Vinyl Record

In 1946, the American company Columbia Records filed the patent for the vinyl record (or microgroove record) made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC, a synthetic polymer) and, in 1948, introduced the 33⅓ rpm standard (LP, Long Play). The following year, its great rival RCA launched the 45 rpm record, with one song per side, which achieved immediate success, further boosted by its use in jukeboxes. Replacing the 78 rpm shellac records once and for all, these two formats—offering improved sound quality and being much lighter-were marketed in the early 1950s. A vinyl record works thanks to a groove engraved into its surface, in which the sound is recorded; a stylus travels along this groove, converting vibrations into an electrical signal that is amplified and played through loudspeakers. Naturally pressed on vinyl, the Ramones’ first self-titled album was released on April 23, 1976.