They tried to cancel 45 RPM & teens fought back!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 มิ.ย. 2024
- 33⅓ RPM is for LP albums and 45 RPM is for 7" singles, right? Not so fast! For a brief time, the record industry tried to banish the 45 speed -- including the company who invented it! -- and replace it with 33⅓ RPM singles, but the public wasn't interested, and teenagers refused to give up their rock 'n' roll 45s.
For much more information, see the Stereo Singles Project web site:
www.bsnpubs.com/stereoproject...
Time flow:
0:00 Introduction
1:17 RCA Victor's 45
1:59 Columbia's LP
2:45 Both formats coexist
3:34 New stereo, old rivalry
4:27 Stereo Seven
6:50 Seeburg jukeboxes
8:08 Compact 33
9:09 Mono after stereo
9:51 RCA Victor joins!
10:55 Compact Double
12:00 Little LP
12:58 Why 7" 33s failed
13:55 45 RPM thrives
14:18 Conclusion
Additional notes:
1. The 78 I smashed was already cracked. I hid the broken part with my hand.
2. Stereo 45s were a flop the first time around (1958-1961), as well, and didn't start coming back until the late '60s, so Columbia was right to sit out that fad.
3. Did you notice how the spindle hole forms part of Columbia's fancy "33" logo? That's really clever.
4. Columbia's mono 7" 33s were made from polystyrene, just like their 45s. Styrene was cheaper to make than vinyl, but more brittle and much more prone to groove wear.
5. The August 10th, 1963 issue of Billboard was the last to list 33 RPM singles on the Hot 100 chart; at that time, only 5 of the top 100 singles were available as 7" 33s. Even when priced lower than 45s, people still didn't want to buy them.
6. 33⅓ RPM remained standard on all Seeburg jukeboxes until 1971, when they made it an extra-cost option. Two small companies kept making Little LPs for jukeboxes until the mid-'70s.
#45rpm #33rpm #vinyl - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
Additional notes:
1. The 78 I smashed was already cracked. I hid the broken part with my hand.
2. Stereo 45s were a flop the first time around (1958-1961), as well, and didn't start coming back until the late '60s, so Columbia was right to sit out that fad.
3. Did you notice how the spindle hole forms part of Columbia's fancy "33" logo? That's really clever.
4. Columbia's mono 7" 33s were made from polystyrene, just like their 45s. Styrene was cheaper to make than vinyl, but more brittle and much more prone to groove wear.
5. The August 10th, 1963 issue of Billboard was the last to list 33 RPM singles on the Hot 100 chart; at that time, only 5 of the top 100 singles were available as 7" 33s. Even when priced lower than 45s, people still didn't want to buy them.
6. 33⅓ RPM remained standard on all Seeburg jukeboxes until 1971, when they made it an extra-cost option. Two small companies kept making Little LPs for jukeboxes until the mid-'70s.
1. Thanks 😂😢
That really just comes to show how DELACATE shellac really is!!
@@vangelisgru7271 2. Ha, ha.😸😸
Decca/London also kept making stereo 33's into the 70's
1. You just saved youself from a first dislike:)
The "Chicken Fat Song" actually has some mildly intersting history. It was an early government commissioned composition in support of Kennedy's then-new presidential youth fitness initiative which still exists today. It was even composed by Meredith Willson (Broadway composer, The Music Man, etc.) and performed by Robert Preston. Roughly 20 years later I remember it vividly being used in my elementary school gym class.
Me too! I certainly remember it being played on a school record player during my early elementary years of the late 70s. I seem to remember another song with something about Toe-Knee-Chest-Nut as some kind of warm up routine
At first I thought that song might have come from "The Music Man." Thanks for sharing the background. Speaking of Robert Preston, and a little off topic, whenever I hear his name I think of his hysterical performance as the doctor in the Blake Edwards' parody of Hollywood, "S.O.B." Maybe it's not a great movie, but some very funny performances.
Apple also used it in an Apple Watch ad a couple of years ago
And then they kidnap you, put you in a Gun Star and ask you to save the Galactic Federation....
Was that a 16rpm 7 inch?
This is a good sequel and update to Techmoan's "45 vs 33 format war" video. I never realized that 33RPM singles were ever such a "thing" for so long.
Very interesting. Always love to hear about format wars that aren’t videotape-based
@@lurch789 Hmmm, I'd love to read about that as I enjoy letterpress printing. Suggestions?
Recorded sound has had many format wars starting with the earliest record materials (late 19th century), then Edison cylinder records vs disk records, then acoustic recording vs microphone recording, the equalized recordings around 1939 vs unequalized, mono vs stereo, tape vs records, lots of competing mini/micro cassette formats etc. Take your pick!
@@lurch789oh of course the printing press companies would make incompatible type
Have you ever heard of Wire Tape? which was just Wire that fed through A magnet! Charles Hardin Holley(Buddy Holly) Used the wire tape for a few recordings.
As a kid, in the early-80s, I could go into town, see a movie, get a hamburger then go buy a 7“ single with my pocket money. Back then I wasn’t into albums and the songs we listened to then weren’t really timeless masterpieces, so just having the band’s current hit was good enough. I can’t remember the prices but what I do remember was that 12“ LPs were darned expensive, so if I wanted the whole album I’d go visit someone with a blank cassette or just take the plunge and buy the real deal on tape.
