AET 1380 Lecture 13
The LP
The Long Playing Record (LP)

Remember, Berliner invented disc record in 1888, made
of shellac which was easily broken

1910, 78 rpm becomes standard.

1930s, vinyl records released, more durable.

In 1948 Columbia introduced the 33⅓ rpm LP records
(used in 1930s by movie theaters and transcription
machines), followed soon after by the 45 rpm records
from RCA Victor.
The Long Playing Record (LP)
1940’s

In 1948 Columbia introduced the 33⅓ rpm LP
records (used in 1930s by movie theaters and
transcription machines) = 25-30 min per side.

The 331/3-rpm disc was first introduced in 1931
for use in movie theaters but failed to replace
the 78.
The Long Playing Record (LP)
1940’s

The LP was followed by the release of 45 rpm records
from RCA Victor = 4 min side.

Both new discs (LP & 45) used narrower grooves,
played with a smaller stylus than the old 78s.

These records were called microgrooves.
78 shellac record
7" 45 rpm (single) format
12" 331/3 rpm long-playing (LP)
format
The Long Playing Record (LP)
1950-1960’s

The older 78 continued to be mass produced along with newer
formats.

The Beatles recorded some of the last commercially released
78’s in 1958.

In 1957, a system of cutting and playing back stereo
records was devised and generally accepted by the
industry.
Listening: “Let the Good Times Roll”(1959), Early stereo big band
recording…
The Long Playing Record (LP)
1950-1960’s

Remember from AOR, the stereo LP system was invented by
Blumlein at EMI in 1931, but not commercially utilized until
the 1957.

In early stereo recordings released between 1962 and 1965,
where some instruments are “hard panned” to one side and
other instruments are “hard panned” to the other side,
producers used this mixing technique to maintain isolation
between the instruments so that the listener could easily hear
each singer or instrument.

Now the home record player of stereo had three to four
speeds (78, 45, 33 1/3, and sometimes 16 2/3) to
accommodate the different types of records.
Origins of The LP

Peter Goldmark got mad that he could not listen
to Brahms' "Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor,
opus 15” at a dinner party without flipping the
disc over every 4 minutes (78 rpm discs made of
shellac stored 4 minutes per side with 12 discs
for the entire symphony).
Origins of The LP

Goldmark vowed to change this. He discovered
that 90 percent of all his favorite classic works
were less than 45 minutes.

Goldmark’s team at CBS failed but a team at
Columbia led by William Bachman started work
on a system that would allow up to twenty-five
minutes of uninterrupted listening.
Origins of The LP

One of the reasons it was so difficult to develop a
successful “Lp” disc was because of its slower speed
(33 vs 78) it was forced to hold a narrower bandwidth than
78s. This new technology also provided for better sound than
earlier 78s.

Sarnoff at RCA had to compete. He didn't believe in putting
songs together on one piece of vinyl. He liked individual songs
on each side, just like the old 78, so RCA made 45 rpm.

The 45 rpm had a giant hole in the so that RCA could control
the future development of turntables. Unfortunately it didn’t
work and turntables have ran at 2 speeds ever since.
Origins of The LP

Dispute was settled in 1951 when the LP became the
industry standard for the album package, while the
45rpm 7” record was for used for singles.

The “Lp” disc changed the record business because it It
shifted the focus from the individual song to the
album collection. Also opened up foreign markets.

How do you think this effected songwriting and studio
technology?
Origins of The LP

1949 – South Pacific Soundtrack was first LP hit.

1953 - The first “concept” album, based on Arthur
Godfrey’s “TV Calendar Show,” featured 12 songs, one
for each month. The album was so successful because
it was one of the first where the label negotiated a
reduced royalty rate with the publishers, thereby
lowering the albums cost to the public.
Origins of The LP

Inventors found that an LP record with more than 5
songs (40 min or less) started to lose quality. Still
enough to contain a symphonic movement.

The LP was 12 inches wide. However there was also a
33 1/3rpm 7-inch, known as an EP, or extended play,
with 2 or 3 even 4 songs per side.

Are these conventions still around today?
Reading:
 AES: Birth of the LP handout