First Successful Long-Playing Microgroove Record

June 18, 1948

Columbia Records introduces its 33⅓ rpm Long Play 10-inch and 12-inch records. One side played for 23 minutes as compared to about 3-5 minutes for the current 78 records. The 10-inch version was soon phased out. They were developed by Peter Goldmark. RCA Victor had previously attempted to introduce a long-playing record for home use, but it didn’t catch on. Why is it called a “Record Album”? Prior to the 33⅓ Long Play, records had a thicker groove and ran at 78 rpms and therefore were only about 3-5 minutes per side. Because of this, music was sold on multiple records gathered together in a book called an “album.” The new 33⅓ LP could play about 23 minutes per side, therefore, all the records from a typical “album” could by stored on a single 33⅓ LP, but the name “album” stuck.