Now you'd need $50 in your pocket to do that. $20 to see a new movie, add your popcorn and drink and you're close to $35 and then at least $10 for a fast food meal. The only thing that has stayed the same price is singles, $1 for a iTunes download but you don't get any of the nice looking packaging and you can't resell it or let a friend borrow it.
With one nickel.
Having lived through all these speeds and formats in my 76 years, I commend you on an accurate and concise summary!
The great thing about industry standards is there's so many to choose from!
Wow, instant flashback at 8:35... Our elementary school gym teacher back in the 80s used old records for class exercises, and that was one of them! We also had parachutes and associated records that took us through a bunch of parachute-related games and stuff...
Ha, ha I felt like I was there. I bet he was a bit of a nut.
Ha ha, I was going to say the same thing!
That must be why I remember that song!
I grew up in the 90s and my elementary school gym teacher used to play this in morning gym class and march with it. that was nothing compared later on a whole gym of mixed classes watching tae bo and seeing our gym teachers imitate the tapes 😅
Vinyl records were still the de-facto in my 90s schools. We were still watching those vinyl-soundtrack slide shows (with the beeps) in 8th grade (1997-98!). Moved into a brand new high school in 1999 and was amazed each classroom it's own phone and tube TV (but they still had to wheel in a DVD/VCR cart). When 9/11 happened, our whole school got to see it simultaneously (I'll never forget the principal's PA announcement to "stop instruction and turn the on the TVs"), no other students in the county had TVs in each classroom.
I feel like I'm on a different planet when I go into schools today.
We had wholesome experiences back then.
I have a minor nitpick!
Duke Ellington actually had quite the youthful audience in the late fifties. In 1956 during his concert at Newport the jazz was so swinging that he caused a riot. People were in ecstasy and frenzy. Live At Newport is one of the landmark live jazz recordings (though a lot of it was re-recorded in the studio).
Diminuendo in Blue is what caused the frenzy specifically. The epic tenor sax solo from Paul Gonsalves is amazing and will get you going! It's fifteen minutes long but just ramps up more and more with energy. It's what revitalized Ellington for the rest of his life and got him signed to Columbia
Duke Ellington would collaborate with so many cutting edge jazz artists in the early sixties such as Mingus and Coltrane.
But before the Newport concert his popularity waned big time and he could only get gigs at places like ice rings and community centers. Ellington couldn't even get record deals.
Thank you!
@@floydnut5908 One of the greatest comebacks in music history if not the greatest!
If someone adopts it into a movie or something it'd be a hit for sure. The Duke always made sure to pay his orchestra no matter how tough the times were which makes the comeback all the more deserving.
I wouldn't call it a riot--though it sounded like one! There was no violence, nobody got hurt and no property was destroyed. Only people dancing and screaming and yelling. I love listening to the recording and hearing how the crowd starts gradually getting louder with each chorus, especially after that young blonde got up and began dancing. Together, she, Paul and Duke created a unique moment in music history.
@@jpsned mosh pit in the 50s probably got the morality police in a twist though…
When i was in my teens (51 years old now) this was the only affordable medium for me. The cost in the Netherlands was about 5 to 7 gulden.
I had quite a collection of these, i also ad uncles and teachers that donated their old 45's to me. It formed me musically: Dutch bands, international artists, promosingles etc. Later on in my twenties i started collecting used long-play records till this day. I still have all my 45's in the old fashioned cases.
In the 1980's I had over eighty 12" "Maxi-Singles." They were a mixture of 45rpm and 33rpm. There was one song, usually remixed, per side and since there was more space for wide grooves the volume of the mix could be much higher.
I believe that they were meant for disco's and dance clubs and fans of the artists, like me!
Most maxi-singles I've seen are a longer remix of some song in one side and two songs on the other, usually one or both not available in the album standard edition
I still have a few twelve-inch singles, they sound great.
@@freeman10000Yeah a lot of remasters/hipster rip offs are produced as double albums playing at 45rpm. Superior sound quality at a much higher price of course 👍
I was surprised that Kevin didn't mention 12" singles. In the U.K. in the 1980s they were the format of choice for DJs and wannabe DJs.
7 inch singles at 45 rpm were by far the most popular in the UK. The records here virtually never had the large spindle hole. The other common records were 45 rpm records with usually two songs per side. These were known as EPs or Extended Play records.
Yes, it's odd that we in the UK went with a slightly different system. I have a fair few 45s and only a handful have the facility to push out the centre of the disc to create the larger hole, presumably so that they can be used in jukeboxes (which were mainly US-built).
IIRC Techmoan covered this - you could get a 'cutter' that punched out the centre of the record to make the hole bigger, but it looked to be a difficult process (both to line it up perfectly and to get a nice clean cut without cracking the disc.)
Even stranger is that turntables sold in the UK generally came with the 45RPM adapter even though the scarcity of such records here rendered it superfluous. The Sanyo and Sony decks I had as as a teen both had one, as does the British-built Fidelity music centre I use currently.
@@rich_edwards79 Not entirely superfluous. A ladyfriend of mine ran a pub and often gave me the older discs from the jukebox which I was able to play on my Dansette portable record player with built in adapter.
