The History of Vinyl

1940 Production of records halted by the advent of World War II and the lack of shellac due to the invasion of South East Asia by the Japanese.The replacement of the base material was discovered from a plastic resin derivative of petroleum called vinyl

1940s The first DJs emerge as entertainers for troops overseas. During WWII, persons armed with a turntable, a pile of records, and a basic amplifier would entertain troops in mess halls, spinning Glen Miller, the Andrews Sisters, and Benny Goodman. It was much easier than sending an entire band overseas

1943 The first V-Discs were shipped from the RCA Victor pressing plant in Camden, New Jersey

1944 Working tape recorders brought back to the USA from Germany

1946 RCA Victor releases the very first commercial vinylite record

1948 Columbia introduces the first 12-inch 33-1/3 rpm microgroove LP vinylite record with 23-minute play-time per side it also has a special turntable to play them on made by Philco

1949 RCA Victor introduce the 7-inch 45 rpm micro-groove vinyl single and compatible turn table.

1949 Capitol became the first major label to support all three recording speeds of 78, 45, 33-1/3 rpm

1949 In Jamaica, sound systems develop playing the latest in R 'n' B 45s.

1949 Todd Storz from the KOWH radio station sets up a Top 40

Twentieth Century history is that of rapid technological change and World War II was possibly the zenith of this growth and change. Following a strike by the AFM (American Federation Of Musicians), demanding royalties for musicians who had lost work due to the rise of pre-recorded music, the amount of new music recorded dropped and, with the advent of war, many musicians were then conscripted.
Demand was, however, still high, especially among the homesick troops. As a result special 12 and 16 inch radio transcription records playing at 33 1/3 were shipped to special army DJs and POWs in order to boost morale. They contained both important troop information and top hits of the day, often recorded free of charge by big artists such as Glenn Miller and the Andrews Sisters. These "V-discs" (V for Victory or Robert Vincent who introduced the concept) faced several large problems. The discs, made from shellac, were brittle and often arrived cracked or broken, and as Japan invaded Asia the source of shellac, the Lac beetle of South Asia, became scarce. Added to this was the recurring problem of shellac as a medium. It had to be stored very carefully or, as an organic compound it would deteriorate and was also easily scratched. As it was, the amount of playing time even on larger discs was limited to 10 minutes per side. On shellac, increasing the number of grooves beyond 80-100 per inch risked the groove walls collapsing, and making the discs larger than 16 inches was, frankly, unfeasible. A new medium was needed. Enter a versatile compound discovered (twice!) over twenty years before - Polyvinyl Chloride, PVC or Vinyl for short.

Initially discovered by Fritz Klatte in 1912, the patent for this material lapsed in 1925. One year later it was rediscovered by Waldo Semon, whose bosses at B.F Goodrich recognised its potential and patented it. It was being used for insulation, raincoats, shower curtains and gaskets and was fairly expensive yet, once the benefits were demonstrated - durability combined with flexibility and a lifespan of over 100 years - it was adopted as the new material for record production.

At the cessation of hostilities record companies faced a market which still had many pitfalls. Magnetic tape, FM radio transmission and, of course, post war austerity all needed addressing. On June 26th 1948 in New York CBS called a press conference to announce the introduction of the LP or long player. 12 inches wide, turning at 33 1/3 and using the innovation of vinyl had resulted in a record that could contain up to 260 grooves or, more importantly, up to 30 minutes of music per side! It was this ability to overcome the problem of collapsing groove walls which was dubbed the "microgroove" technique.

It was immediately used in conjunction with new magnetic tape recording techniques to create almost faultless recordings. Up until the later years of the war only magnetic wire had been used for limited purposes. 3M (the Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company) and the Brush Development Corporation were already working on a ferric tape, unaware that in Germany a prototype was built and working. Signal Corps technician Jack Mullin found this machine at Radio Frankfurt in Bad Bauheim and when it was brought back to America was quickly developed by none other than Bing Crosby Enterprises who saw its advantages immediately.
Columbia had also ensured that while the new format was developed that a back catalogue was recorded to release on it and, also, that a cheap means of playing it was available. Having beaten RCA in the race to provide a new format, seven months later RCA retaliated with their own - 7inches, also on vinyl with the new microgroove - the single. It became the standard format for the stackable jukebox and also came with an accompanying player that was cheap and played nothing else. However, with 16 and 78 rpm records also available, it would take another ten years for the public to settle its mind as to which speed they wanted their music to rotate at.