The pirate radio stations helped a little to redress the balance, but there have always been 24 hours in a day, and that means only so many 45 got played across the world. In Britain, the weirdness of needle time, which, up until 1967, prevented the BBC playing too many records, in order to protect musicians’ jobs (go figure), meant that even fewer records got played. Success depended on getting a single on the radio, and then getting it on heavy rotation to convince people to go out and buy it. Hundreds of millions of singles were sold every year in the 60s, and while there was a great deal more million-sellers back then, there were also many more records released. By the time The Beatles came along, the 45 was selling in vast numbers – at least for some artists. The 78rpm shellac discs competed for much of the 50s, but finally lost out to the 45 in the early 60s, as every home, seemingly, had a record player on which you could stack seven or eight 45s to play in sequence. While you’re reading, listen to our Lost 60s playlist here. Come the following decade, hundreds of millions of singles were being sold, making the 7” single the format of choice for much 1960s music.
Singles were everywhere, played on radio, put onto jukeboxes, and, more importantly, bought in their millions by fans. As rock’n’roll took hold during the 50s, so did the 45. Country music was green, for example inexplicably, R&B was orange, rather than blue. Before 45s there were 78s, and it wasn’t until 1949 that RCA released the first 45 when they did, they were pressed in colored vinyl to reflect the music. When we say “singles,” in the context of music, we immediately think of those little 45rpm records in brightly colored bags.
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