The earlier 7" EPs were exclusively 33rpm (and mono), I owned many of them. The later multi-track 45rpm discs were known as 'Maxi-Singles'. I know of at least one 7" release which was 45 rpm (mono) on one side and 33rpm (stereo) on the other.
I have a few 45 EPS from the UK. What fascinated me more than the small spindle hole was the injection molded labels. I have several 45 RPM UK singles with injection mold labels.
I used to take records to the local record shop to have them "dinked" for the jukebox. A lot of my old singles from the 60's up to mid 70's have an easy to break out centre. The other problem was with the plastic spider adaptors for converting a dinked record to the small hole. I always found that the centre hole was slightly too large which meant audible wow which could be very noticeable especially on sustained notes near the end of the record. The large adaptor didn't suffer that issue but they were no good on changers, and the larger spindles as used in the USA weren't available here.
Zenith had tried making a player during the initial release of the 7" 33 that exclusively played 7' records. They called it the "Twin-7", because it had two 7-inch turntables that spin at two speeds: One with a small spindle that spun at 33 1/3 and one with a large spindle that spun at 45. It could change records on both turntables, and had a single tonearm that pivoted to either turntable. It failed pretty hard, mainly because the format failed. It also had issues with the pivoting tonearm breaking.
Yes, I was going to mention the Twin Seven player, but I wanted to keep the video under 15 minutes, so it didn't make the cut.
Thanks for raising awareness 📻
That product sounds like the "skiing slope" auto reverse cassette player: Fun as a novelty, and *insane* 😸
What was their reasoning that two tables at different speed were in some way better than one where you could change the speed (and spindle size)? 😅
Zenith also tried to go with Quadraphonic(4Track) disks and consoles. the real reason why, this idea flopped... was because of the discrete board. I have been using the wire setup for quadraphonic, since the 90's and I use this wire, to remaster LP's 45s,78s... with. mono and stereo. sound way better after the remastering!
In 1970, in England, a band called Mungo Jerry had a #1 hit with In The Summertime, which was released as a maxi-single on 7" 33⅓ rpm. It was their first release. The "B" side Mighty Man was actually an additional track on Side 1, and there was a much longer song on the other side, a version of Woodie Guthrie's Dust Pneumonia Blues. Their next single was Baby Jump, also at 33⅓rpm, the "B" side also an additional track on Side 1, with the other side being an extract from a live concert.
They repeated this for their next two singles, Lady Rose, and You Don't Have To Be In The Army (To Fight In The War). Because Juke Boxes, by then, played only 45rpm singles, there were limited edition 45rpm versions, which are rarities nowadays.
According to Wikipedia these maxi singles were priced slightly above that of normal singles, but that's not my recollection (yes I'm that old). If anything they were slightly cheaper, and a lot of the hype around Mungo Jerry's singles was that the record companies were ripping us off.
There was also an English heavy rock band called Ten Years After. They wanted to release a single called Love Like A Man, also in 1970. They argued with the record company over which version should be released, between a Studio Version lasting 3 minutes, and a live version lasting nearly 8 minutes. They ended up releasing both versions on one single, the studio version was played at 45rpm and the live version at 33⅓ rpm.
Obviously I don't know if anything like this ever happened in the USA. I was totally unaware of any 33⅓ rpm singles being released in England in earlier days, my parents bought quite a few records and all the 7" singles were 45rpm.
Finally, a video dedicated to the history and revival of 45 RPM records. Thanks Kevin for your efforts and dedication in making this video! 👍
3. Yes, I always notice details like that. Hand-designed type work is a lost art. The way the bottom of the left 3 overlaps with the spindle hole is as impressive and important as the fact that the right 3 just kisses the edge of the label. Beautiful!
You did a really good job of keeping this very visual….lots of work, time, and effort to do this. Bravo!
I was recently in a record shop and i picked up a new sealed copy of Sergio Mendez and Brazil '66. To my surprise, this 12" LP plays at 45RPM. Apparently there are a number of these 12" 45s floating around. The additional speed provides better frequency response especially toward the inner groves. I can't say that I heard much difference, but it does sound good. Albums in the 60s tended to be pretty short anyway with only about 15 minutes of music per side. Most songs clocked in at about 3 minutes, which was the magic number for radio play.
And still brand-new new records can come as 12-inch, 45 RPM. A progressive heavy metal band, Ghost Ship Octavious, put out a record on vinyl, and it is 12" and plays at 45. I first put it on, thinking it was 33 1/3, but it just didn't "sound right", so switched to 45 and lo-n-behold! Didn't think modern records were still like that, but there you go!
The last 12" 45 RPMs I bought was Prince and the Revolution's When Doves Cry and Let's Go Crazy Singles
Also, I recall that some albums by Takeshi Inomata were released (mostly for the audiophiles) on 78-rpm microgroove vinyls
This later evolved into the "maxi" single.
Many late 1970s disco releases were 12" singles, and some ran at 45rpm. One example: "Born To Be Alive" by Patrick Hernandez, about 8 minute runtime on a 12" 45.
In the U.K. all shop bought records had the same size spindle. The only players needing the larger size were jukeboxes (usually American made). Some singles had a push out section in the centre. If not the company owning the jukebox would have a special tool cut a larger hole. If you bought ex Jukebox records (like I did) you could buy plastic "spiders" to clip in the large hole and convert it down to normal size.
