1949 RCA Victor Demonstration Record of the new 45 System blue 45RPM (English) ( 9-JY 9-EY-3 ) Rare

On March 31, 1949, RCA Victor officially introduced their new “45” record format and made it available to the public.

Much like the one-sided release titled 'Whirl-Away Demonstration Record', this 45 RPM demonstration record was issued only for retail stores to help promote the new RCA Victor '45 System'. The record was not made available for sale to the public, making it somewhat scarce to find and sought by enthusiastic collectors worldwide. This playing side is English spoken, the flip side offered a Spanish speaking version.

Although many hobbyists commonly point to Eddy Arnold’s ‘Texarkana Baby’ as the "first 45” ever released but, truthfully, there was no particular release that edged out all other 45s to be 'first' on that date. In fact. there were a total of 76 boxed-sets (albums) and 104 singles that were made available to the public on release date. 'Albums' generally offered three or four 45s in each set. Even catalog numbers did not indicate a sequential order of titles being released.

Consideration might best be given to production dates when identifying which 45 came first, excluding, of course, research & development test pressings or promotional type samples of the new 45 RPM format like this particular record.

When only considering production 45s for public sale on the March 31st release date, it remains difficult to find much in the way of verified production dates other than to note that the first regular production “45” was pressed at the Sherman Avenue plant in Indianapolis on December 7, 1948, while the RCA Victor plant in New Jersey was idled by a strike. That initial production was of the release titled ‘Pee-Wee The Piccolo”, a children's record. A framed copy of the yellow vinyl Pee-Wee 45 is on display at the Indiana State Museum, signed by then plant manager, noting it as being the first production 45.

So, it is logical to conclude that, if any of the RCA 45s released to the public on March 31, 1949, were to have the honor of being considered 'the first', it would be the children's record, Pee-Wee The Piccolo.

The genre of children's records released by RCA Victor were pressed on yellow vinyl with dark blue labels. There were several music genre categories and RCA Victor uniquely colored each of them: ‘Popular’ genre 45s were black with a blue label; the ‘Classical’ genre was released on red, ‘Popular Classical’ records were on midnight blue, Country and Western was green, International was sky blue with a black label, Blues and Rhythm 45s were on cerise (often called orange) with gray labels, and Children’s records were yellow with a blue label.

Along with the new record format, RCA Victor released players for the new “45”. For as low as $12.95, customers buying a player often received ten 45s for free. The player featured in this video is a 1949 model 9-JY, one of the early RCA Victor players. Unfortunately, the platter mat has begun to curl on one edge and is no longer flat and even which has caused the 45 to appear warped.

Needless to say, the “45” format quickly grew popular and was soon the preferred format for many, including radio stations and jukebox manufactures.

I recorded this video of my RCA Victor Demonstration record 45RPM playing on my restored 9-JY player to share the experience of playing 45s with those who also enjoy the hobby and history of vinyl records, especially of those early and original 45 RPM releases. I do not claim or own, nor imply ownership, of the story or music recording in any way.

Check my YouTube Channel for other early RCA Victor 45 releases.