| ← 1947 |  |
1949 → |
| Album Chart of 1948 |
THE DAWNING OF THE LP ERA
For the first time ever, the United States were not represented at the top of my album chart. But there was a much bigger story than THAT going on…
Back in 1931, RCA Victor had debuted the first commercially available vinyl long-player designed for playback at 33⅓ RPM, but the venture was beset with technical problems and customers were not happy; by 1933 the format had disappeared from trace in the home music market. Much like the space race, the battle was on, although there was no big hurry what with the depression and the war. It was the boffins employed by Columbia who finally solved the problems various, and they duly launched the world’s first “microgroove long players” in the summer of ‘48 - the time was right.
“COLUMBIA'S DISK MARVEL” proclaimed Billboard excitedly on 29 May 1948. In New York, Columbia president Goddard Lieberson introduced the LP at a press conference in the Waldorf Astoria on June 18, 1948. On show were two formats: a 10” record in diameter, matching that of existing 78 rpm singles, and a 12” record initially earmarked for longer classical works. At hand, were 2 albums being re-issued from their pre-existing 78 formats: there was “The Voice of Frank Sinatra” (CL-6001) to represent the 10” Pop market and the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor with soloist Nathan Milstein, and Bruno Walter conducting the Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of New York (CL-4001) in 12” format for fans of the classical.
CL-4001 was the first to be released on June 28, 1948.
The bulky record albums with 3, 4 or 5 big discs in the book were on a loser almost overnight. The new LP was the bomb - it sounded great and was a lot less hassle to deal with. But we still called it an album. For the sake o’ auld lang syne.
Goodbye noisy old shellac, hello sophisticated vinyl…
p.s. Allez les bleus!
The Jukebox Rebel
24-Sep-2015
Édith Piaf
Decca A-697
“Below average” Crooner / CabaretJukebox picks: “Les Cloches Sonnent” (7.0) • “Monsieur Ernest A Reussi” (6.5) • “Si Tu Partais” (4.8)
Following her highly successful 1947 American tour, Édith Piaf’s stock was high, and she was all set for the worldwide a...more →
Duke Ellington and his Orchestra
Columbia CL-6024
“Lame” JazzJukebox picks: “Hy’a Sue” (5.5) • “On A Turquoise Cloud” (5.4) • “Three Cent Stomp” (4.5)
The 49-year-old bandleader’s first album on Columbia, a moody 10" LP record issued in 1948. The album consisted of CBS s...more →
Album Charts by year
“A-list”
1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
“B-list”
1943 1945 1946 1950 1951 1952 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Album Charts by decade
“A-list”
1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s