Your level of research and knowledge of records is impressive. The only singles I typically bought in the 80s were 12" remixes mostly. I wish I still had those today.
First Techmoan, now you doing a vid about the format war!!
In some countries 45s have small holes. It seems random since some use small holes when neighboring countries use big holes.
Well UK 45s have the option to push out the small hole section and convert to a large hole "American" 45.
@@xander1052 I have a few and none of them have that
@@wendysremix I'm in the US and I have several UK 45rpm records, and yes, the centers CAN be popped out to fit the larger spindle. I haven't done that as it would be pointless to me as my other (US) 45s have "spider" adapters so all of my records play on the smaller spindle.
@@jamesslick4790 Okay but not all can be I have multiple from the 80s and they do not have a precut center that can be popped out.
@@wendysremix I never said all UK 45s have the feature, But the feature DID exist. Mine are from the '60s and '70s, perhaps this feature was abandoned by the 1980s 🤷♂️
The 45rpm speed was just better for singles, not only because of the genre of music like rock and roll, it’s also audiophiles liked faster recording speeds for certain songs!
What would be the advantage of 33rpm for singles? It would just be less data to read out per second of music, right?
@@mipmipmipmipmip it’s only longer songs like extended plays! 33rpm has few advantages for those singles, but overall for 45s, they were easy to play and cheaper.
I got a lot of my music in the form of 45s. Through about age 8 I had a little portable record player and a lot of 45 RPM records with children’s music. My dad had a nice Realistic turntable changer with AM/FM but it wasn’t till much later that I got a boom box with cassette, so most of the time if I wanted a new song I heard. It would be on a single/two sided 45 RPM record. 💜
And there’s one thing you forgot to add, 7 in. 33 1/3 RPM format never went away. By the late 1960’s and into the 1970’s, Disneyland Records released a series of read-along book and records based on Disney animated films and stories, and it features a narrator where it would say “You will know that it’s time to turn the page, when you hear the chimes ring like this. (Insert classic Disney read-along chime sound here) Let’s begin now.” And then, Kid Stuff did put out a series of read-along book and records based on the popular franchises of “Care Bears”, “Strawberry Shortcake” and more. The 7 in. 33 records was aimed towards kids back in the 1970’s and 1980’s. But unfortunately, the format died out completely by the mid to late 1980’s where all the read-along books series were on cassettes.
And another fact that you don’t mentioned, CBS Records did put out one-sided 45 RPM records in 1982. This was where Columbia and Epic label did put a handful of one-sided 45’s with a small hole in the middle instead of a larger hole, and it was advertised on the sleeve that says “One Sided Record - Get The Hit - Special Low Price”. But sadly, these one sided 45 RPM records didn’t last long until they discontinued by early 1983.
I did mention that 7" 33s were relegated to promotional and educational use. And as for the one-sided 45s, I'm going to mention them in an upcoming video.
The Peter Pan records of the early 1960s were small 33s.
Yes, I remember the read-along books used the slower speed.
All I know is that as a kid in the 80s, before CD players became affordable, the 12" single at 45RPM gave almost CD level fidelity compared to 12" albums at 33⅓. They cost twice as much as a 7" single but I was quite happy to cough up as a 13yo just for the great sound. Even now I'm still impressed just how good the 12" 45RPM single sounds.
I find it funny that the two labels that introduced these speeds are now owned by the same company.
What's nice is that all formats are still playable even after being abandoned, could even revive 16 rpm if you're good at electronics
My 1975 Newcomb School Record Player (which was rebuilt by the legendary radiotvphononut) has the 16 rpm speed, which is why I can (more or less; I don't have a proper hole adapter yet) play my Seeburg Background Music System records).
16⅔ RPM was often used for audio books in the '50s, to reduce how many discs a book took up. ...Until new releases moved to tape instead.
Also on 16⅔... In the 1956 model year, Chrysler offered (as a factory option) an in-car record player that ran at that speed, to fit an album's worth of music on a smaller disc.
But this "Highway Hi-Fi" never caught on. The players were expensive. Only one record company released anything for it (Columbia, who'd developed the player). 33s and 45s were too well-entrenched at home. And I can only imagine what kind of wear you'd get from a heavy-enough needle weight to keep it from skipping while driving.
The original stereophonic recordings were released by an independent recording label, Audio Fidelity Records which did a lot of sound effects recordings,and that was in December of 1957. This is an extremely interesting video. Thank you for sharing this video and information with us.
I was born in 1959 and well remember the four-speed turntable. We had 33 LPs, 45 singles and 78s. I remember asking my mom about the 16 speed, and she explained to me that it was for spoken-word recordings, which were often made for blind people. My dad had a bunch of Spike Jones and his City Slickers 78s that we enjoyed listening to--probably my first exposure to recorded comedy. (I do not recommend, though, using the record changer for 78s! I did once, and when the next 78 fell onto the record beneath it, it broke into several pieces. I don't think I told my parents about it--I was too shocked and guilty.)
