Back in the day, a woman could not say the word "lover" on broadcast TV. Men or women, either one, could not utter the words "toilet paper" or "pregnant." Moreover, the typical tv mom and pop slept in single beds.

In the pre-cable and satellite TV era, analogue -over the air- reception was all there was. After the mid-1950s, there were only three TV networks and -basically- just three programming choices at a time. Keep in mind, as well, that a station usually signed off the air at around midnight, to return to broadcasting at 5 am or so. There would be nothing to watch, except for a test pattern, during the early hours of the morning...

BROUGHT TO YOU IN LIVING COLOR 

The CBS network, in a consortium with the Crosley Company, had developed a mechanically-operated format for color television, with the first color broadcast taking place in June 1951. However, there were only twenty-five associated television sets in existence. 

A circa-1951 set using the experimental CBS-Crosley Company "field 

sequential" color television format. This was a mechanical method of

colorcasting using a series of rotating "color wheels." It was eventually bested by a fully-electronic format color television system perfected by NBC-RCA.

Photo from http://www.earlytelevision.org

The drawback with the CBS-Crosley system was that it was completely incompatible with the existing black and white broadcast medium. At the same time, NBC and co-company RCA had been working on their own color television format, which was electronic in format and "backwards compatible" with black and white broadcasting.

The two systems duked it out until December 1953, when the NBC system was officially sanctioned as the National Television System Committee (NTSC) standard by the Federal Communications Commission. The first large network, coast-to-coast "colorcast" was done in January 1954, with NBC's coverage of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade.

The NBC "Color Chimes" logo was in use between 1954 and 1957.

Graphic from http://www.ev1.pair.com 

In the late '50s and early '60s, a "living color" program was quite a big event, usually reserved for specials and "spectaculars." If you went to someone's home and saw that they had a color set...you were duly impressed!

For many years, the price of a new color television, at the shopping mall May Company, Gimbels or Foley's, was quite prohibitive. The first sets to roll off the assembly line in 1954 went for a whopping $1,000 each! The price tag of a "big screen" 21-inch color set in 1956 had come down to $795....and $695 by 1962. By 1966, a 25-inch color set could be acquired for only $450.

RCA's earliest mass-production color television receiver, the CT-100. It

was first marketed in April 1954 and carried a hefty price tag of $1,000!

Drawing from the Radio Corporation of America

It took a while to truly perfect the medium, and there was also a bit of resistance from the buying public. As an example, we might mention an urban legend that circulated in the early '60s which said that, after buying one of the new-fangled color sets, a family would need to reserve a bedroom in their home for the trusty tv repairman.

Through all the high prices and pitfalls, color tv finally began to catch on. "Bonanza," NBC's western-themed soap opera, became the first major, regularly-scheduled, in-color TV series on September 12, 1959. For the next three years, NBC was the only network to sporadically "colorcast" television programs.

ABC added a few color shows to their prime time line up in September 1962. CBS, who had been the most reluctant to adopt the NBC-developed "compatible color" system, finally gave in and began to colorcast a few prime time shows in September 1965. In September 1966, the three networks began colorcasting their entire prime-time schedules.  

  

In the days before the famous NBC Peacock, color programming on

the network was preceded by this panel. Unfortunately, due to the

technological limitations of the 1950s, multi-hued recordings of the early color shows could not be made. All that remain are black and white "kinescope" film recordings.

Still photo from The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

In May 1956, the NBC Peacock made its debut. At first, it was simply

a still frame shot. This progressed to a fully-animated version in

September 1957.

Graphic from the National Broadcasting Company (See Media Fair

Use Rationale at end of article)

By 1968, the three networks had converted all prime time and daytime content to color. However, some commercials would still be in black and white. Below is a link to You Tube, where 1960s, "In Living Color" announcements -used by ABC, CBS and NBC- may be seen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR3UtOZk5OoBy 

 

REMOTELY SPEAKING

The first successful television remote control, the Zenith "Space Command," was introduced in 1956. Primitive by today's standards, it used ultrasonic sound, from a tuning fork, to automatically turn the set on or off, change the channel or adjust the volume.

These remote controls did not require one to point directly at a particular spot on the television set in order to work. In fact, one could click a button on the trusty Space Command device as far away as another room in the house...it would still work. Furthermore "clicker" -type remote controls did not require batteries.

The first practical (sans cable) television remote control, similar to the

one on the left, came on the market in 1956. A later color tv version is

seen on the right.

Photo 1 from http://www.cedmagic.com

Photo 2 from Wikipedia / Jim Rees

By 1965, Zenith had perfected a "Space Commander" for color sets that would also adjust the picture's hue. These analogue-type controllers were made obsolete by the introduction of infa-red remotes, in the early 1980s.

MOVIES

Until 1966, a stringent "Production Code" dictated what could (and could not) be shown in a Hollywood motion picture. Kisses on film were timed and a commode, for example, could not be shown.  A film, such as Warner Brothers' "Baby Doll," tame by today's standards, was considered "dirty" in December 1956 and was banned to such a degree that it was shown in very few cinematic venues...let alone the local shopping mall movie house.

