1950-1959 

Rock & Roll and Stereo

1950   The improvements in sound quality of the new vinyl format encourage record companies to embrace the technology, this marks the beginning of the end for the 78rpm shellac disc

1950   RCA Victor issues records on Columbia 12 inch LP format

1950   Introduction of 16 rpm disks for spoken word recordings

1951   Columbia releases records on the RCA 7 inch 45 rpm format

1951   First Jukebox able to play 7 inch 45 rpm records

1952   Alan Freed starts the influential radio show Moondog's Rock and Roll Party

1954   Bill Haley releases "Shake, Rattle and Roll" and "Rock Around the Clock"

1954   Record companies deliver 7 inch 45 rpm record singles to radio stations instead of 78s

1956   Ska, an interpretation of American R&B develops in Jamaica. Ska is to become the foundations of rocksteady, reggae, dancehall and ragga.

1956   The Chrysler Imperial in-car turntable 16-2/3 rpm record player with 7-inch ultramicrogroove records developed by Peter Goldmark - the man who invented the 33-1/3 rpm long playing (LP) record format

1957   The Recording Industry Association of America chooses the Westrex standard for stereo records. Stereo vinyl is to became the dominant medium of recorded music

1958  RCA introduces its first stereo LPs

1958  Some home systems employ stereo components