stereo vs. mono 45s

Yikes! That sounds like it would be quite a project, especially since stereo issues were hit or miss well into the 70s...even labels where most of their singles were stereo (like A&M) would throw in a mono one from time to time. Keep in mind also that some were marked "stereo" but were mono, others unmarked but stereo (and a few marked "mono" but were stereo..."How Do You Do"-Mouth & McNeil was one). There were also a few examples where the stamper for the stereo side of the promo was used on some commercial copies, while other pressings of the same song were mono.

Not counting late 50s stereo singles (which were also, and more commonly available in mono), the earliest commercial stereo 45 I know of was "Rice Is Nice"-Lemonpipers in early '68.

yah, wasn't even thinking of tossing in the CAD 45s. I know many of these
differed from their US counterparts. It would take someone listening to a few
hundred 45s from the late 60s, early 70s. And, was more thinking TOP 40,
in line with the database of this site. I have the time, just not the 45s ;(

The Hits Man wrote: James Brown's "Say It Loud, I'm Black And I'm Proud" from 1968 was his first stereo single.

I just listened to Parts 1 & 2 of my commercial 45 and they are both mono.

And so we begin down the slippery slope of compiling a definitive list... :)

As noted above, a definitive list may be infeasible, but it
may be worth calling out some of the known "stereo 45
anomalies in the mono era". The ones that come to mind
immediately are The Doors singles from The Soft Parade that
were unique stereo mixes ("Touch Me", "Wishful Sinful"). I
don't have the 45 of "Tell All The People" (that was a
single, wasn't it)...I'm assuming that one was stereo as
well. Strangely, they went back to mono for the Morrison
Hotel singles.

davidclark wrote: Something I'd like to see is a list of commercial 45s that were originally stereo and not mono. This list of course would begin circa 1967 with a few, then grow through 1968, 1969, etc., until such time as the tables would turn and stereo 45s were more common and mono 45s were less common. Is anyone else interested in learning this info? It wouldn't take much, just someone with the original 45s from this era! here's hoping...

David:

I would certainly be interested in helping compile a comprehensive list of Top 40 Hits from 1968-1974 indicating which 45s were pressed in mono and which were in stereo given the full and gradual transition from mono to stereo during this time period. Unfortunately, I have my plate very full right now with music-related projects, but at some point I would love to see such a list come to fruition. In the meantime, one of our top vinyl 45 gurus jimct has been very helpful in posting mono/stereo information for a number of 45s he has listened to and examined throughout the course of his music research. By conducting an artist or song search here on the message board, you just might find stereo/mono information about a particular 45 thanks to the valuable contributions of our good friend Jim!