The Production Code began to crack in the late 1950s. In 1968, as films became more explicit, a rating system was assembled by the Motion Picture Association of America; G - All ages admitted, M - Parental discretion advised, R - Those under 17 not admitted without parent or adult guardian and X - Those under 17 not admitted.

This system was revised in 1970, when the M rating was altered to GP (General, with Parent). Unfortunately, GP was widely regarded to indicate "general public". The rating was revised again, in 1972, to read PG (Parental Guidance suggested).  

MUSIC

In the 1950s and early '60s, the standard "Top 40" AM station would play a variety of music. Things were not like today, when every song and artist is categorized, homogenized and pigeon-holed into a specific genre...with radio stations also being highly genre-specific.

Back then, you would have the standard pop vocal tunes by Al Martino or Kay Starr. Instrumentals were also in vogue. Tunes such as "The Poor People of Paris" (Les Baxter), "Wonderland By Night" (Bert Kaempfert ["Bart Kamp-fert"]) or "Love Is Blue" (Paul Mauriat ["Mary-aht"]) all hit the Billboard number one spot.

DJ's might also throw in a cross-over Country & Western song now and then, such as "Ring of Fire" (Johnny Cash) or "Harper Valley PTA" (Jeannie C. Riley). Even a jazz tune might be played, such as "Take 5" (Dave Brubek Quartet) or "Desafinado" ["Day-zaf-uh-nah-doh"] (Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd). Before the advent of "Rock & Roll" in the mid-1950s, there were various girl and guy groups; i.e., The Andrews Sisters, Four Lads, McGuire Sisters and Ames Brothers. 

Rock and roll began to change the popular music scene in the late '50s and early '60s. "Pop" music was altered even more when the "Fab Four" arrived -from Liverpool, England- in January 1964. Perhaps the biggest change occurred as the "Baby Boom" generation matured and began buying records, en masse, in the mid-to-late 1960s. At this time, the recording industry experienced its largest growth period ever. 

Anyone who wasn't around back in the day might not believe the media hoopla that surrounded the American introduction of Great Britain's Beatles, in early 1964. Nicknamed "The Fab Four," they would go on to revolutionize rock music in a way that no single artist or group has done before or since.

Photo from Library of Congress

RECORDS AND TAPES

The technological advance from the antiquated, low fidelity 78 rpm record was delayed by the Great Depression and World War II. Immediately following the end of the global conflict, two new phonographic mediums were introduced. 

Columbia Records debuted its sonically superior 33 & 1/3 "Long Playing microgroove" disc on June 21, 1948. Available in 10 and 12 inch formats, the "LP" would be the standard for prerecorded music until the advent of the digital compact disc in the 1980s.

Competitor RCA Victor countered with the introduction of its 7 inch 45 rpm disc, on March 1, 1949. At first, the 33 & 1/3 and 45 formats vied for market prominence. Eventually, both prevailed. 

In the first photo we have the first mass-marketed 12 inch 33 & 1/3 "Long Playing" vinyl disc. It is Columbia Record's number ML4001, the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto by Nathan Milstein and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Bruno Walter. The album hit music stores in June 1948. Directly above is the label of the very first mass-marketed 45 rpm "single." RCA Victor's number 48-0001-A, "Texarkana Baby" -by Eddy Arnold- was released in March 1949.

Photo 1 from https://www.discogs.com

Photo 2 from http://www.collectorsfrenzy.com

 

 Graphic from the Radio Corporation of America, 1958

STEREO & QUADRAPHONIC

The first American stereophonic discs were released by Audio Fidelity Records, in March, 1958. The four 33 & a third titles were..

In 1962, the Muntz Stereo-Pak 4-track CARtridge tape was introduced. It made the first car audio possible. This was followed by the stereo 8-track format, developed by a consortium of Ampex, Lear Jet and RCA Victor. In September 1965, the Ford Motor Company introduced the factory-installed 8-track player for autos. By 1968, 8-track had been established as the prerecorded taped music standard. 2 years later (in 1970) the 4-track format was discontinued.

The Stereo-Pak made the first practical car audio possible. The system used a continuous loop of tape that was enclosed in a plastic cartridge. The 4 tape tracks were played two at a time, with a tape head switching positions once. While playing, the tape head did not change programs automatically. This would have to be done manually (the 8-track format featured an automatic program-changing mechanism). 
Image from https://www.discogs.com

In June 1969, recorded music advanced to four channels -or quadraphonic sound- with the first 4-channel, prerecorded open reel tapes. These were followed, in November 1970, by RCA's introduction of the quadraphonic 8-track -or Q-8- cartridge tape.

