14. The transistor radio changed the way music was heard
Until 1954 one needed to be near a radio, which was plugged into an outlet, to listen to music. Or near a record player, or jukebox, or at a record store, or in a car. That year, the transistor radio was introduced, and teens could carry the source of their music with them to school, or to social activities after school, or to work. The booming post-war American economy gave teens access to spending money, leisure time, and school activities which had not existed before the war, due to the stresses of the Great Depression. Portable record players, which played only 45 rpm records soon followed. The sales of radios, records, and record players soared.
The same wasn’t true in Britain and Europe, both of which were still in recovery from World War II. Rationing from the war continued in Britain. There was less disposable income, and in any case, less product to listen to on the radio. The market in the United States led to heavy competition for teens’ disposable dollars in the form of new acts in rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and that competition was soon being shipped, in the form of the performers and their records, to a welcoming British market. The stream of new acts from America to Britain seemed unending through 1962.
