| Cruisin' the Past |
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| Cruisin’ the Past by Ed Dooley |
And they shall have music wherever they go
Today’s teenagers carry their entire music collections with them in devices as small
as a credit card or download them on their cell phones. In our day, before
widespread miniaturization of electronics, our music devices were considerably
larger and bulkier; nevertheless, we could carry them with us and have music
wherever we went.
Our main source of music was the radio, which took various forms. For most of us,
the car radio was probably our first “portable” radio, but it was attached, of course,
to a 2000 pound automobile. Not only was it a permanent fixture in the car, but until
the development of solid state components, it contained vacuum tubes which, on
Tucson’s bumpy roads, would often become loose in their sockets and interrupt
transmission. In this case, a quick slap of the hand on the receiver sometimes got
the thing going again. Portable radios were available, but they were large boxes
and, like car radios, had vacuum tubes that often worked themselves loose, burned
out, broke, or failed. For the most part, we were limited to locations where we could
“plug in” the radio for power with the radio’s cord or an extension cord. All of this
changed with the invention and widespread use of transistors.
Invented in 1947 by Bell Labs, the transistor wasn’t mass produced and didn’t come
into commercial use until the late 1950s, just in time for our final years in high
school. Transistors – semiconductors -- were not only small and reliable, but made
it possible to produce small, portable radios. The first practical all-transistor radio
was demonstrated in Germany in 1953. Texas Instruments marketed one in 1954
that cost $49.95, or about $380 in present dollars! Prices did not come down until
the 1960s when some models fell below $10, still pricey for the time but affordable
to some. The result was the rapid development of transistor radios of all sizes and
shapes, and they started showing up among us at picnics, parties, and other
outdoor gatherings. At first the radios were about the size of a shoebox, but soon
they became smaller and smaller until Japanese companies started selling
“pocketable” versions. Most of these very small radios came with earphones.
The common air signal was the AM signal, and most radio stations broadcast in the
AM band. The FM band existed, but it was restricted mainly to classical music
stations. In 1960, the year of our graduation, Tucson had nine AM stations: KTAN
(the NBC affiliate), KEVT, KCEE, KCUB, KMOP, KTUC (the ABC affiliate), KOLD
(the CBS affiliate), KAIR, and -- the leader among young listeners -- KTKT. (For an
excellent account of the rise and popularity of KTKT, see Ray Lindstrom’s KTKT
webpage.) Most of these stations, like KTKT, were “Top 40,” meaning that they
played the most popular music of the day, interspersed with news, weather, sports
reports, and the chatter of DJ’s. The most popular DJ at the time was KTKT’s Frank
Kalil, who kept up a constant commentary on songs and musicians and an endless
supply of jokes.
Next to the radio, our main source of music was records. And here, as in so much
else in the late 1950s, important changes were taking place. We started the 50s
with large record discs that turned at 78 rpm (revolutions per minute), were easily
broken or scratched, and were played on record consoles that often were heavy
pieces of furniture. There were some “portables,” but these had to be wound up like
clocks to run. In 1948, the Columbia Company developed the 12 inch Long Playing
Vinyl disc that turned at 33 1/3 rpm, had much less surface noise, and did not break
easily. Several innovations in our time added to the popularity of the “LP” or 33 1/3
record. “High fidelity” produced more faithful sound reproduction and became
standard in our day, so much so that “hi-fi” became a generic term for these records
and the units on which they were played. In addition, a new “stereophonic sound”
feature produced greater fidelity and gave us the term “stereo records.” The “LP”
was a favorite throughout our high school days and beyond for records albums
(collections of songs) that could play for about 25 to 30 minutes.
But the record that had the greatest effect on us was the development of the 45 rpm
record. The 45 rpm record, recognizable for its small size and large center hole, was
introduced to the mass market in the mid-50s, coinciding with the rise of rock and
roll music. Unlike 78s, the 45 rpm record contained only one song on each side:
usually the “single,” an especially popular song featuring a particular artist, on the “a-
side,” and a less known or “bonus” song on the “flip-side” or “b-side.” Sometimes
the “flip side” became more popular than the “a-side, depending on how it was
received by teenagers. The period from 1955 to about 1965 was the “golden age”
for the 45, and it was not unusual for us to have dozens of them in our collections.
