RCA Victor's 1949 Preview of the World's First 45 rpm Records!

[Mcnzlea]

Whoa! "Persian PEACOCK"? Do you suppose RCA was onto something just a few years later with...you know? And what about NBC's "Red" and "Blue" radio networks? Another inspiration for the TV era, perhaps?

When did RCA phase out the different colors and switch to basic black for all records?

[SoundOut260]

nice history of the 45rpm thanks

[chkjns]

@SoundOut260 Tech was changing left & right back then, too. 33s were also just out then too & only 10" with 4 songs per side so they'd still look like 78s & not 'scare' the public. 9 years later came stereo, the first cartridges to play them cost what one thousand gallons of gas costs now. Yes, THAT much! Within a year, the price dropped to only 100 gallons! Come visit my music history channel of 800 playlists, including lists for every year since 1900. chuck

[noahf67]

Do we know the narrator on this..? Sounds unplaceably familiar.

[fromthesidelines]

Incidentally, the excerpt of Vaughn Monroe's "Riders In the Sky", at 2:04, is an alternate take. The one that was "officially" released in May of '49 was one of the first "hit records" issued in the new "45" format.

[fromthesidelines]

That's right, 'electron'- on March 31, 1949, the very first "new 45" RCA issued was Eddy Arnold's "Texarkana Baby", b/w "Bouquet of Roses".

As for your 45 "museum", 'Game', a little organization and shelving would help considerably. DON'T SELL THEM!!! (at least, not yet} Your collection would be the same as, say, referring to the Library of Congress' collection of historical recordings as "hoarding"...

[Normk1111]

A little trivia. For the first few weeks, the only 45 releases were reissues from the 78 catalog. There was no new product on these first 45s. After a few weeks new releases were then issued on 45.

[GameICY]

I was buying and picking them when everyone else couldn't get rid of them fast enough. Now im scared my house might cave in from all the weight. I could be on A&E's Hoarders show, but all vinyl. I originally planned to sell them but the hording disorder makes me love each and every one too much to say goodbye.

[electronmusicjunkie]

I believe the very first 45 was  "Texarcanna Baby" By Eddy Arnold.

[fromthesidelines]

The "45" was RCA's "answer" to Columbia's "33 Long Play" record; David Sarnoff was SO angry that William Paley's company had beaten HIS- supposedly the "World Leader In Recorded Sound"- in perfecting the "long playing" record in June 1948 [RCA tried marketing a 10 inch 33 "Program Transcription" {LP} between 1931 and '33, but the technology of the day, and the Depression, forced them to abandon it], Sarnoff ordered his staff to come up with their own "microgroove" record...and this was it.

[PhotoVisionsInc]

Oh yes, the Whirl-Away demo 45. Why is the sound bad in the video? I have this same cover with all 7 original records,,, never played. I helped a lady, who worked in a Macy's record department for years, move one day. At the end of the day, she gave me this cover with the records. The different colors are fantastic. She told me in March 1949, at a Chicago Hotel, she and other record department heads were invited to the launching of the 45. They all received the cover with 7 records.

[desoto1961]

Just amazing !

[vinylelvis1]

WOW i have read about the Whirl-Away Demonstration record...but never heard it!From what i know...it was played on a record player while above it...a copy of each 45 mentioned was mounted on some kind of spinning display. I also heard there are only like 2 of these Whirl-Away Demonstration records in existance! Thanks for posting this important piece of history!

[sideshowtink]

Wonderful!!!!

[RaymondTVinyl]

What a dream thing to own!! Do you know how many copies are known to exist?

[srercrcr]

Pretty cool.