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In the 1950s and 1960s "a third vinyl
format
Format may refer to:
Printing and visual media
* Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements
* Paper formats, or paper size standards
* Newspaper format, the size of the paper page
Computing
* File format, particular way that informatio ...
" was introduced alongside
long-playing (LP) albums, and
singles
Singles are people not in a committed relationship.
Singles may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series
* ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe
* ''Singles'' ...
. The
extended play (EP) used the same formats as singles but contained more tracks.
Singles were the popular record format at the time – predominantly 10-inch 78 rpm and 7-inch 45 rpm formats
– and the first
singles chart
A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...
was published by ''New Musical Express'' in 1952 with many other publications also producing
singles charts in the 1950s and 1960s.
''
Record Mirror
''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...
'' published the first
album chart
A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often ...
in 1956 and,
when ''
Record Retailer
''Record Retailer'' was the only music trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker (who died on 27 December 1964). The title ...
'' began compiling an LP chart on 12 March 1960, they also compiled an EP chart. The EP chart consisted of a top ten and was expanded to fifteen positions the following week, and twenty the week after that. EPs "died out in the late 1960s"
and ''Record Retailer'' reduced the chart to ten positions on 16 April 1966, publishing the final EP chart on 16 December 1967. For six weeks in 1966 and two weeks in December 1967, ''Record Retailer'' did not publish EP charts but they were compiled and ''Record Mirror'' published them; ''Record Mirror'' had begun publishing charts compiled by ''Record Retailer'' in March 1962, following a decision to stop compiling their own albums and singles charts.
The longest consecutive duration at the top of the chart was 23 weeks for
The Shadows
The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...
' EP ''
The Shadows to the Fore''. The most weeks at number one was achieved by
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...
EP ''
Hits
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...
'' which spent 34 weeks there from June 1966 and was the incumbent number one when the chart ceased at the end of 1967.
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
had eight different EPs top the chart as did The Shadows (four with
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...
and four on their own). The Shadows spent 69 weeks with an EP on top of the chart in comparison to The Beatles' 63 weeks. Conversely, only four acts spent a total of one week atop the chart;
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...
,
Jim Reeves
James Travis Reeves (August 20, 1923July 31, 1964) was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville Sound. Known as "Gentleman ...
,
George Mitchell Minstrels
''The Black and White Minstrel Show'' was a British light entertainment show that ran for twenty years on BBC prime-time television. Running from 1958 to 1978, it was a weekly variety show that presented traditional American minstrel and countr ...
and
Bobby Vee
Robert Thomas Velline (April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016), known professionally as Bobby Vee, was an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s and also appeared in films. According to '' Billboard'' magazine, he had thirty-e ...
(with
The Crickets
The Crickets were an American rock and roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer-songwriter Buddy Holly in January 1957. Their first hit record, "That'll Be the Day", released in May 1957, peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, ...
). Although official
music recording sales certification
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
s were not introduced until the
British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...
was formed in 1973, ''
Disc'' introduced an initiative in 1959 to present a gold disc to records that sold over one million units and a silver disc to records selling over 250,000 units.
Seven EPs are recorded as going silver: The Beatles' number-one EPs ''
Twist and Shout
"Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns (later credited as "Bert Russell"). It was originally recorded by the Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Brothers ...
'', ''
The Beatles' Hits
''The Beatles' Hits'' EP was released 6 September 1963. It is the Beatles second British EP and was only released in mono
Mono may refer to:
Common meanings
* Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease"
* Monaural, monophonic sound repr ...
'', ''
All My Loving
"All My Loving" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, from their second UK album ''With the Beatles'' (1963). It was written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon–McCartney), and produced by George Martin. Though not officially rele ...
'', ''
Long Tall Sally
"Long Tall Sally", also known as "Long Tall Sally (The Thing)", is a rock and roll song written by Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, Enotris Johnson, and Little Richard. Richard recorded it for Specialty Records, which released it as a single in March ...
'' as well as ''
The Beatles (No. 1)
''The Beatles (No. 1)'' is an EP released by the Beatles in the United Kingdom on 1 November 1963. It is the Beatles' third British EP and was only released in mono; its catalogue number is Parlophone GEP 8883. The EP contains songs from '' ...
'' and ''
Magical Mystery Tour
''Magical Mystery Tour'' is a record by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double EP in the United Kingdom and an LP in the United States. It includes the soundtrack to the 1967 television film of the same name. The EP ...
'' (which did not reach number one but would have done so had the EP chart lasted only a few more weeks) and
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
' number-one EP ''
Five by Five
A signal strength and readability report is a standardized format for reporting the strength of the radio signal and the readability (quality) of the radiotelephone (voice) or radiotelegraph (Morse code) signal transmitted by another station as re ...
''.
Number-one EPs
By artist
The following artists achieved two or more number-one EPs. Artists
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
and
The Shadows
The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...
were the most successful acts of the decade in terms of number-one EPs, each having eight EPs reach the top of the chart. In total, The Shadows spent 69 weeks occupying the top of chart (59 weeks from 4 EPs as an instrumental group and 10 weeks from 4 EPs accompanying
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...
) and The Beatles spent a total of 63 weeks at number one.
Notes
References
;Footnotes
;Sources
*
{{featured list
EPs
EPS, EPs or Eps may refer to:
Commerce and finance
* Earnings per share
* Electronic Payment Services, in Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen, China
* Express Payment System, in the Philippines
Education
* Edmonton Public Schools, in Edmonton, Al ...
EPs