I don't think we had any 7-inch LPs, though. Never knew they existed until now!
it's really interesting that Seeburg got behind the 33rpm 7". Seeburg was very influential in the success of the 45rpm single. RCA was not doing well with it until 45's began to appear in jukeboxes in the early 1950's, right at the same time as rock and roll music began to become popular. Back then, the newest music was first released to the jukebox operators prior to radio play. And the small size of the 45 allowed Seeburg to make machines that held first 50 records (100sides), and by 1955, 100 records. The 78 machines mostly held only 20 records, so it really boosted Seeburg over the competitors. But the multi-song 33 was their way of charging more for each record side, so it was strictly a profit driven move on their part. And the best part was that the newer dual speed machines required very little in the way of mechanical changes to play those records.
I have a Rockola 1962 jukebox that plays 33 & 45 rpm.
12" 45s are my fav. I have an old R.E.M. _The_ _One_ _I_ _Love,_ 12" extended single from their IRS records days. It sounds so great. Faster is sometimes better. sometimes.
The faster the vinyl moves under the stylus, the easier it is to obtain higher quality sound, just as it is with magnetic tape across a tape head, so 45 should be more desirable.
It has less inner groove distortion.
You can cut the record 'louder', too.
1:53 - Great, now I have an advert for Barrons Caravans fron the late 90s stuck in my head again, took me 20 years to shake that off!!! :P
"Barrons are cheap today, cheaper than yesterday
Caravan superstore, off'ring you even more"
Dangit.........................
I have several vintage record players that has all four speeds. I have some records that plays 16 RPM...like Seeburg recordings! I love them! Now I have records playing 33 RPM put on records the size of those 45s (stereo 7!). It's all good! And of course 78s even dated the very early 1900s and they still sound great! Interesting video! NOW I understand why there are so many different types of records! I'm impressed with your record player collection. Amazing they had automatic speed detectors at the time! PS: I have that chicken fat record! LOL.
331/3 RPM for 7" was mainly still used in USSR for the mini albums which were sold to the consumer market until the late 70's, early 80's.
What i did notice is on the 7" records, especially 45", they're louder than a 12" record of at least 5db (In Europe at least)
Funfact that UK 7" 45rpm were only released with the small hole that some had to "cut" manually to play on their equipment.
In France, most of the French artists never released LP, however, until 1971, they released their so-called EP which was the 4-tracks 7" 45rpm records to the consumer market. The normal 2-track 7" 45rpm records were only reserved for Jukeboxes and are, therefore, very rare to find (or you need to import from other countries where EP wasn't a thing).
If you want a couple of 45rpm 7" 4-tracks records. I can send you some of the duplicates i own.
0:57 Me when i find an elvis record.
The 33 1/3 rpm speed was introduced by RCA Victor in 1931, but it used the standard wide-groove like the 78's. The 33 1/3 rpm speed was used for radio transcriptions and recording studios used then as session discs, which would be used to cut the 78 rpm records. As a sideline, what we would call stereo later, the motion picture industry recorded sound optically on movie film starting in the late-1930's, and usually 3-tracks. It wasn't until after WWII, when magnetic film was invented that they moved away from optical film recording. It was still 3-track. Now, those movies on 16mm film we saw in school still used an optical sound track, as did the films used by TV stations.
The 45 rpm 7" record was introduced to replace the 78 rpm format, not to compete with Columbia. Because these easier to handle records had larger center holes, RCA introduced a new kind of record changer to play them, which were offered as attachment players and stand-alone self contained record players.
Remember, most record players were single speed 78 rpm into the 1950's. Special 33 1/3 rpm attachment players had been around since 1948 when Columbia introduced the LP. Adding attachment players were nothing new. Anyway, 78 rpm record changers could only play 10" or 12 " records automatically, so 7" records were out. Even the new record changers which could play both 33's and 78's had 2 tone arms and the one for the 33 1/3 rpm had to be operated manually. When Columbia introduced their 7" 33 1/3 rpm singles, they were a complete failure because nobody wanted them and only those 33 1/3 rpm attachment players could play them and manually. Who wanted to get up and change a record manually every 2 1/2 minutes? Didn't have to do that on a 78 or 45 rpm changer. Heck, a stack of 10 records played for over 20 minutes. The LP's didn't even play that long per side.
When stereo records were introduced in 1958, the major record companies produced stereo LP's and 45 rpm records simultaneously along side the mono records and 78's. The jukebox companies, led by Seeburg and Wurlitzer, jumped on the stereo bandwagon. 33 1/3 7" singles and EP's were still around, so they often also had stereo and mono counterparts. The Columbia group ones were mono as well as most from Capitol. Because these 33 singles were 7", the jukebox industry picked up on these as a way to play more album tracks, and to show off their new stereo jukeboxes. With Seeburg jumping on that bandwagon, the 5-pack "Artist Of The Week". From a 12-song LP, 10 songs were chosen, each being put on one side of the 5 singles. These also had different song pairings than the 45 rpm singles.
With the Seeburgs, eventhough they had stereo amps(which was still optional), the stereo wouldn't kick in unless a 33 1/3 rpm record was played from the 1960 Q to the 1962 DS. The 45's would only play in mono.
Most jukeboxes would change speed automatically and mechanically but Seeburg did it electronically by changing the frequency of the current. It sensed when to change the speed because of the difference in hole sizes because the record clamps closed down further on the 45's, actuating a clamp switch. Seeburg used this system all the way to the end of their record playing jukeboxes.
