The record buying public weren’t quite ready at the time for these expensive changes and the format slinked back into semi-obscurity for a couple years leaving the Mono 45rpm single as king of the formats. But in 1958, stereo records were more expensive to produce and required updated, expensive equipment for them to be heard as intended. Columbia especially fought the corner of the existing 33 1/3rd rpm format rather than adopt their rivals much vaunted ‘new system’ 45 format. Many labels were jumping on the new Stereo format and started releasing their 7inch single discs as such. So how come, with the 45 rpm single being the dominant market format did the 7 inch, 33 Little LP come to fruition? Well, by the end of the fifties (from 1958 onwards), the stereo mix had been developed by a number of companies including Bell and Decca but had been perfected by Audio Fidelity, and RCA’s rival Columbia Records were stubbornly maintaining their 33 rpm format. Perfect for the post war booming, teenage record buying public. The new discs weighed only 10% of what the previous shellac 12inch discs weighed, so distribution costs were slashed, mail order boomed and shelves were filled with much more product than in earlier times. The innovative 7inch disc that had been under development for almost a decade, revolutionised the way record dealers could promote and sell the wares as well as providing the record buying public with a much better way of storing their music. Coloured wax/vinyl has been around since the very first 45s were issued. (1) The early discs were manufactured and categorised as follows: Country and Western. The first RCA 45rpm singles were manufactured on fantastic, colour coded vinyl that allowed buyers to categorise their purchases by genres via the actual colour of the disc. Small, compact and more robust than previous discs, it became an immediate success and would remain the recognised, most popular format for music buyers for the next 50 years almost. The format for the 7 inch vinyl single was unveiled to the public and music industry as a whole, as far back as the first RCA industry wide bulletins on March 31st 1949 and would be consolidated by the major companies, led by RCA in the 1950s. To appreciate the history of the ‘Little LP’, it’s probably best to revisit the historical timeline of the record industry and highlight its major developments and its relationship with its customers.

But what on Earth was it that made the Stereo, 33 rpm, multi track, single 7inch disc, seem an attractive prospect? The traditional soul fraternity are fortunate enough to have had a number of larger, better distributed labels show interest in producing these interesting discs including Atlantic, ABC, Okeh, King and of course Motown.

Most record diggers will have at least a few of what became known over the years as simply ‘Little LPs’.

33 rpm 7 inch