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.