Castaways, Part 1

Singles are funny, stubborn things. Introduced in 1949 by RCA Victor as a lighter and less-breakable substitute for the 78 rpm shellac disc, they soared in popularity in the 1960s and ‘70s, grew five inches wider in the ‘80s, were virtually extinct by the 2000’s (but for its eternally cool club-mix cousin, who’s always out late), suffered through poor pressings and the indignity of errors on labels, and have made an improbable comeback of sorts, riding the vinyl resurgence of the last decade or ...