LP stands for Long Playing record and initially made its first appearance over 60 years ago. Columbia records held a press conference to unveil the LP on June 21, 1948 at the Waldorf Astoria. The LP initially had two formats, which were 10-inches and 12-inches in diameter. Catalogue number wise, the first 10-inch was Frank Sinatra’s “The Voice of Frank Sinatra” and the 12-inch was the “Mendelssohn Concerto in E Minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 64”. These two have the honor of being the first ever LPs in history.
Initially, the 10-inch was reserved only for pop music and the 12-inch was for classical and Broadway music and shows. However this changed very quickly and pop transitioned to the 12-inch in a big way. The 10-inch LP did make a comeback of sorts in the late 70’s and early 80’s due to a marketing tactic. The playing time on an LP is 45 minutes but there were times when 52 minute versions appeared. The longer version was well received but died out due to mastering limitations.
Since LP turntables played songs in sequence it brought about a significant change in recording artists. They began to develop albums where the sequence of the songs flowed smoothly into one another providing a constant or gently changing mood.
The LP held its dominance all the way into the 80’s until the appearance of Compact Discs (CD) in 1988. Since then LPs disappeared from the music scene up until a few years ago when the interest in LPs has seen a revival. Since then the demand for LPs has started growing slowly and possibly faces a comeback into the mainstream music market.