45 RPM: The History, Heroes & Villains Of A Pop Music Revolution
by Jim Dawson & Steve Propes (Backbeat Book, San Francisco & London, ISBN: 0-87930-757-9, Price: £13.95) 
     Having written such entertaining tomes as What Was The First Rock 'n' Roll Record, The Twist: The Story Of The Song and Dance That Changed The World, Those Oldies But Goodies: A Guide To 50s Record Collecting and Who Cut The Cheese: A Cultural History Of The Fart, both together and apart, Californians Jim Dawson and Steve Propes now come up with this eminently readable 176-page book. 
     Tracing the history of the iconic 45 single from its hurried inception in 1948 (the result of a fit of pique by RCA's boss David Sarnoff over Columbia's new LP format), through the resulting format war (Betamax v VHS or even PlayStation v Saturn/Dreamcast/Xbox had nothing on these guys), the 7' single's glory years of the 1950s and 1960s, and its inevitable battle against the 12' disc in the 1970s. The book is generously illustrated throughout in black and white, as well as 16 pages of full colour shots of magazine adverts, EP and 45 covers, RCA's first colour-coded issues, company sleeves, picture discs and rarities. The penultimate chapter is in the form of a list of the '50 Most Expensive 45s', a perhaps understandably US-centric chart - hey! have you guys never heard of London-American records? - but does include the legendary soul 45 by Frank Wilson, Elvis' Suns, rare US Beatles and Stones issues, and various rare Doo Wop, rockabilly, R&B and 1960s rock stuff. 
     At a time when the music industry is considering the reintroduction of the inexpensive two-track single to revitalise the singles market, this attractive book is a timely reminder of what we're missing, and for all vinyl junkies, this is unreservedly recommended. 
Dave Penny