Seeburg decided that it was better to put more than one selection on each side of these 7" 33 1/3 rpm records and the "Little LP" was created. The 1963 Seeburg LPC1 was the first jukebox to go to this new formats. The others soon followed. Instead of 10 tracks from 1 LP, they could have 4-6 tracks from 10 different LP's. A dual-pricing section for 10 records was set aside so that the juke could play all 45's or 10 LLP's for a bigger price.
Most of the LLP's you will find are M.O.R. or C&W artists, but all the Rock and Roll artists were represented too. The Beatles, Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin, etc. I have quite a few in my collection.
Now, why did the Columbia group have mainly M.O.R. artists? Well, it is well known that Mitch Miller was the A&R person and he hated rock and roll, so he refused to sign any of those artists. Paul Revere and The Raiders were Columbia's first rock artists. With that, Columbia entered the main stream and had a resounding success and was on the map again. The British Invasion had taken over so Columbia was either going to sink or swim. They chose wisely.
The only reason that they tried to kill the 45 rpm single was because it only cost peenies less than an LP did. We have the jukebox industry to thank for the 45 rpm single lasting another 10 years or so. There have always been record-playing jukeboxes and they are still being made, which only play 7" 45 rpm records. Jukeboxes were built to last 10-15 years in commercial service and when the record industry decided to cut back on 45's, as cassette singles had taken over the consumer market for singles, the jukebox operators said, hey wait a minute, we have brand new jukeboxes and others with a lifespan of atleast 10 more years which only play 7" 45's. So, the record industry kept making 7" 45 rpm singles. Although there were still many rock titles available, the jukebox industry had become dominated by C&W and Hispanic music, so those music styles ushered out the record-playing jukebox era.
CD jukeboxes took over the industry and then they were replaced by jukeboxes with hard drive and online music access. Record and CD jukeboxes are still being manufactured but are now aimed at the home consumer nostalgia market.
There were also conspiracies to sell fewer singles -- so buyers had to pay $7 for the whole album. I remember Monkee singles were tough to find in stores.
Great video, Kevin! Could you also make one on the history of the (45) 12-inch?
You beat me to it! I have numerous EDM records from the late 90s-early 00s on 12" 45 rpm pressings. As a fun fact, several of them have the wrong speed printed on the labels.
@@Kevinsrack cool! I'm also interested in the origins in the 70s disco era (I think) and the technical backgrounds, including the higher dynamics of the music in these records (at least that's what I read sometime)
@@fhwolthuis
My guess is that many 12" 45s were extended versions of songs, necessitating longer play times, but better quality by running it at a faster speed (but I reiterate that this is a GUESS!)
The sound that 7" made when it crashed made my vintage heart skip a beat
Here in the UK the 7in 33rpn stereo did have some success, right into the mid 70s. Where it was called EP(Extended Play), with 3 songs on each side.. And we had LP(Long Play) for 12in 33rpm stereo records.
Still a bigger success than the Highway Hi-fi. That was basically a 7 inch format intended for cars, it spun at 16 RPM and had even finer grooves than a regular microgroove LP or single, which made it possible to fit a whole LP material on it. However, it was only available for only one type of car, and only for a very limited time around 1956. It suffered from skips on more bumpy roads (the slow speed was partly chosen to prevent it), and the lack of things to play on it. There were only around twenty reissued LPs.
This "ultra microgroove" technology never used afterwards, which is a kind of shame.
Very ,VERY !! glad you gave historical info on the record ,always wondered how speeds were figured I have watched this already several times this was the best vid EVER!!! I really enjoyed this that I still have to put down what i am doing to watch 5 thumbs up JRo
Great stuff as I always wondered about this! Salute!
I purchased lots of 45 RPM singles in the 1970s and 1980s. Then when CDs and cassettes gained popularity, 33 RPM albums were the cheapest option of the three. In the late 1980s and 1990s, much of the Euro / dance music we would purchase would be 12 inch, but could be either 33 RPM or 45 RPM, although they all had the small hole.
Great Job here! Thanks for your efforts!
I've never seen a 7" LP and had no idea that anyone had ever manufactured them. And I was collecting records (mostly 78s though) starting in the late 1960s. I've also never encountered a 16rpm disc in real life either.
And also in the end of the seventeenth years, the 12 inch single was introduced and not confusing enough, some of them were 45 rpm and others 33.3 rpm. I even own some that have one side at 45 and the other at 33.3. There is also the definite benefit of 45 rpm wich increases the treble response and reduces the distortion of the inner grooves therefore some albums are released at 45 rpm. The album of Callum Scott Briges has been released in the 45 format.
Most 12" singles were 45 RPM in Europe but 33⅓ RPM in North America -- perhaps because as I showed, some record players were designed to automatically play any record with a small spindle hole at 33⅓ RPM, and also some record changers and turntables automatically played any 12" record at 33⅓ RPM as well.
Whenever I walk into a Wal-Mart, I see more vinyl albums for sale, then I do CDs. If vinyl albums can make a comeback, I wanna see 45 rpms make a comeback as well. I really miss those non-album B-sides!
Tonight as I was having dinner I noticed there as a new video out. Lucky! It made my day. I love having a nice meal while watching one of VWestlife's videos.
AMAZING research, sir !!!
