derek-thomas/squad-v1.1-t5-question-generation huggingface dataset:
Flexible or so-called "unbreakable" records made of unusual materials were introduced by a number of manufacturers at various times during the 78 rpm era. In the UK, Nicole records, made of celluloid or a similar substance coated onto a cardboard core disc, were produced for a few years beginning in 1904, but they suffered from an exceptionally high level of surface noise. In the United States, Columbia Records introduced flexible, fiber-cored "Marconi Velvet Tone Record" pressings in 1907, but the advantages and longevity of their relatively noiseless surfaces depended on the scrupulous use of special gold-plated Marconi Needles and the product was not a success. Thin, flexible plastic records such as the German Phonycord and the British Filmophone and Goodson records appeared around 1930 but also did not last long. The contemporary French Pathé Cellodiscs, made of a very thin black plastic, which uncannily resembles the vinyl "sound sheet" magazine inserts of the 1965–1985 era, were similarly short-lived. In the US, Hit of the Week records, made of a patented translucent plastic called Durium coated on a heavy brown paper base, were introduced in early 1930. A new issue came out every week and they were sold at newsstands like a weekly magazine. Although inexpensive and commercially successful at first, they soon fell victim to the Great Depression and production in the US ended in 1932. Related Durium records continued to be made somewhat later in the UK and elsewhere, and as remarkably late as 1950 in Italy, where the name "Durium" survived far into the LP era as a trademark on ordinary vinyl records. Despite all these attempts at innovation, shellac compounds continued to be used for the overwhelming majority of commercial 78 rpm records during the lifetime of the format.

Question: What was a common problem found in early flexible records? Question: What was the thin translucent plastic most successfully used to make discs called? Question: What was a major downfall of the success of Durium records? Question: What year were Durium records no longer released in the US? Question: What are most 78 rpm records made of?
In 1931, RCA Victor introduced their vinyl-based Victrolac compound as a material for some unusual-format and special-purpose records. By the end of the 1930s vinyl's advantages of light weight, relative unbreakability and low surface noise had made it the material of choice for prerecorded radio programming and other critical applications. When it came to ordinary 78 rpm records, however, the much higher cost of the raw material, as well as its vulnerability to the heavy pickups and crudely mass-produced steel needles still commonly used in home record players, made its general substitution for shellac impractical at that time. During the Second World War, the United States Armed Forces produced thousands of 12-inch vinyl 78 rpm V-Discs for use by the troops overseas. After the war, the wider use of vinyl became more practical as new record players with relatively lightweight crystal pickups and precision-ground styli made of sapphire or an exotic osmium alloy proliferated. In late 1945, RCA Victor began offering special transparent red vinyl De Luxe pressings of some classical 78s, at a de luxe price. Later, Decca Records introduced vinyl Deccalite 78s, while other record companies came up with vinyl concoctions such as Metrolite, Merco Plastic and Sav-o-flex, but these were mainly used to produce "unbreakable" children's records and special thin vinyl DJ pressings for shipment to radio stations.

Question: What year was the Victrolac compound released? Question: What material was used by RCA Victor for special purpose records? Question: What were advantages of vinyl in the 1930's? Question: What was a downfall of ordinary 78 rpm vinyls in household house? Question: What was Metrolite and Sav-o-flex materials primarily used for?
In the 1890s, the recording formats of the earliest (toy) discs were mainly 12.5 cm (nominally five inches) in diameter; by the mid-1890s, the discs were usually 7 in (nominally 17.5 cm) in diameter. By 1910 the 10-inch (25.4 cm) record was by far the most popular standard, holding about three minutes of music or other entertainment on a side. From 1903 onwards, 12-inch records (30.5 cm) were also sold commercially, mostly of classical music or operatic selections, with four to five minutes of music per side. Victor, Brunswick and Columbia also issued 12-inch popular medleys, usually spotlighting a Broadway show score. However, other sizes did appear. Eight-inch discs with a 2-inch-diameter (51 mm) label became popular for about a decade in Britain, but they cannot be played in full on most modern record players because the tone arm cannot play far enough in toward the center without modification of the equipment.

