How not to dedicate the first article to the legendary vinyl, the undisputed emblem of disco music ??? Object today idolized by many and preserved as a relic of the past.
Oh yes .. vinyl has a very ancient history. At first it was called “horizontal disk” and was presented by Emile Berliner (May 20, 1851 – August 3, 1929, Philadelphia USA) in May 1888 who used it inside talking toys. It was then used as a musical medium with the “Phonograph” and later with the “Gramophone”, conceived in 1877 by Charles Cros even if the first actual working one was made by ‘Thomas Alva Edison who patented it’ in 1878.
The vinyl then became an object for commercial use and the first recording dates back to 1895.
At the end of 1899 the 78 rpm was born which was made of shellac and in 1905 John C. Dunton (Michigan USA) patented the first jukebox calling it “Multiphone”; subsequently the Automatic Musical Instruments Co. realized in 1927 the first completely electronic model. And already in 1946 a certain Tom Saffady (Michigan USA) invented the first version of the picture disc where instead of the black micro-grooves there was an image engraved on the grooves.
However, it was only after the Second World War that Wurlitzer said ‘the law in the field of juke-boxes. He created a model called “Wurlitzer 1015 ″ and sold about 56,000 units which today are among the most sought after models by collectors.
In June 1948, PVC also began to be used as a material to produce horizontal discs from which the name “vinyl” derives. In the same year Columbia Records released the first 33 laps otherwise called long playing while the following year RCA responded with the first single at 45 laps.
The commercialization of discs became more and more widespread and then reached all homes and this was possible from the 60s when the disc player was invented!
Who among us has never played a 45 or a 33 on a device like this .. the famous GELOSO !!
Or did he have fun when he was a child to be a DJ with this record player?
Here we are in the second part and given the absolutely positive response from everyone, how can we not continue with some other technical hints that perhaps not everyone knows.
Technically, the sound of the vinyl record is reproduced analogically by means of a needle, made of diamond or other synthetic material, placed on the engraved groove. The rotation of the record causes the needle to generate vibrations deriving from the irregularity of the groove which, by means of the stylus on which it is mounted, are brought to a transducer, which can be made with various technologies. The acoustic quality is excellent and guarantees a faithful reproduction of music and especially of that recorded before the advent of digital technologies, but only if components of the highest level and therefore very expensive are used to reproduce it. Even today, taking only the ear as a judge, there are those who prefer them to digital systems.
And who but the disc jockeys, who have kept their passion for these mysterious and fascinating objects unchanged over time, to which each of us can surely associate a piece of life.
Oh yes, “vinyl” is the DJ’s favorite, in fact some Italian and foreign labels still produce music on vinyl specifically for disc jockeys. Anyone can’t help but be fascinated by a DJ on the console who holds his headphones with one hand and mixes cymbals with the other? ..
And returning to vinyl as a cult, it is no coincidence that the absolute ranking of the best-selling records published by the RIAA (association of American record companies) reports this ranking:
1 EAGLES / THEIR GREATEST HITS 1971 – 1975 EAGLESÿ
2 THRILLER MICHAEL JACKSON
3 THE WALL PINK FLOYDÿ
4 LED ZEPPELIN IV LED ZEPPELINÿ
5 GREATEST HITS VOLUME I & VOLUME II BILLY JOEL
True milestones in the history of music.
Have you ever made your personal ranking? If so why? don’t try to publish it so let’s do a survey I LOVE DISCO ???