In February 1949, the 45 rpm record was born

Have you heard of Singles Awareness Day, or Singles Appreciation Day? It's celebrated by romantically unattached people the day after Valentine's Day -- sometimes even on Valentine's Day, as a protest against the holiday by people who feel left out. Well, this February I am celebrating a different kind of Singles Appreciation Day, in appreciation of 7-inch vinyl singles! This February marks the 70-year anniversary of the pressing of the very first 45 rpm record. This disc, titled "Whirl Away", was reportedly pressed in February of 1949 for use in record store displays for the purpose of introducing the new format. The 7-inch, 45 rpm format was designed as a more convenient replacement for the heavier and wider shellac 78 rpm records which preceded them. Here is a YouTube video providing us with this February 1949 demonstration record in all of its scratched-up glory (the B-side was blank):





The Eddy Arnold song that we hear a snippet from on this disc was the B-side of the first commercial 45 rpm single, which was released on March 31, 1949. That single, "Texarkana Baby", had previously been released as a 10-inch, 78 rpm shellac single in 1948 (RCA Victor 20-2806). For its first 7-inch vinyl 45 pressing, the country single was pressed in green vinyl, because the earliest 45's were color-coded according to their genres. That's right: the very cool art of colored vinyl records dates back at least 70 years! Another YouTube video treats us to this historic disc:





This song, "Bouquet Of Roses", was on the B-side. This video shows us the original 78 rpm record playing:





I hope you have enjoyed this vinyl record history moment. Happy Singles Appreciation Day!




Eddy Arnold "Texarkana Baby" (b/w "Bouquet Of Roses") (RCA Victor 48-0001) 1949

Track Listing:

A. Texarkana Baby
B. Bouquet Of Roses