Question: How small were the earliest discs released? Question: What was the most popular sized disc by 1910? Question: Which disc could hold about three minutes of recording on either side? Question: How long could a recording be on a 10 inch disc in the 1903? Question: What was one requirement issue with discs popular in Britain?
The playing time of a phonograph record depended on the turntable speed and the groove spacing. At the beginning of the 20th century, the early discs played for two minutes, the same as early cylinder records. The 12-inch disc, introduced by Victor in 1903, increased the playing time to three and a half minutes. Because a 10-inch 78 rpm record could hold about three minutes of sound per side and the 10-inch size was the standard size for popular music, almost all popular recordings were limited to around three minutes in length. For example, when King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, including Louis Armstrong on his first recordings, recorded 13 sides at Gennett Records in Richmond, Indiana, in 1923, one side was 2:09 and four sides were 2:52–2:59.

Question: What factors would effect playing time of a phonograph? Question: What was the playing time common in the early 20th century? Question: What was the recording time available on a 12 inch disc? Question: What was the normal size disc for popular music? Question: How many recordings did Kind Oliver's Creole Jazz band require?
In January 1938, Milt Gabler started recording for his new label, Commodore Records, and to allow for longer continuous performances, he recorded some 12-inch records. Eddie Condon explained: "Gabler realized that a jam session needs room for development." The first two 12-inch recordings did not take advantage of the extra length: "Carnegie Drag" was 3:15; "Carnegie Jump", 2:41. But at the second session, on April 30, the two 12-inch recordings were longer: "Embraceable You" was 4:05; "Serenade to a Shylock", 4:32. Another way around the time limitation was to issue a selection on both sides of a single record. Vaudeville stars Gallagher and Shean recorded "Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean", written by Irving and Jack Kaufman, as two sides of a 10-inch 78 in 1922 for Cameo. An obvious workaround for longer recordings was to release a set of records. An early multi-record release was in 1903, when HMV in England made the first complete recording of an opera, Verdi's Ernani, on 40 single-sided discs. In 1940, Commodore released Eddie Condon and his Band's recording of "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" in four parts, issued on both sides of two 12-inch 78s. This limitation on the duration of recordings persisted from 1910 until the invention of the LP record, in 1948. In popular music, this time limitation of about 3:30 on a 10-inch 78 rpm record meant that singers usually did not release long pieces on record. One exception is Frank Sinatra's recording of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Soliloquy", from Carousel, made on May 28, 1946. Because it ran 7:57, longer than both sides of a standard 78 rpm 10-inch record, it was released on Columbia's Masterwork label (the classical division) as two sides of a 12-inch record. The same was true of John Raitt's performance of the song on the original cast album of Carousel, which had been issued on a 78-rpm album set by American Decca in 1945.

Question: How many sides of a disc commonly held a recording? Question: What was a way musicians got sounds such short recording times? Question: What was a typical recording time of a song in 1948? Question: On which label did Frank Sinatra release his recording of Soliloquy?
German record company Odeon is often said to have pioneered the album in 1909 when it released the Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky on 4 double-sided discs in a specially designed package. (It is not indicated what size the records are.) However, Deutsche Grammophon had produced an album for its complete recording of the opera Carmen in the previous year. The practice of issuing albums does not seem to have been widely taken up by other record companies for many years; however, HMV provided an album, with a pictorial cover, for the 1917 recording of The Mikado (Gilbert & Sullivan).

Question: When were albums said to be pioneered? Question: What was one of the very first albums released? Question: What was unique about Odeon's 1909 release of the Nutcracker Suite? Question: What was one of the first releases with a photo on the cover?
By about 1910,[note 1] bound collections of empty sleeves with a paperboard or leather cover, similar to a photograph album, were sold as record albums that customers could use to store their records (the term "record album" was printed on some covers). These albums came in both 10-inch and 12-inch sizes. The covers of these bound books were wider and taller than the records inside, allowing the record album to be placed on a shelf upright, like a book, suspending the fragile records above the shelf and protecting them.

