BY THE NUMBERS
By The Numbers, a look at what’s in the news . . . by the numbers. These are just numbers, not suggestions that they mean more or less than what they are. We do not suggest that one number is connected to another. These are simply facts with no extraneous details, bias or slanted reporting. To borrow (and perhaps mangle a bit) a quote from legendary fictional detective Joe Friday, it’s just the numbers, ma’am!
Hey Boomers – we grew up with them, spent hours upon hours with them and yet today, they aren’t around so much. What are we talking about – records, albums, the music of our time. And today is National Vinyl Records Day. To celebrate those wonderful memories of the past, we fondly take a look at the vinyl record, then and now, by the numbers.
12 — 10 — 7
The inches vinyl records came in. OK, most of us Boomers don’t have much history with the 10-inch variety. That was pretty much the standard for our grandparents. But we sure spent hours and hours listening to the 12-inch albums and the 7-inch singles – and the famous A and B sides.
45 — 33 1/3 — 78
This was the speed of the records, or better said, the revolutions per minute – hence the RPM. Albums were (and still are) played at 33 and a third RPM, singles were played at 45 and the old-time 10-inch albums sped past at 78 RPM.
23,000,000
That’s the number of vinyl records sold in the U.S. in 2020. It was the 14th straight year of increased sales. The industry hit the bottom around 2005-06 when it only sold around a million.
1950s to 1980s
The heyday of record sales before 8-track tapes, cassettes and then CDs took over.
$500 to $3,000
Collectible vinyl is a real thing. Take a look at those stacks you might have in a box somewhere and see if you might have a hidden gem. What determines the value? Well, a lot of factors. But primarily the big things are the artist, how rare the vinyl is, how old it is (although older may not necessarily mean more value) and condition (not just of the vinyl, but the cover also). Be aware, rock and jazz vinyl from the ‘60s are the most valuable. And $3,000 (and up) are not common.
Top 10
It’s interesting, the 10 biggest selling albums of all time came in a 15-year period from 1967 to 1982. Those 10 (in order) are: Sgt. Pepper from the Beatles, Thriller from Michael Jackson, Rumours from Fleetwood Mac, Dark Side of the Moon from Pink Floyd, the White Album from the Beatles, Back in Black from AC/DC, Hotel California from the Eagles, Led Zeppelin IV, Billy Joel Greatest Hits I and II and Abbey Road from the Beatles. We’ll bet reading that list brought back some memories!