Lou Levy: Jazz in Four Colors

In November 1955, RCA began ramping up production of 12-inch jazz and pop LPs. Earlier in the decade, RCA had stuck steadfastly to the 45—a format it invented and unveiled in 1949 as a response to Columbia's LP. In addition to releasing 10-inch LPs, RCA issued box sets of 45s in an effort to keep a hand in. But by late 1955, the cost of copyrights for s…