Question: When could record album covers first be found? Question: What were early record album covers made of? Question: What sizes were record album covers available in? Question: How were record album covers intended to be stored? Question: What was the purpose of record album covers?
In the 1930s, record companies began issuing collections of 78 rpm records by one performer or of one type of music in specially assembled albums, typically with artwork on the front cover and liner notes on the back or inside cover. Most albums included three or four records, with two sides each, making six or eight tunes per album. When the 12-inch vinyl LP era began in 1949, the single record often had the same or similar number of tunes as a typical album of 78s, and was still often referred to as an "album".

Question: When were albums as we currently know them widely released? Question: What is typically found on the front cover of an album? Question: How may records were commonly found in an album? Question: How many songs did most albums contain? Question: When did the vinyl LP records Era begin?
For collectable or nostalgia purposes, or for the benefit of higher-quality audio playback provided by the 78 rpm speed with newer vinyl records and their lightweight stylus pickups, a small number of 78 rpm records have been released since the major labels ceased production. One of the first attempts at this was in the 1950s, when inventor Ewing Dunbar Nunn founded the label Audiophile Records, which released, in addition to standard 33 1/3 rpm LPs, 78 rpm-mastered albums that were microgroove and pressed on vinyl (as opposed to traditional 78s, with their shellac composition and wider 3-mil sized grooves). This was done by the label mainly to take advantage of the wider audio frequency response that faster speeds like 78 rpm can provide for vinyl microgroove records, hence the label's name (obviously catering to the audiophiles of the 1950s "hi-fi" era, when stereo gear could provide a much wider range of audio than before). Also in the late 1950s, Bell Records released a few budget-priced 7" microgrooved records at 78 rpm.

Question: What are reasons for recent releases of 78 rpm speed vinyls? Question: What is a benefit of newer releases of 78 rpm speed vinyls? Question: Who founded Audiophile Records? Question: What benefits to vinyl have been found in the 1950s? Question: Who released 7" microgrooved records in the 1950s?
In 1968, Reprise planned to release a series of 78 rpm singles from their artists on their label at the time, called the Reprise Speed Series. Only one disc actually saw release, Randy Newman's I Think It's Going to Rain Today, a track from his self-titled debut album (with The Beehive State on the flipside). Reprise did not proceed further with the series due to a lack of sales for the single, and a lack of general interest in the concept. Guitarist & vocalist Leon Redbone released a promotional 78 rpm record in 1978 featuring two songs (Alabama Jubilee and Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone) from his Champagne Charlie album. In 1980 Stiff Records in the United Kingdom issued a 78 by Joe "King" Carrasco containing the songs Buena (Spanish for "good," with the alternate spelling "Bueno" on the label) and Tuff Enuff. Underground comic cartoonist and 78 rpm record collector Robert Crumb released three discs with his Cheap Suit Serenaders in the 1980s.

Question: In what year did Reprise plan to release a series of 78 rpm singles? Question: Which disc did Reprise release in 78 rpm format? Question: Why did Reprise only release one 78 rpm vinyl? Question: What two songs were featured on the 1978 release by Leon Redbone in 78 rpm format? Question: What record company released recordings of 'Buena' and 'Tuff Enuff' in 1980?
In the 1990s Rhino Records issued a series of boxed sets of 78 rpm reissues of early rock and roll hits, intended for owners of vintage jukeboxes. This was a disaster because Rhino did not warn customers that their records were made of vinyl, and that the vintage 78 RPM juke boxes were designed with heavy tone arms and steel needles to play the hard shellac records of their time. This failure to warn customers gave the Rhino 78 records a bad reputation,[citation needed] as they were destroyed by old juke boxes and old record players but played very well on newer 78-capable turntables with modern lightweight tone arms and jewel needles.

