Music played an important part in the life of most every Boomer, and 45 records made up the chapters of our lives. For my 10th birthday, I asked for and got a portable 45 record player. It was a Sylvania, as I recall, and my first record was Dean Martin’s “Memories are Made of This”. I suppose I played it a thousand times before I bought my second record, “Sixteen Tons” by Tennessee Ernie Ford.
Our parents grew up with 78 speed records, but they were big and clumsy and would break if you looked at them the wrong way. The 78 records had small holes, about a half-inch, but the new 45’s had larger holes, two-inchers. If you only had a record player with the 78 spindle, you had to put spacers inside the 45 record holes. I chipped a lot of good records trying to squeeze those things in.
The pliable, vinyl 45 records began hitting the market in the early 50’s and they were great, because you could buy exactly what you wanted. The songs on the 45s lasted from 2 to 3 minutes, about right for a jitterbug dance. The records had two sides, Side A, the hit, and Side B, the afterthought. With Elvis records, however, both sides were often hits. Everly Brothers, too.
Our old record players had automatic changers, in that you could put a stack of records on the spindle and they would drop down conveniently as soon as the other record ended. Except it didn’t quite work out that way. More often than not, the above record would get trapped in mid-spindle, but it was the thought that counted.
At dances and high school hops, we didn’t have DJ’s or bands. Rather, kids each brought a stack of their favorite singles and we danced the night away.
The old 45 records were affordable for young Boomers on tight budgets – like all of us. They were a buck apiece, but with a little baby sitting or lawn mowing money, kids were in the record stores on a weekly basis, filling their collections with new songs from the Top Twenty. At night, we listened to Wolfman Jack to find out about any new and coming stars.
One drawback to 45 records were the needles. They didn’t last very long and a dull needle distorted the sound such that the tune was unrecognizable. New needles were in high demand for kids in the 50’s and 60s. The needles were often reversible with a 45 on top and the 78 beneath. Sometimes we had to cheat and play our 45s with the 78 needles.
Another drawback to the old vinyl records was the warping factor. I remember leaving “Rebel Rouser”, a huge hit from Duane Eddy, in the back of the car for just a few hours on a summer afternoon and it ended up looking like a black Lays Potato Chip. I had to toss it and buy another the following week.
Some of the great songs I had on 45’s included Blueberry Hill, Only You, Wake Up Little Susie, Why Do Fools Fall in Love, Tutti Fruiti, Johnny B Goode, Whole Lotta Shaking, Jailhouse Rock, Peggy Sue, Heartbreak Hotel, and the list goes on.
Those were good days and that was great music. Today, those 45 records rank among the fondest of Boomer memories.