Funny that the vinyl we used to play were 45’s or 78’s, but CD’s were never called 500’s or tapes were called by their RPM.
The vinyl we played were 45 rpm (singles), or 33 rpm (standard album).
My parents had an old record player (yes, that was what it was called) which my dad bought for my mum (a treasured - and, I now know, an expensive and thoughtful - gift) in the 50s when they were dating. She loved it, and it was the system we had as children. A sturdy and excellent Phillips system.
It also marked time at 78 rpm (and yes, my mum had heavy shellac - pre-vinyl (vinyl was only invented in the 50s) - discs of classical music which that machine could also play). There were days we played (their treasured, classical or jazz) albums at 78rpm - my dad (quite rightly, I now realise) was hopping mad if he discovered us engaged in such wanton wreckage. Gosh; children and adolescents can be so
stupid....irresponsibly so. Nowadays, I realise that some of their (prized) albums are rare recordings and were treasured by them in a world where to be able to afford such things was hard enough come by at that time.
In the mid 70s (a mere 20 years after my father's gift to my mother - a wonderful machine which had finally died a death), we purchased a stereo player - my dad putting in weeks of research, and insisting that we each pay at least £10 (a fortune then, for kids) out of our savings towards this thing (a Ferguson, I think) that cost close to £100.
My dad held the view that if we put some small sum towards this stereo player, we would feel a sense of ownership and responsibility and would play it endlessly, but not trash it. (Yes, needless to say, he was right).
That lasted until the mid 80s - I was an undergrad at the time, and - after lengthy discussions - my dad offered a stereo system (two me) as a Christmas present; the unspoken contract was that I would swot and sweat for good grades.
Contract was followed - to the unspoken letter.
Then, by the early (wish) 90s, I was teaching at the university and purchased (HP, cough, I paid it off over two years) a seriously high end Sony multi stack system.
I bought my first CDs for that system....
Happy days.
