National Vinyl Record Day
August 12, 2025-August 12, 2025 -
USA, USA
Before we can delve deeper into the history of National Vinyl Record Day, we first need to understand the history of the vinyl. Vinyl records are also known as gramophone records and phonograph records. This is a method for storing music that involves the use of a flat disc that has a modulated spiral and inscribed groove. The groove tends to begin near the periphery, ending close to the disc’s center. In the beginning, shellac was typically used to make these discs. However, polyvinyl chloride became the most popular choice throughout the ‘40s, and this is how the name vinyl came about. Once we reached the mid-2000s, though, it did not really matter what material was used; records were simply called vinyl or vinyl records.
You may be wondering when this journey started. Well, it was a long time ago! Back in 1857, the phonautograph was patented by Leon Scott. This used a stylus and vibrating diaphragm so that sound waves could be graphically recorded as tracings on sheets of paper. This was not for the intention of playing them back at the time, though. It was purely for visual analysis. In fact, it was not until 2008 that phonautograms of speech and singing that were made by Scott in the 1860s were played back as sound!
The phonograph was then invented by Thomas Edison in 1877. What made this different to the phonautograph was the fact that it could actually record sound and reproduce it. Although the names are very similar, there is no evidence that Edison’s creation was based on Scott’s in any way.
12 Aug 25
00:00 - 23:59
National Vinyl Record Day