The case for these things might have been stronger if more record changers could gracefully intermix 12", 10" and 7" records, but those from V-M, Ensing and RCA could only really intermix 12" and 10" records, with the switch to 7" records taking place on the first drop. Collaro changers, used by Magnavox, could intermix all 3 but only in descending order while ELAC and Dual were in the process of introducing changers that couldn't intermix at all. So Garrard and BSR were the only changers that could really take advantage of the "one speed, three sizes" rule. Also, RCA had flooded the market with 45-only changers with non-removable big spindles, making the new 7" 33s a non-starter for many. I'm surprised Seeburg was so enthusiastic about these records; I had always heard that one of the few advantages of the larger holes was they they allowed jukeboxes to mount and dismount records with less chance of a jam.
What I find interesting is that in the UK (maybe elsewhere), the 45's used the small 33 spindle. Oh, and 45 RPM 12" extended/maxi singles and EPs, though I think we may have had some of those in US.
Those seen transitions are great! I’m really liking how your editing skills are increasing =]
I was born in 1972 and I missed out on the 7-in 33 and a half record craze. Thank you so much for making a great video about this subject. Also I love that you had Mr Jaws clipped up underneath the lid of your portable record player lol
What are you gonna do now? "Do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight!" LMAO 🤣
Oh and the "go you chicken fat" song was one my partner sings sometimes. I never heard of it till I met him.
A brilliant and informative video thank you!
Excellent (hi)story-telling! Thank you! 👍
I don't really remember it that way....but....45's were relegated to two songs; an 'A' side and a 'B' side. That was great for us teens who wanted instant songs of our choice without having to buy the full album. But I can only speak from the late '50s onward. I even remember 45 spindle stackers that fit over the thin 33 spindle stackers.
How privileged I was to grow up through the 1980s with an enormous 45 and 33 collection spanning the previous 3 decades, handed to me by my parents the same way parents hand their kids Tablets, today. Today even if I had a kid and wanted to give them the same experience, it would cost1,000x as much as back then. 🎶 And I wonder; a'wah-wah-wah-wah wonder / why; a'why-why-why-why why, she ran away ... 🎶
Lol now I got the song stuck in my head…
Great video. Interesting history
78s had so few songs on each side that the record sleeves were bound into albums of 5 or so records in a book. The word "album" stuck.
16 speed was used for Talking Books for the Blind. The players were loaned to each person and also had 33 and maybe 45 speed, too. First records were vinyl. Later records were a thin plastic. Those "cut out" records were also in magazines (samplers) and on cereal boxes.
I have an album of 78s I got from a thrift store a few years back that sadly no longer exists. The song names are written on the inside front cover in pencil. I've wondered a few times about who owned it and wrote those names....
The thin plastic records are called Flexi-Discs and I have three of them, and one is actually blue!
Another great video! BTW - if you can find the Elvis "Compact 33s" you'll have some quite rare records.
Great video. I could not imagine not having my 45 collection. I bought my first when I was six years old. I was addicted right from the start. The single sometimes gives you b- sides that are not on any album. Plus sometimes different mixes then the lp mix. Glad 45’s hung in there as long as they did.
Interesting video! This reminds me of the DVD R/RW format war that just ended in a tie, basically, where eventually drives that can burn to and read both +/-hyphen formats became the de facto standard, and even newer generations of both formats were made more like each other (or at least + became more like the hyphen version while still meeting the + criteria). I grew up with my parents having, and then they gave me several of their old discs, 7", 10", and 12", some of which 7s are 45s and some which are 33s. And I've wondered about it for a long time, so thanks!
They used that same “Chicken Fat” record in the 70’s in schools. I remember it.
I wish I heard it in the 80's.
Wow V-dub, you're on a roll lately!
Always good 👍
Only time we ever saw a large hole 45 over here they were for juke boxes. Much easier
As an Australian born in the 70s, I have never seen a 45 with the big hole. Some singles I have have a cutaway section that you can remove to make the bigger hole that I always assumed was for jukeboxes, perhaps due to them being shown at the start of Happy Days. Buying old turntables these days, the adaptor is more often than not lost as they were never used and tended to fall out of the unit was moved.
I would be very interested in a video on the take-up of the RCA 45 large hole format in countries outside the US, or if it was even a thing!
It was a North American thing it seems.
@@ChristopherSobieniakit might be a short video then! 😂
Large hole 45s were a thing in the uk, i remember having a stack of adapters and using them from time to time.
Fascinating, great research - I don't remember much activity in the promotion of 33 singles here in the U.K - perhaps it was more of a U.S thing until a standard format once again resumed?
See, cancel culture was alive back then too. Actually part of that article mentions an Indiana artist withdrawing his painting from an exhibit because he didn't want his pieces displayed where there was jazz playing specifically Dave Brubeck.
I find it deliciously ironic that the best sounding 33s were released by RCA Victor under the Living Stereo label.
I really want to see a video on that 16RPM record you had.
great video!
My Seeburg jukebox can play both small and large centre 7 inch records. It's been modified to play only at 45 so I can listen to British records.
Excellent! I enjoyed that!
i was genuinely mortified when you shattered the poor 78
Agree the '33' with the spindle hole is wonderful.
Thanks for the short background on the 16 setting. I thought it was so I could listen to “The Chipmunks Sing The Beatles Hits” in their normal human voices.