These records came in paper sleeves with the record company’s name and logo
prominently displayed, and we tended to keep them in small, tan, lidded boxes with
handles made especially for 45 record collections. I suspect that if many of us were
to search our attics or basements, we would find the remnants of these boxes and
record collections. Some of the original recordings might even have some value.
Along with the change in disc size, record players also changed. From large
consoles, record players – again thanks to transistors – became smaller and more
portable. They began to look like luggage and could be carried from place to place,
but still had to be plugged in. Most could play 78s, 33s, and 45s, and they contained
a “record changer” that allowed one to stack four or five records on the spindle for
“continuous playing.” Most popular, however, was the small record player that was
developed exclusively for 45 rpm records and could be easily carried everywhere.
Most had to be plugged in, but there were some that ran on batteries. These were
called “portable turntables.”
Commercial tape recorders were fairly rare and quite expensive, but they were
available. Before the tape recorder, however, there was the wire recorder, a device
that was popular from about 1945 to 1952. As the name implies, it looked like a
modern tape recorder, but instead of using magnetic tape, it used a spool of wire. (I
had one in 1958, but it was difficult to use, the wire often became tangled, and there
was no way to splice a broken wire.) Mainly, we had reel-to-reel tape recorders that
used magnetic tape. Generally they were very large, heavy, and expensive, but
there were some small, battery operated Japanese models available in the early
1960s. Tape recorders were used primarily for voice recordings and not, as later,
for music. The reel-to-reel tape recorder remained standard until the mid to late
1960s, when tape cartridges and cassettes were introduced. This development
went hand in hand with the development of small, portable, battery operated tape
recorders that could be held in the hand or placed in a pocket and the introduction of
8-track and cassette players in automobiles.
By the time we graduated, miniaturization was making it possible for us to carry our
music around with us wherever we went. And yet, the devices were still relatively
large, limited, and expensive. The day of the iPod and other devices was still
decades away.
Today’s teenagers carry their entire music collections with them in devices as small
as a credit card or download them on their cell phones. In our day, before
widespread miniaturization of electronics, our music devices were considerably
larger and bulkier; nevertheless, we could carry them with us and have music
wherever we went.
Our main source of music was the radio, which took various forms. For most of us,
the car radio was probably our first “portable” radio, but it was attached, of course,
to a 2000 pound automobile. Not only was it a permanent fixture in the car, but until
the development of solid state components, it contained vacuum tubes which, on
Tucson’s bumpy roads, would often become loose in their sockets and interrupt
transmission. In this case, a quick slap of the hand on the receiver sometimes got
the thing going again. Portable radios were available, but they were large boxes
and, like car radios, had vacuum tubes that often worked themselves loose, burned
out, broke, or failed. For the most part, we were limited to locations where we could
“plug in” the radio for power with the radio’s cord or an extension cord. All of this
changed with the invention and widespread use of transistors.
Invented in 1947 by Bell Labs, the transistor wasn’t mass produced and didn’t come
into commercial use until the late 1950s, just in time for our final years in high
school. Transistors – semiconductors -- were not only small and reliable, but made
it possible to produce small, portable radios. The first practical all-transistor radio
was demonstrated in Germany in 1953. Texas Instruments marketed one in 1954
that cost $49.95, or about $380 in present dollars! Prices did not come down until
the 1960s when some models fell below $10, still pricey for the time but affordable
to some. The result was the rapid development of transistor radios of all sizes and
shapes, and they started showing up among us at picnics, parties, and other
outdoor gatherings. At first the radios were about the size of a shoebox, but soon
they became smaller and smaller until Japanese companies started selling
“pocketable” versions. Most of these very small radios came with earphones.
