Science & Technology

Year when the first cylinder phonograph, the precursor to the record, was invented: 1877¹

Year when the first gramophone, the precursor to the record player, was invented: 1887²

Year when radio broadcasting was introduced: 1907³

Year when the first 33 1/3 rpm (revolutions per minute) LP album was released: 1948⁴

Year when the first 45 rpm record single was released: 1949⁵

Year when the first compact audio cassette tape was introduced in the United States: 1964⁶

Year when the first compact disc (CD) player was introduced: 1982⁷

Year when MTV, Music Television, launched: 1981

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The first artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in January 1986: Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, The Everly Brothers, and Robert Johnson.

The number of female artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in its first year of existence, 1986: zero

The first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Aretha Franklin, in 1987

The first female "rock" artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Tina Turner, in 1991

Rock Greats

Total number of albums released by the Beatles before the group split in 1970: 20

Total number of albums released by the Rolling Stones as of 2017: 78

Total number albums released by Elvis Presley, during his life and posthumously: 68