Extended Play records, known as EPs, were introduced as 7-inch, vinyl 45s in the early 1950s by RCA. At the time, RCA was in a format war with Columbia, whose 12-inch LPs could hold a full album’s worth of music (hence their name) and were played at 33 1/3 rpm. RCA already had 7-inch singles, which spun at 45 rpm and were designed to replace 78s, so EPs were a natural progression in the RCA product line. Like RCAs 7-inch singles, its EPs...Continue Reading