The Start of the Demise of the 78 rpm Record

Side A

Side B

Side A

Side B

Riders in the sky is often regarded as the first 45 rpm record, released in 1949 by RCA Victor. The image on this page is of the UK 78 rpm version, released by His Masters Voice.

The 45 rpm 7" (18cm) record originally had a large centre hole to suit the type of auto-changer that was common at the time and in addition, this large centre hole was used for juke boxes. To play the discs on conventional turntables and auto angers an adaptor or "spider" was inserted in the large centre hole. It was not long before manufactures produced records with a push out centre.

From the matrix nos., it would appear that this was a re-release. The B side has a very much later matrix no.

At this time, before about 1960 it was common to delay releasing US recordings in the UK to protect the UK entertainment industry. It was also common for UK artists to release cover versions of US hits. There were, however some notable exceptions where the recording of a well-known, established artist would be released within a few months of the US release.


© 2005 M F Hazell