Another obsolete vestige of America's mid-century, the Quad-8 cartridge. These made their first appearance in late 1970. Unlike Stereo-8 format tapes, that had arrived on the scene 5 years earlier, Quad-8s only switched tracks once..instead of three times. Oh yes, the two formats were not compatible. If you played a Quad-8 on a Stereo-8 system, you would hear only half of the song at one time. 
Image from RCA Records-http://www.8-track-shack.com

In 1971, the first matrix quadraphonic LPs appeared, utilizing the ABC-Sansui QS system. Columbia-Sony countered with SQ matrix LPs in 1972. These were followed by RCA-JVC's discrete quad format, known as CD-4 or Quadradisc. Unlike the Quad-8 tape format, all three Quadraphonic LP formats were stereo-compatible.

The Quad Revolution moved ever onward with the release of the first six 4-channel LP's, in March 1971. These Command Quadraphonic discs were produced by ABC Records. To hear a QS disc reproduced properly, one would have to own a Sansui system, with a QS Vario Matrix Decoder. Back in the day, Quadraphonic record albums could have been purchased at just about any Camelot Music, Record Bar or Sam Goody shopping mall store.
Image and logo from ABC Records and Sansui Electronics (see media fair use rationale at end of article)

The first Columbia-Sony SQ LPs were released in April 1972. Similar to the ABC-Sansui system, SQ Full Logic created the illusion of four separate sound tracks by "encoding" each of the two rear channels into the two in front. It worked pretty well. In fact, SQ quad recordings -such as Santana's "Abraxas" album, Pink Floyd's "Atom Heart Mother" album (a British import) and Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein" song- demonstrated some neat, moving-around-the-room effects.

Image and logo from Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Electronics (see media fair use rationale at end of article)

In February 1973, JVC-RCA's CD-4 or Quadradisc LP  format made its debut. CD-4 used an ultrasonic "carrier wave," which instructed a CD-4 Demodulator to divide the audio into four separate sound channels.

Image and logo from RCA Records and JVC Electronics (see media fair use rationale at end of article)

To convert from stereo to quad, one would need to either scrap everything and buy an entirely new sound system or else acquire an additional stereo amp, two more speakers and the appropriate decoder(s). For CD-4, one would also have to have the CD-4 demodulator, a new turntable and phono cartridge that could accommodate the additional frequency range of the carrier wave.

The sonic separation of CD-4 LPs was superior to that of the two matrix systems...however, there was also a great deal of distortion with the CD-4 system that was not present when playing QS or SQ matrix quadraphonic LPs.

The three competing -and totally non-compatible- systems vied for prominence through the remainder of the 1970s, with none emerging victorious. Quad sound was gone and nearly forgotten by the advent of the digital compact disc, in 1983.

HOME APPLIANCES

A conventional electric or gas range was essentially the same in 1947 and 2017. However, the microwave oven went through a great deal of changes before becoming a common fixture in the American home. The Raytheon Company introduced its first "Radarange" in 1947. It was gigantic, weighing 750 pounds and cost $5,000. This converts to over $68,000 in today's buying power! 

The first Radaranges were a commercial-grade product, sold only to restaurants and other food vendors. The first microwaves sold to the general public came out in early 1968. At this time, an Amana Radarange sold for $495 (or $4,400 in today's buying power). As they became more commonplace, microwave ovens became less expensive. They were a standard fixture in the American home by the mid-1980s.

The typical electric refrigerator was quite a bit different in the mid-century than it is today. Although "frost-free" models became available in 1950, they were something of a novelty for years thereafter.

Back in the day, mom would have to spend hours "defrosting" the conventional, non-frost-free 'fridge. All food in the freezer compartment would have to be removed. The task of getting rid of several inches of ice that had accumulated on the inside walls of the freezer was a tedious, messy chore.

This was done (carefully) with an ice pick or (haphazardly) with several splashes of warm water onto the affected parts. Of course, the thawing, dripping mess would need to be mopped up several times during the defrosting ordeal...which had to be done every couple of months.

A circa-1953 refrigerator. Its tiny freezer compartment might accommodate a box of ice cream, a few "tv dinners" and a couple ice cube trays...if it was not frozen over due to not having been "defrosted" in the recent past. Refrigerators of this era define the term "clunky." Walls, using substandard insulating materials of the time, were incredibly thick, taking up much interior space. Doors opened and shut tightly with latches. 

By 1960, more modern refrigerators were on the market. Technology had provided more efficient insulating materials, making slimmer walls -and additional interior space- possible. The latch-operated  doors of yesteryear had been replaced with better closing apparatus.

With few exceptions, until the early 1950s, the only color offered for a new home appliance was a standard white finish. Then, seven pastel shades were introduced; stratford yellow, sherwood green, cadet blue, turquoise, woodtone brown, petal pink and canary yellow. By 1960, three of these shades -canary yellow, turquoise and petal pink- had been established as the standard color finishes. By the way, it was common for a colored appliance to cost a bit more than one with a white finish.

By the mid-1960s, pastel colors were being phased out. The latest appliances -on sale at the local shopping mall Sears, Penney's or Ward's- would be available in "earth tone" colors. The Coppertone finish, in stores by 1960, was the first of these new shades. Avocado Green debuted in 1967, with the Harvest Gold finish introduced in 1968. These three appliance colors remained in vogue until the early 1980s.