Question: When was the release by Rhino Records of 78 rpm for jukebox owners? Question: For whom was the 1990 release of 78 rpm intended? Question: How did the 1990 release of 78 rpm effect Rhino Records? Question: What was the result of the use of this release of 78 rpm vinyl when used in vintage jukeboxes? Question: What was needed to successfully play the newer released 79 rpm vinyl?
In 1931, RCA Victor launched the first commercially available vinyl long-playing record, marketed as program-transcription discs. These revolutionary discs were designed for playback at 33 1⁄3 rpm and pressed on a 30 cm diameter flexible plastic disc, with a duration of about ten minutes playing time per side. RCA Victor's early introduction of a long-play disc was a commercial failure for several reasons including the lack of affordable, reliable consumer playback equipment and consumer wariness during the Great Depression. Because of financial hardships that plagued the recording industry during that period (and RCA's own parched revenues), Victor's long-playing records were discontinued by early 1933.

Question: When did RCA Victor release long play discs? Question: What was the playing time of program-transcription discs? Question: Who released the first commercial long play discs? Question: How successful was RCA Victor's program-transcription discs? Question: By when were long play records discontinued?
Vinyl's lower surface noise level than shellac was not forgotten, nor was its durability. In the late 1930s, radio commercials and pre-recorded radio programs being sent to disc jockeys started being stamped in vinyl, so they would not break in the mail. In the mid-1940s, special DJ copies of records started being made of vinyl also, for the same reason. These were all 78 rpm. During and after World War II, when shellac supplies were extremely limited, some 78 rpm records were pressed in vinyl instead of shellac, particularly the six-minute 12-inch (30 cm) 78 rpm records produced by V-Disc for distribution to United States troops in World War II. In the 1940s, radio transcriptions, which were usually on 16-inch records, but sometimes 12-inch, were always made of vinyl, but cut at 33 1⁄3 rpm. Shorter transcriptions were often cut at 78 rpm.

Question: What was a benefit of using vinyl over shellac? Question: Which material was more durable,  shellac or vinyl? Question: What material were most mailed records made of? Question: By the mid 1940s what was the primary material records were made of? Question: What was a factor in shellac availability?
Beginning in 1939, Dr. Peter Goldmark and his staff at Columbia Records and at CBS Laboratories undertook efforts to address problems of recording and playing back narrow grooves and developing an inexpensive, reliable consumer playback system. It took about eight years of study, except when it was suspended because of World War II. Finally, the 12-inch (30 cm) Long Play (LP) 33 1⁄3 rpm microgroove record album was introduced by the Columbia Record Company at a New York press conference on June 18, 1948.

Question: How long did it take Columbia to produce a consumer friendly long play record? Question: What caused a delay in the production of high quality records? Question: Who released the 12 inch LP? Question: In what city was the 12 in LP released? Question: On what date was the 12 inch LP released?
Unwilling to accept and license Columbia's system, in February 1949 RCA Victor, in cooperation of its parent, the Radio Corporation of America, released the first 45 rpm single, 7 inches in diameter with a large center hole. The 45 rpm player included a changing mechanism that allowed multiple disks to be stacked, much as a conventional changer handled 78s. The short playing time of a single 45 rpm side meant that long works, such as symphonies, had to be released on multiple 45s instead of a single LP, but RCA claimed that the new high-speed changer rendered side breaks so brief as to be inaudible or inconsequential. Early 45 rpm records were made from either vinyl or polystyrene. They had a playing time of eight minutes.

Question: What was the size of a RCA Victor 45 rpm? Question: What did RCA release to complete against Columbia's LP? Question: What materials were 45 rpm records made of? Question: What was the play time of a 45 rpm
One early attempt at lengthening the playing time should be mentioned. At least one manufacturer in the early 1920s, World Records, produced records that played at a constant linear velocity, controlled by Noel Pemberton Billing's patented add-on governor device. As these were played from the outside to the inside, the rotational speed of the records increased as reproduction progressed. This action is similar (although in reverse) to that on the modern compact disc and the CLV version of its predecessor, the Philips Laser Disc.

