Five years into the 45

By 1954 there were easily more than one-hundred and twenty record labels putting out 45s, competing in every genre for a market share.  The market for the 78RPM which had held on through these years as a choice for consumers was finally beginning to erode. More and more radio stations added the equipment upgrades needed to play the 45 and jukebox operators continued to abandon the 78 with record speed (no pun intended). The main driving force in convincing radio stations to adopt the 45 was the emergence of the a teenage listening audience whose focus was on non-traditional music. The music scene was rapidly changing. The  charts of music sales showed a marked increase in sales of Jazz, Doo Woop, Rock-a-Billy, and Rhythm & Blues plus Bill Haley was shaking it up along with a young Mississippi truck driver who'd released another four singles in Memphis. Rock 'n' Roll was becoming mainstream.  It was as if the big bands and their singers disappeared overnight. Radio was not broadcasting classical, opera or theater as before and it all can be traced back to that one spark in 1949 that pushed the music forward onto the 45.

45s at 65: A new time had begun

45s at 65: A new time had begun: 1954 saw a rather convoluted top hits list with three versions of the Ballad Of Davy Crocket, schmaltzy instrumentals, romantic big band bal...

A new time had begun

1954 saw a rather convoluted top hits list with three versions of the Ballad Of Davy Crocket, schmaltzy instrumentals, romantic big band ballads, and not much in the way of young peoples music. 1955 changed all of that forever. Elvis, The Platters, Carl Perkins, Bill Dogget, Fats Domino, Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers, Patience & Prudence, Gene Vincent, Buchannan & Goodman, Little Richard, Stanford Clark, Otis Williams, Pat Boone, The Caddilacs, Clyde McPhatter, Johnny Cash, The Crew Cuts, and The Diamonds all became household names with American teens.  One more name rose to the top, thanks to the movies. Bill Haley and His Comets revived the 'B' side of a failed release when "Rock Around the Clock" became the opening theme of the film, High School Confidential. Mom and Dad had no idea who these interlopers were and didn't care to know, so they were relegated to their Airline console's record changer if they wanted to play their favorite 78 because the radio was being transformed right before their ears and more likely because television had now taken over the entertainment of most adults in their free time. For young America, the music was really living on in the 45.

45s at 65: The hangers on.

45s at 65: The hangers on.: The more things change, the more they stay the same or so the executives in charge of major record labels believed. In spite of an ever chan...

The hangers on.

The more things change, the more they stay the same or so the executives in charge of major record labels believed. In spite of an ever changing landscape in popular music, some labels refused to give in and accept that rock 'n' roll was here. These were not labels specializing in regional ethnic music, they were the established majors. Columbia Records, London Records and Decca Records all maintained that stiff upper lip, so to speak. Traditional good music was foremost on the minds of the A & R directors at those labels. Mitch Miller was known as the king of generic album music in an age of expanding 45 rock and roll markets. Sir Edward Lewis of British Decca, parent of the London subsidiary, preferred the Mitch Miller approach toward popular music and resisted attempts to expand the popular catalogue to include rock and roll, instead preferring Mantovani and established popular artists. U.S. Decca early on in the 45 expansion followed suit keeping mainstream pops and country on Decca while leaving other genres to their Brunswick and Coral subsidiary labels who parlayed their way to success with the new 45 R&B and Rock 'n' Roll markets. All three of these hangers on would eventually succumb and join the music revolution that began in 1949 when the music first spun on 45.