The common air signal was the AM signal, and most radio stations broadcast in the
AM band. The FM band existed, but it was restricted mainly to classical music
stations. In 1960, the year of our graduation, Tucson had nine AM stations: KTAN
(the NBC affiliate), KEVT, KCEE, KCUB, KMOP, KTUC (the ABC affiliate), KOLD
(the CBS affiliate), KAIR, and -- the leader among young listeners -- KTKT. (For an
excellent account of the rise and popularity of KTKT, see Ray Lindstrom’s KTKT
webpage.) Most of these stations, like KTKT, were “Top 40,” meaning that they
played the most popular music of the day, interspersed with news, weather, sports
reports, and the chatter of DJ’s. The most popular DJ at the time was KTKT’s Frank
Kalil, who kept up a constant commentary on songs and musicians and an endless
supply of jokes.
Next to the radio, our main source of music was records. And here, as in so much
else in the late 1950s, important changes were taking place. We started the 50s
with large record discs that turned at 78 rpm (revolutions per minute), were easily
broken or scratched, and were played on record consoles that often were heavy
pieces of furniture. There were some “portables,” but these had to be wound up like
clocks to run. In 1948, the Columbia Company developed the 12 inch Long Playing
Vinyl disc that turned at 33 1/3 rpm, had much less surface noise, and did not break
easily. Several innovations in our time added to the popularity of the “LP” or 33 1/3
record. “High fidelity” produced more faithful sound reproduction and became
standard in our day, so much so that “hi-fi” became a generic term for these records
and the units on which they were played. In addition, a new “stereophonic sound”
feature produced greater fidelity and gave us the term “stereo records.” The “LP”
was a favorite throughout our high school days and beyond for records albums
(collections of songs) that could play for about 25 to 30 minutes.
But the record that had the greatest effect on us was the development of the 45 rpm
record. The 45 rpm record, recognizable for its small size and large center hole, was
introduced to the mass market in the mid-50s, coinciding with the rise of rock and
roll music. Unlike 78s, the 45 rpm record contained only one song on each side:
usually the “single,” an especially popular song featuring a particular artist, on the “a-
side,” and a less known or “bonus” song on the “flip-side” or “b-side.” Sometimes
the “flip side” became more popular than the “a-side, depending on how it was
received by teenagers. The period from 1955 to about 1965 was the “golden age”
for the 45, and it was not unusual for us to have dozens of them in our collections.
These records came in paper sleeves with the record company’s name and logo
prominently displayed, and we tended to keep them in small, tan, lidded boxes with
handles made especially for 45 record collections. I suspect that if many of us were
to search our attics or basements, we would find the remnants of these boxes and
record collections. Some of the original recordings might even have some value.
Along with the change in disc size, record players also changed. From large
consoles, record players – again thanks to transistors – became smaller and more
portable. They began to look like luggage and could be carried from place to place,
but still had to be plugged in. Most could play 78s, 33s, and 45s, and they contained
a “record changer” that allowed one to stack four or five records on the spindle for
“continuous playing.” Most popular, however, was the small record player that was
developed exclusively for 45 rpm records and could be easily carried everywhere.
Most had to be plugged in, but there were some that ran on batteries. These were
called “portable turntables.”
Commercial tape recorders were fairly rare and quite expensive, but they were
available. Before the tape recorder, however, there was the wire recorder, a device
that was popular from about 1945 to 1952. As the name implies, it looked like a
modern tape recorder, but instead of using magnetic tape, it used a spool of wire. (I
had one in 1958, but it was difficult to use, the wire often became tangled, and there
was no way to splice a broken wire.) Mainly, we had reel-to-reel tape recorders that
used magnetic tape. Generally they were very large, heavy, and expensive, but
there were some small, battery operated Japanese models available in the early
1960s. Tape recorders were used primarily for voice recordings and not, as later,
for music. The reel-to-reel tape recorder remained standard until the mid to late
1960s, when tape cartridges and cassettes were introduced. This development
went hand in hand with the development of small, portable, battery operated tape
recorders that could be held in the hand or placed in a pocket and the introduction of
8-track and cassette players in automobiles.
By the time we graduated, miniaturization was making it possible for us to carry our
music around with us wherever we went. And yet, the devices were still relatively
large, limited, and expensive. The day of the iPod and other devices was still
decades away.