Question: Who had made an attempt in the 1920s to release a long play time recording? Question: What caused the constant linear velocity? Question: What was a unique feature of World Records records? Question: What currently utilized item was World Records CLV similar to?
In 1925, 78.26 rpm was chosen as the standard because of the introduction of the electrically powered synchronous turntable motor. This motor ran at 3600 rpm, such that a 46:1 gear ratio would produce 78.26 rpm. In parts of the world that used 50 Hz current, the standard was 77.92 rpm (3,000 rpm with a 77:2 ratio), which was also the speed at which a strobe disc with 77 lines would "stand still" in 50 Hz light (92 lines for 60 Hz). After World War II these records were retroactively known as 78s, to distinguish them from other newer disc record formats. Earlier they were just called records, or when there was a need to distinguish them from cylinders, disc records.

Question: In what year was 78.26 rpm chosen as standard? Question: How many rpm did the electrically powered synchronous turanable motor run at? Question: What gear ration creates 78.26 rpm? Question: Why are these records known as '78s'?
The older 78 format continued to be mass-produced alongside the newer formats using new materials until about 1960 in the U.S., and in a few countries, such as India (where some Beatles recordings were issued on 78), into the 1960s. For example, Columbia Records' last reissue of Frank Sinatra songs on 78 rpm records was an album called Young at Heart, issued November 1, 1954. As late as the 1970s, some children's records were released at the 78 rpm speed. In the United Kingdom, the 78 rpm single lasted longer than in the United States and the 45 rpm took longer to become popular. The 78 rpm was overtaken in popularity by the 45 rpm in the late 1950s, as teenagers became increasingly affluent.

Question: At which time were the 79 rpm no longer mass produced? Question: On which date did Columbia release it's last 78? Question: What was the last country to phase out the 78 rpm? Question: When did the 45 rpm gain popularity over the 78 rpm Question: With which crowd did the 45 rpm gain popularity?
Some of Elvis Presley's early singles on Sun Records might have sold more copies on 78 than on 45. This is because the majority of those sales in 1954–55 were to the "hillbilly" market in the South and Southwestern United States, where replacing the family 78 rpm player with a new 45 rpm player was a luxury few could afford at the time. By the end of 1957, RCA Victor announced that 78s accounted for less than 10% of Presley's singles sales, essentially announcing the death throes of the 78 rpm format. The last Presley single released on 78 in the United States was RCA Victor 20-7410, I Got Stung/One Night (1958), while the last 78 in the UK was RCA 1194, A Mess Of Blues/Girl Of My Best Friend (1960).

Question: On which label did Elvis release his early singles? Question: Why did Elvis sales of 78s perform so well in the Southern States? Question: What percentage of Elvis Presley's single sales were of 78s? Question: What was the last Elvis Presley single released on 78? Question: What was the last 78 released in the UK by RCA?
After World War II, two new competing formats came onto the market and gradually replaced the standard "78": the 33 1⁄3 rpm (often just referred to as the 33 rpm), and the 45 rpm (see above). The 33 1⁄3 rpm LP (for "long-play") format was developed by Columbia Records and marketed in June 1948. RCA Victor developed the 45 rpm format and marketed it in March 1949, each pursuing their own r&d in secret. Both types of new disc used narrower grooves, intended to be played with smaller stylus—typically 0.001 inches (25 µm) wide, compared to 0.003 inches (76 µm) for a 78—so the new records were sometimes called Microgroove. In the mid-1950s all record companies agreed to a common recording standard called RIAA equalization. Prior to the establishment of the standard each company used its own preferred standard, requiring discriminating listeners to use pre-amplifiers with multiple selectable equalization curves.

Question: What two formats replaced the 78? Question: Who developed the 33 1/3 rpm LP? Question: When did the 33 1/3 rpm hit the market? Question: When did RCA release their 45 rpm format? Question: When were RIAA standards established?