Customer Reviews

45 RPM: The History, Heroes, and Villains of a Pop Music Revolution

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is worth more like 4 stars for record collectors, and two stars for most everyone else.

The title promises something different than the book delivers. It was weak on the subject of the role of the 45 in pop culture or on the evolution of music. It didn't ignore the subject entirely, but the observations were commonplace and lacked in-depth analysis.

What the book does offer is pages and pages of trivia that has little to do with "heroes and villains." You will learn that such and such single was initially pressed with a bad stamper and the corrected version has bolder type on the label, or which hit songs were originally intended to be B-sides. This stuff was of minimal interest to me although I can see that it would be to certain types of collectors.

Another problem -- and this is unforgiveable -- is that information about the development of other media contains preposterous errors. To cite a few examples, the Edison cylinder was a "failed format" that "went extinct in the early 1900s" (it lasted until the Great Depression and the basic technology continued in use into the 40s for office dictation); 78 speed was a standard in 1901 (it was not standardized until decades later); and, the pre-recorded cassette came out in 1975 (came out in the 60s and was widely available, if not a big part of the market, prior to 75).

The book contains many interesting photos of labels and sleeves. There was some interesting information about how the recording industry operated and promoted records during the early days of rock & roll. Recommended for these aspects.

For those less interested in record collecting and more interested in the format itself and the record players, I highly recommend "The Fabulous Victrola 45" by Vourtsis, which is very well researched and has tons of photos of rare 45 players.

Shrevie, the obsessive record collector in the movie "Diner," gets a well deserved mention in the introduction to this book. And it's the perfect book for those of us who are like him. You know who you are - you know the subtle logo variations on your favorite record labels and the years they occurred, the B sides and the hits that started as B sides (a list of which is included here), the imperfections in the vinyl on your copy and maybe even how they got there. This is for you!
The title and cover of the book are slightly misleading. This is not a cultural history of the 45 or of rock and roll music, although it touches on both at some length. It's more of a technical guide to various topics, such as the 45's place in the music business, the circumstances that led to its debut in 1949, and its role in the rise of small independent labels and of rock and roll. There are also chapters on how 45s are made and how they have changed in the past half-century, as well as the stories behind some of the more unlikely hits of the rock era. Newer collectors will definitely want to read the chapter on the "holy grail of 45 collecting," the Five Sharps' "Stormy Weather" (no known copies on the 7" format and maybe there never were any, but hope springs eternal!), a story some of us know by heart.
There are shortcomings, as other reviewers have pointed out. Besides the historical gaffes regarding other musical formats, the final chapter is overly pessimistic in its account of the 45's demise as a cultural icon. (Quite a few new records are still available if you know where to look.) And, as noted above, the appearance is somewhat deceptive. But it's still a great introduction to the minutae of the 45 for the serious record lovers among us.

Perhaps I was expecting too much here, but as someone who has been collecting 45's for nearly 40 years I found this book to be a bit disappointing. The first half of the book, covering the early history of this format, was somewhat long winded and poorly written. Many of the sentences seemed to just ramble on and on. Things seemed to pick up a bit in the second half of the book, however, and I was able to glean a lot more information from the latter chapters. The book is liberally sprinkled with photos of rare and interesting 45 rpm labels and picture sleeves. As a collector, I saw many items I had never come across before. The authors also provide us with any number of fascinating stories about individual releases and the unscrupulous practices of some of the record companies. For the reader who is too young to remember what all the fuss was about during the heyday of the 45, this book would certainly be a good place to start. For the serious collector, this is not a bad book to add to your library but I would not consider it essential. I did not learn as much from it as I had hoped. At the halfway point in the book, I was prepared to rate the book just 2 stars. But as I stated earlier, the authors seemed to hit their stride later on and thus the three star rating.

Co-author "Big" Jim Dawson is a regular -- and always a delight -- on Ian Whitcomb's weekly Luxuria Music internet show, and "45 RPM" is like having him visit and sit down for hours of coffee and chat about the amazing history of the 45, and how it emerged from new technology and competition (and different visions) in the recording industry. With Steve Propes, Dawson has created a wonderfully entertaining and informative book. The only down side is that if you're my age, like me you may recognize some of fabulous 45's that your mother threw out after you left the house, and learn that at today's collector's prices, a good chunk of your retirement fund may have gone out in the trash! Seriously, fans of great 50's and 60's music shouldn't be without this wonderful book.

A fascinating look at the the 45rpm record. All my questions were answered including the real story regarding that larger-then-life hole in the middle.

Gary West - [...]

45 RPM starts out good, with a fascinating look at the speed wars of the late 40s. Unfortunately, the chapter about EPs and then picture sleeves brings everything to a slow grind (16 rpm maybe?).

The authors seem really hung up on why black artists generally didn't get their photo on picture sleeves, and they remind us more than once. The most bizarre display of this is an illustration of a Kay Starr sleeve with the caption "Before *white* (emphasis mine) songstress Kay Starr became a hitmaker for RCA in 1955, she recorded with several indie companies." We can see that she's white, what does this have to do with anything? They also make a big deal about Elvis getting a picture sleeve for almost every release. Hey guys, he was POPULAR.

There are factual errors here and there, such as the tired myth that the Capitol Records building was designed to look like a stack of 45s (it wasn't). And the sleeve of the Beatles "I Want to Hold Your Hand" - they claim McCartney's cigarette was airbrushed out after complaints. It was the 20th anniversary 1984 reissue of this sleeve that featured a missing cigarette, and I doubt it was done out of complaints from fans 20 years earlier.

On the positive side, the authors do have a good grasp of the history of the format and provide lots of details regarding the engineering and marketing of the 45, which I found interesting. There are several color pages of sleeves and discs as well.

I think a record buff will generally enjoy this book, if they can overlook some of the more peculiar aspects in a couple of chapters.

a wonderfully vivid history lesson on quite possibly the most important music vehicle of the rock n' roll era. Jim Dawson's ability to tell the story is unparalleled ad the book itself is visually appealing.

This book has much more information and historical detail in it than the title suggests.

I actually found this very informative and entertaining. This covers both the development of the 45rpm format, amidst a war between record studios, and the history of the music that blossomed on the format. What you have is both a social and musical exploration.

I did learn much about music that I didn't know, such as discovering the rawer original version of "Sh-Boom" by The Chords. The book prompted me to look freshly at the Doo Wop groups of the '50s, and there is certainly great music to be found.

The book also looks at how different companies looked at marketing this blossoming form of music delivery and it differed according to demographics.

I highly recommend this informative, largely fun-to-read book.

I never thought that anyone could write an entire book about the 45 record, but these guys have pulled it off. Some of the detail about how RCA got this record format off the ground is almost exhaustive to the point of overkill, and yet there's a narrative drive to it that kept me going. The rock 'n' roll chapters, especially about independent record companies and the economics of B-sides, shed new light on rock history for me, and the chapters about the most valuable 45s of all time and the oddest 45s ever made were great fun to read. These guys seem to know what they're talking about and how to make it interesting. Rock 'n' roll books generally suck, but I'd definitely recommend this one.