Which came first,78 or 33 rpm records

ohdah..

As a kid, I recall seeing my parents old 78 RPM records, specifically
a set that I still have with Basil Rathbone narrating "Robin Hood" and
playing them on 33 and 45.  I also remember playing my 33 RPM records
at 78 and laughing at the chipmunk sounds that came from my old record
player.  The history of recording show that the 78 RPM records was
developed around 1900.  The 33 1/3 RPM record, also known as an LP
because the discs could hold more music than the old 78's, was
developed in 1948 by engineers at CBS.  It was based upon the needs of
the movie industry.  Films in the 20's had sound on a separate disc
and it was important for the sound to be continuous.  A reel of film
ran for about 11 minutes and the typical 78 record held about 5
minutes per side.  A speed of 32 RPM worked much better.  The
engineers at CBS had one of the old machines from the movie industry,
experimented with it, and, voila, came up with 33 1/3.

Thank you for your question.  If you need any further clarification,
please let me know!

Regards,

-THV

Search Strategy:
78 RPM 45 RPM

References:

http://www.history-of-rock.com/record_formats.htm

http://members.tripod.com/~Vinylville/spindoc.html

Tar heel is correct: 78 rpm records were standard for about 48 years
before 33 rpm were mass marketed. I think the even older cyinders
turned at about 80 rpm. The platters were a big improvement and some
of the late 40s 78 rpm records (10 inch) were nearly as good as the
best 33 rpm 12 inch disks.  Neil