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A history of the music industry : 1950's

12" LP's & 7" Singles Set A New Standard

As our journey continues into the 1950's several important standards were set in the production and distribution of vinyl recordings. In 1950 RCA introduced the first 12 inch LP, followed in 1951 by the introduction of the 7" single. Both standards that still exist for vinyl recordings to this day.

So with the birth of Rock 'n' Roll, the new standard of the 7 inch single would become the iconographic image around which the new Rock 'n' Roll music took it's physical form. The release of "Shake, Rattle and Roll" and "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley set a nation swinging to the new beat and the generation gap in music listening tastes opens up.

In 1953 Elvis made his first studio recordings, cutting a personal disc in the now infamous Sun Studios in Memphis. As the decade wore on record companies started to ship 7 inch singles to radio stations and the days of the old 78 format had clearly passed.

Sun Studios, Memphis

With The BBC beginning broadcasting in FM for the first time in 1955 and stereo vinyl becoming the dominent media of all recorded music, the new era of Rock 'n' Roll saw in a new era of quality in music delivery.

It's interesting to note that with the growth of popularity in music spread, brought about largely by the hysteria surrounding Rock 'n' Roll, so the technology to support music picked up the pace too.

There's an almost direct correlation between the boom in popularity of music to the boom in productivity of technology researchers around the world.

So, while on TV and in public office there was much concern about the effects on the nations youth about the potential ill effects of listening to such suggestive music, it seems that business decided to latch onto the demand regardless. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

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