A Brief History Of The 12 Inch Single And It's Impact On Pop Music

12 inch single records on vinyl were produced in the States in the 70's and were particularly produced in this format for Disco use by DJ's.  However, the roots of the 12 inch can be traced back to the 50's and 60's were they were produced for DJ's in Jamaica.  The larger groove format gave a better quality base sound dynamic which was ideal for reggae music.  The disco era led to extended play dance tunes by artists such as The Trammps and Frankie Valli.  However, the first major 12 inch vinyl released as a stand alone single was Donna Summer's 'Love To Love You Baby' on Atlantic Records.

 

The 12 inch has become popular in Discos because of the sound quality it offers and it has been developed by mixing engineers to develop extended dance tracks and to mix different songs together.  It has been used by dub artists and by drum 'n' base artists to create unique sounds.  Because the early 12 inch vinyl records were produced as demos for DJ's or in small quantities they are hard to find and highly collectable.  One of the largest selling 12 inch vinyl records was released by British band New Order entitled 'Blue Monday' on Factory Records which went on to sell over a million copies.

Planet Earth Records stock 12 inch vinyl records by New Order, The Pet Shop Boys, The Jam and many other leading artists.  Planet Earth Records have a large selection of 12 singles in stock dating from the early days right up to the present day, incorporating all genres of musical taste.

Visit Planetearthrecords.co.uk - The UK's well known mail order vinyl record shop with thousands of new and rare original vinyl records available to buy online.