National Vinyl Record Day!
How cool is that?
I've always been pulled back into my childhood when I think about vinyl records. Being born in 1980, to me, it was the time of change between 8 tracks and records. Although, that really isn't factual.
8 tracks actual came out in September 1965, and records were out way before that. Almost 100 years before that.
My mom had/has a TON of records. Have you ever seen a picture or scene in a movie where the girl is laying in her room with records everywhere? Piled or strewn around as she listens. Yup! That was my mom,...and my sister and me.
The first record ever made wasn't even made of vinyl. Nope, it was made from shellac. Many inventors had been trying for years to find a way to record sound and be able to play it back.
Thomas Edison actually did record himself saying a piece of the nursery rhyme, Mary Had a Little Lamb, on a phonograph in 1877.
10 years later in 1887, German inventor, Emile Berlinger created the first device that recorded and played back sound on a lateral-cut flat disc, the forerunner of the modern record.
He founded the United States Gramophone Company in 1894.
It really is fascinating. Whether you speak German or not, it is pretty cool to hear the first recorded record.
In 1948, Columbia Records released the first actual record made from Vinyl.(Shellac records stopped being produced completely in 1960)
Vinyl is Polyvinyl Chloride(PVC)
This was a huge upgrade. Prior to vinyl, shellac records could only hold/record 1 song on each side. Approximately 5 minutes of music. Vinyl made it possible to record whole albums of songs.
Can you imagine being a teenager during this time?
It would be like in the 90's when we didn't have to rewind or fast-forward our cassettes. We could just choose a number of the song we wanted on a CD and play it right where we wanted it to start.
These kids would be mind-blown!
There are now, 7 main types of records.
LPs-long playing
10 inch(long playing microgroove records)
7 inch-singles
12 inch-albums(single cut at 45 RPM)
EP-extended play(somewhere between single play and LP)
Flex Disc(flexible, super thin disc)
Dub Plate(popular with DJs)
From 1887 until the 1960s records and record players were improved and standardized, with 33 and 45 RPM records supplementing most other formats in the years after WWII.
What we see today is pretty much been the standard record since around 1970.
Even with records remaining and being considered durable, we've still been through 8 tracks, cassettes, CDs, and MP3 players.
Surprisingly, in 2020(wasn't a total bust), vinyl record sales actually surpassed the sale of CDs.
Surveys have shown it isn't Gen X or Boomers doing the majority of buying, either. It actually is Millennials doing all the vinyl record buying!
Retro is in, I guess. I'll take it.
Again, there is something totally nostalgic about a vinyl spinning out our favorite tunes.
A couple of the biggest selling albums today are,
If you don't have a record player, there are tons of options available from new, vintage or used.
Shut. The. Front. Door!
Check out this vintage looking gramophone!
Gorgeous!
I would love it!
I could also go for something more modern and retro, like this
Both are beautiful, and I can see myself listening to records for hours!
What is your favorite style?
Do you still own any "Vinyl"?
I hope you've enjoyed learning as much as I have. Happy National Vinyl Day!
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