Re: [ARSCLIST] Stereo records.

[steven c <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Shoshani" <mshoshani@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> On Thursday 15 June 2006 18.44, Lou Judson wrote:
>
> > For example, this article says the 60s Beatle era was the golden age of
> > the 45 - yet they were on their way out in the USA beginning in 1962 or
> > so... But I was just 12 then, so I might be a bit off...
>
> Considering that the Beatles didn't hit the mainstream until 1963, I'd say
> you're just a wee bit off. :)
>
> >From "archeological evidence" I've seen I'd guess that 45s started
climbing in
> popularity with the birth of rock-n-roll in the mainstream marketplace,
> hitting a plateau about 1957 and crusing until the mid 1970s when albums
> started to gain in importance.
>
> No solid data to back that up, just formulated from people's collections
I've
> seen through the years, plus my observation that during the 1950s and
1960s,
> most artists released singles as 45s, the best of which were collected
into
> long-playing albums. By the late 1970s that was beginning to reverse
itself -
> now the artists were selling albums, and selected tracks from the albums
were
> released as singles.
>
> One UK phenomenon that didn't really achieve the same popularity in the US
was
> the extended play 45. An album of fourteen cuts might have the four (or
> eight) "best" tracks released on one (or two) EP(s), which in Britain were
> considered a "poor man's album".
>
Well...I vuz dere, Sholly!

LP's first emerged as a major format (versus singles) around 1966-67...
primarily due to the immense popularity of the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's..."
LP, and the fact that it was probably the first popular/"rock" album to
be reviewed by major record/music critics.

However, the single record (available only as a 45, except for a
handful of 33-1/3 singles intended for jukebox use) remained, and
was the standard format for AM radio, until at least the early
1990's (as I recall, that was the last time I saw 45 singles
being sold in record stores...and they were being dumped at
bargain prices).

What "put the kibosh" on singles was the replacement of the analog
record by the digital CD. There was some experimentation with CD
singles, but they were the same physical size as CD albums...so
buyers felt they were being "ripped off" by several songs...and
didn't buy the dommed things!

However, at the same time, the other idea that failed was jukeboxes
offering complete albums (but for a higher price than one song).
The consumers were so used to putting a nickel(/dime/quarter) in
and hearing their favourite song, the idea of playing an entire
album for several of them just never caught on...as well, if
jukeboxes played entire albums, imagine how long you would have
to wait until your selection was played?!

Steven C. Barr