day.

The fidelity of the first 33s and 45s wasn’t spectacular but was an improvement over the 78s. After the mid-fifties, high fidelity (Hi-Fi) recordings debuted – they offered reproductions with much-improved sound.

To take advantage of the audio improvements, companies developed audio systems with better-quality speakers. As the 1950s came to an end, stereophonic (stereo) recordings arrived providing even better sound quality. A few independent record producers even issued records with quadraphonic sound which expensive sound systems could reproduce. The word, “vinyl” began to describe LP albums. RCA Victor and some others tried to compete head-on with Columbia by issuing classical 45 r.p.m albums. But they never caught on, and 45s evolved to become the standard size for popular songs and held that designation for 35-years.

What many folks today may not know is that the recording industry also produced some records that spun at 16-2/3 revolutions per minute. They offered twice as much material per side as 33s but could not duplicate their sound quality for music. The 16-2/3 format was adequate, however, for speech, and several companies issued “talking books” on the new format. But it wasn’t long before the 16-2/3 records faded away. Tape recording sound quality was improving, just as records were and it wasn’t long before we saw eight-track and cassette tapes competing with records.

In 1982, Philips and SONY introduced the compact disc (CD), which embedded data that a special laser could read and reproduce. The discs, which measure just under five-inches across, hold up to an hour-and-20-minutes’ worth of music. By 1988, CDs pretty much made 33 and 45 records and tape formats obsolete. CDs are still on sale today although some retailers are phasing them out because of poor sales.

Newer formats, such as mp3, feature a format utilizing compressed encoded data that listeners can store on computer hard disks and thumb drives. But even that format is moving aside, as people now obtain their music from online sources. There’s a good argument to be made that records, tapes, CDs and mp3s are now becoming obsolete. Music lovers can obtain their favorites much more inexpensively and don’t have to worry about storage space for their collections when they store songs on computers.

We’ve now become familiar with Spotify and Apple Music that provide music online. Sometimes, what’s old becomes new again, and today, there’s a resurgence in interest for vinyl recordings. Aficionados say vinyl reproduces a “warmer” sound than “cold” CDs. Several record companies are again offering vinyl 33-1/3 r.p.m. albums.

I’m at least two formats behind – I have records and CDs, and so far, haven’t moved into the modern age with mp3s or online availabilities. In my old age, it would be fruitless to convert all my music to newer formats, and besides, who would want it? I bet that question sounds familiar. I’ve pretty much stopped buying CDs because I can’t find time to listen to the ones I have – and the same is true, perhaps even more so – for the 33s and 45s in my collection.

Still, every once in a while, it’s fun to pull out an old 45 or 33 and give it a spin.