Cover of Enoch Light's first Command release, Persuasive Percussion

Enoch Light (August 18, 1905 - July 31, 1978) was a classical violinist, bandleader, and recording engineer. He is credited with being the first musician to go to extreme lengths to create quality recordings that took full advantage of the technical capabilities of home audio equipment of the late 1950s and early 1960s, particularly stereo effects that bounced the sounds between the right and left channels (often described as "ping-pong"). He arranged his musicians in ways to produce the kinds of recorded sounds he wished to acheive, the first to do so. The first of his albums produced on his record label, Command Records, Persuasive Percussion, became the first huge hit based solely on retail sales. His songs received little or no airplay on the radio, because AM radio, the standard of the day, is monophonic. Light went on to release several albums in the Persuasive Percussion series. Command Records is a record label associated with ABC-Paramount Records See also List of record labels Categories: Record labels | Stub ... August 18 is the 230th day of the year (231st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1905 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... July 31 is the 212th day (213th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 153 days remaining, as the final day of July. ... 1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Classical music is music considered classical, as sophisticated and refined, in a regional tradition. ... The violin is a stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a perfect fifth apart. ... A Bandleader is the director of a band of musicians. ... Audio engineering is the branch of engineering dealing with the production of sound through mechanical means. ... // Events and trends The 1950s in Western society was marked with a sharp rise in the economy for the first time in almost 30 years and return to the 1920s-type consumer society built on credit and boom-times, as well as the height of the baby-boom from returning... The 1960s, or The Sixties, in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ... In popular usage, stereo generally to dual-channel sound recording and sound reproduction – sound that contains data for more than one speaker simultaneously. ... Regional competition level table tennis, showing table, net, and player getting ready to return the ball with a winning backhand topspin stroke. ... An album (from Latin albus white, blank, relating to a blank book in which something can be inserted) is a packaged collection of related things. ... Command Records is a record label associated with ABC-Paramount Records See also List of record labels Categories: Record labels | Stub ... Monophonic can mean: In music, see: Texture (music). ...

The album covers were generally designed with abstract minimalist artwork that stood out boldly from other album covers. These pieces were usually the work of Josef Albers. Light was so interested in the sounds of his music that he would include lengthy prose describing each song's sounds. In order to fit all of his descriptions on to the album sleeve, he doubled the size of the sleeve but enabled it to fold like a book, thus inventing the gatefold packaging format. The gatefold sleeve would became extremely popular in later decades, and used on albums such as The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Josef Albers (1888 - 1976), was a German artist and educator whose work, both in Europe and in the United States, formed the basis of some of the most influential and far-reaching art education programs of the 20th century. ... Look up book in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A book is a collection of leaves of paper, parchment or other material, bound together along one edge within covers. ... A gatefold cover or gatefold LP is a form of packaging for LP records which was popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. ... The Beatles (L-R, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, John Lennon), in 1964, performing on The Ed Sullivan Show promoting their first U.S. hit song, I Want To Hold Your Hand, and ushering in the British Invasion of American popular music. ... Sgt. ...

Enoch Light released myriad albums in various genres of music under a variety of names during the late 1950s and early 1960s. The music was intended for older audiences, as opposed to most popular music of the time, which was usually aimed at teenagers. During this time, he pioneered many recording techniques such as the use magnetic 35mm film instead of magnetic tape, thereby reducing the effects of"wow" and "flutter". Doc Severinsen and Lew Davies were among the musicians who appeared on Light's albums. Musical genres are categories which contain music which share a certain style or which have certain elements in common. ... Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and mostly distributed commercially. ... Simulated 35 mm film with soundtracks _ The outermost strips (on either side) contain the SDDS soundtrack as an image of a digital signal. ... Rewind redirects here. ... Carl (Doc) Hilding Severinsen (born July 7, 1927 in Arlington, Oregon) is an American pop and jazz trumpeter. ...

In 1965 Light sold the Command record label, which had released the Persuasive Percussion series, to ABC Records, which itself was subsequently sold to MCA Records. After the sale, the quality of his records plummeted dramatically. The signature gatefold format (along with Light's prose) were immediately discontinued, and the covers changed to budget labels pressed on recycled vinyl. In 1975 they were completely discontinued. ABC Records started in 1955 as ABC-Paramount, the recording arm of American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres. ... The Music Corporation of America, commonly known as MCA, is a United States based corporation in the music business. ...

Light continued recording after the sale of Command with a new group called Project 3, but did not concentrate so heavily on stereo effects. He retired from music entirely in 1974 and died four years later. 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ...

External Links

• Official website