Happy 71st Birthday to the LP!

The 1st ever long playing records. Columbia ML4001

What's the oldest LP record in your collection?  Well, it's for sure that it's no more than 71 years old, since the modern, long-playing, vinyl microgroove record was introduced by Columbia Records in June, 1948.

Cribbing from Wikipedia, Columbia Records unveiled the LP at a press conference at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York on June 18, 1948.  The new 33 1/3 rpm format, which had been some years in development, was initially introduced in two sizes: a 10-inch disk, matching the size of a standard 78 rpm single, and a new 12-inch disk.  At the press conference, Columbia displayed its first 133 LP records: 85 12-inch classical LPs (Columbia catalog numbers ML 4001 to 4085), 26 10-inch classical LPs (Columbia ML 2001 to 2026), 18 10-inch popular LPs (CL 6001 to 6018), and four 10-inch juvenile records (JL 8001 to 8004). Even though all 133 records were made available at the same time, the distinction for the being the first modern vinyl 12-inch LP goes to Columbia ML 4001, since it was listed first in the Columbia catalog.  ML 4001 (above) was Mendelssohn's Concerto in E Minor with Nathan Milstein on violin, accompanied by the New York Philharmonic and conducted by Bruno Walter.  Initially, Columbia only released classical recordings on the new 12-inch format, so the first popular long playing microgroove record was the 10-inch disk, CL 6001, The Voice of Frank Sinatra. 

Four-disk 78 album C-112

The music on CL 6001 was a repressing of a four-disk set of 78s (C-112) released in 1946 (left).  You've probably seen some of these multi-disk 78 rpm album sets, with cardboard covers and multiple sleeves for the various disks.  Which, by the way, is the reason LPs became known as "albums."  Since one LP could hold the same amount of music as a multi-disk 78 album, people began to refer to LPs as "albums."  

Columbia's decision to release only classical works on the new 12-inch LP format was a practical one.  After doing research, the record company determined that about 95% of all classical works were shorter than 45 minutes.  So, the new 12-inch disk -- which could hold 45 minutes of music -- was perfect for the vast majority of classical recordings.  At the time, no one could imagine needing that much time for a popular music recording, so there was no thought given to releasing popular titles on 12-inch disks.  The popular music industry and the record-buying public were firmly focused on hit singles.  Even by 1958, 10 years after the introduction of the LP, singles still outsold LPs three to one.  (By then, of course, 10-inch 78s were rapidly being replaced by the 7-inch 45 rpm disk introduced by RCA in 1949.)  In addition, since the new, larger LPs were very expensive (the list price of the first series of 12-inch disks was $4.85, equivalent to more than $50 in today's money), the record industry figured that only serious (and presumably more well-heeled) classical music lovers would shell out for the larger disks. 

 
I don't collect 10-inch disks, but over the years I have picked up a dozen or so.  The earliest 10-inch disks in my collection are from 1953, and include Stan Kenton's New Concepts Of Artistry and Ryhthm, Nat "King" Cole's Two In Love, and a collection of Mexican favorites called South Of The Border by the Al Sack Orchestra.  I find the 10-inch LP format oddly appealing, though as a practical matter it made little sense to continue having two different long playing formats, since it cost more or less the same to produce a 10-inch or 12-inch disk.  By the mid 1950s the 10-inch disk was already becoming scarce. 

Even though Columbia was in no hurry to release 12-inch popular music titles, other independent labels weren't nearly as reluctant.  In fact, in July, 1949, scarcely more than a year after Columbia's press conference at the Waldorf, Dial Records released the first ever 12-inch popular music LP -- Charlie Parker's The Bird Blows The Blues.  Its catalog number was Dial Records 901.  Dial Records 902, Erroll Garner's By Gaslight, came out shortly after.  Columbia held out until September, 1951 before finally issuing a popular music title on the larger format.  Their first 12-inch title was Columbia GL-500, Benny Goodman: Combos - Benny Goodman Quintet, Sextet, & Septet. 

Dial 901, the first 12-inch popular music LP

The oldest 12-inch LPs in my collection are classical titles from 1951.  I have a couple of early RCA Red Seal releases of Brahms Symphonies played by the NBC Orchestra, conducted by Arturo Toscanini.  Also from 1951, I have the Living Presence High Fidelity Sampler on Mercury, which, as the name implies, was a 98 cent loss leader with selections from Mercury's brand new Living Presence classical music series.  I also have a 1953 album by French singer Jacqueline Francois, American Favorites, released as Columbia ML 4780.  Since it was part of their ML (or Masterworks) series, Columbia regarded this as part of their classical (or at least not popular music) series.

The earliest 12-inch popular music albums in my collection are from 1954.  I have 15 original 1954 LPs, including three by Dave Brubeck: Jazz Goes To College; Jazz At The College Of The Pacific; and David Brubeck At Storyville, all on Columbia Records. Also from 1954 I have a couple of the earliest titles from EmArcy Records (Mercury's jazz subsidiary which was founded in 1954), Sarah Vaughn - Sarah Vaughn, and The Blue Stars of France - Lullaby of Broadway.  The Sarah Vaughn title is fabulous, a seminal early vocal/jazz session.  Among the other 1954 titles I have are volumes 2 and 3 from the eventual 11-part Clef Records Genius Of Art Tatum series, and Cal Tjader's Mambo With Tjader, which was released by Fantasy Records on really cool red vinyl.

Several of Tjader's early Fantasy Records albums were released on red vinyl.  Surprisingly, they aren't that rare or expensive and make great collectibles.  Keep your eyes peeled in the used bins.  And while Mambo With Tjader was one of the earliest LPs pressed on colored vinyl, there are 78s on colored shellac going back to the 1920s, including some bizarre splatter 78s on the Morrison Records label in the 1940s.

Cool splatter 78 shellac records from the 1940s

By the time we get to 1955, I've got more than 50 12-inch popular music LPs, including titles by Frank Sinatra, Julie London, Stan Getz, Ella Fitzgerald, Joni James, June Christy, and Gene Krupa, among many others.  

The Sinatra title from 1955 brings us full circle, because it's the 12-inch version of The Voice (bottom left below) which has most of the tracks from the 1948 10-inch LP (top right below), which was a repressing of the 1946 four-disk 78 rpm album (top left below), which was a compilation of the original four separate 78 disks.  And for good measure, Columbia also released the same tracks as a two-disk set of 7" 45s (bottom right below) in 1952.

Enjoy the music!