John, Paul, George and Ringo are the real Chips. Due to the contract Paul and Ringo cannot confirm that. 😎
And about a decade after the second 7" format war things got even more mixed up when 12" 45RPM Disco singles (later renamed club singles, and similar names in the 80's when Disco stopped being cool) were introduced. They were initially more aimed at club DJs but as time went on some were targeted at the general record buying audience. They had some distinct advantages too. They could space the grooves out more an master the discs louder (greater stylus movement) which meant the records would have more dynamic range and sound better longer since the crackles had to be louder than normal to have the same presence on a louder recording (when you can't reduce background noise one way to have better SNR is simply crank the original signal way up when sending it into the carrier medium). They also had longer run time than a standard 7" 45 while also not being so long as to be a whole album. Most makers used them for 5-10 minute songs, but some crammed 2-3 cuts on a side...Some popular songs on Disco Singles often got the extended mix on one side and the standard 7" 45/radio mix, plus an instrumental mix on the other side.
And to make things more confusing, most 12" singles were 45 RPM in Europe and 33⅓ RPM in North America -- possibly for compatibility with turntables like the one I showed which assume that any record with the small hole must play at that speed.
@@vwestlife Interesting. I'm in the US and have seen/acquired a good number of both speeds of 12" single locally second hand.
Interesting music playing at the end of the video. Reminds me some tunes from glorious Star Control2.
At least here in Brazil, 7 inch records always ran at 33 1/3 rpm, with the small center hole. Some of the later turntables (when CD’s were already established) didn’t even come with the 45 rpm speed. They always sounded pretty awful, tough.
Actually 16rpm did catch on in certain markets. in South Africa, Rhodesia, China (late 60s and 70s), and a few other places. 7" 33 1/3 were popular in Europe and the and were sold and marketed at EPs. Also in Europe the large hole 45rpms were were not popular. The vast majority were small hole 45s.
In Argentina the single and double 7 inch 33 RPM was a standard. We also had 45 7 inch but with the small spindle. The large hole was only on imported 45.
Me suena que en Chile también era un formato bastante popular. Aquí en España varias compañías también lo intentaron adoptar, pero fue un fracaso
@@ZeusTheTornado en Argentina fue un éxito. Pero Argentina siempre reacciona distinto (por alguna razón) al resto del mundo.
Interesting, in Australia we rarely if ever saw 45's with the larger hole, most people had no idea what the adapter was for, with some saying that's for when you mail order from the states.
What irks me, while at the same time being hilarious, is when I see people posting videos playing 12” LPs and place the 45 RPM adapter on top of the LP, like it’s a stabilizer or something! 😂
@@01chippe Because they can see no other possible use for it, that's how rare large hole 45's are over here
People in the US are doing it as well. They are probably new to vinyl ( a term I despise BTW).
It is a shame you did not have one of the early rca 45 changers. They change the records so fast, it seems like the gap between tunes on an lp. Much faster than the turntable you used.
There are lots of great YT videos about the RCA 45 changers, but Kevin may eventually make one. He probably owns a few. 😊
We used to exercise to the “Chicken Fat” record when I was in kindergarten.
More amazing facts in another amazing video ❤️
Some 78s are surprisingly wonderful. I hope you listen to one you are about to break before doing it, to make sure you aren’t ruining something you’d be totally surprised that you like. I remember discovering Ave Maria that way.
It was already broken.
@@rizzlerazzleuno4733 ah : ) I didn’t see Thanks
I remember back in the late 1960’s exercising to Robert Preston’s “Chicken Fat” in 5th grade P.E. class.
I see you Rockin' my Favorite P-mount Turntable the good old Technics SL-QD33 Great Choice what cartridge is that you have mounted?
It's the Grado Green P-Mount cartridge.
8:55 "He explained further that Grille was adversely influenced by the Brubck Quartet when he first heard it over the public address system at festival headquarters. At the time, Rev. Sheere said, the transmission was marred by improperly adjusted loudspeakers. "
So the guy hated Dave Brubeck because he had first heard the quartet on a lousy sound system. I've been making that point for years; never try to judge a new track by listening to it on a cheap radio, cell phone, or some other piece of squawkery. It's cool to know that I'm not the only one who ever made this argument.
It says here they stopped making 7 inch 33 RPM EPs around 1964 but I know that website shown on the laptop early in the video show record companies continued to make them until at least the mid 70s.
Those were exclusively for jukeboxes, not for sale to the general public.
what was that last blue vinyl record you played? I might look for a copy, I like the way it sounded.
Plasticwaffle
Slugbug/(can't read this part) Rock EP
Slugbug - "Stupid Rock EP"
Very insteresting insight! Whatever the outcome was, the 45 album box set was very cute and very portable too! Too bad it didn't catch on!!
0:58
The way he broke the 78 rpm disc 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
I was familiar with the early 7" 33's from Columbia but not with the later efforts. Making stereo records at a time when very few people had stereo cartridges was absurd.
My 1961 Jukebox has support for 45 AND 33rpm singles. I don't have any 33's loaded, so I have the support for that disabled at this time. Seeburg AY100
Why? I've got a couple promo 7" 33s and i always wondered why bother?
This seems even odder here in the UK as we didn't have large holes in our 45s. Mostly if they did have a large hole, they were ex-jukebox.
Nice to see a Technics SL-QQ33. I've got the SL-DD33.