New Artists on mono before it’s gone
People preferred stereo. The amount of detail and sounds you could put across two speakers was more appealing than the dance-able force of mono. cars were starting to have stereo radios. And artists/engineers saw stereo’s potential and mixed songs creatively.
Warner Brothers stopped mixing for mono in 1968 (the Grateful Dead’s debut and Frank Sinatra’s album with Duke Ellington were among the last). Columbia stopped earlier in the year after Dylan’s John Wesley Harding (except for Simon and Garfunkel). Capitol was already out of the mono business except for the B’s (Beatles, Beach Boys).
Speaking of the Beatles, their Apple label stopped mixing albums and singles for mono at the end of the year. James Taylor’s debut album was the last one. It’s now a very pricey hard to find record. Here’s the ‘hit song’ from the album, with that McCartney guy on bass).
Jethro Tull’s first, This Was, was mono in England. here’s the short last track both ways:
And their second single in mono/stereo from the UK (they had a few later singles in mono)–note the guitar mixed way loud:
One of England’s finest Jazz/rock bands, Colosseum, had their first single (but not the lp) in mono.
A new band named Black Sabbath had their first single issued in mono only to radio stations (heard this record now goes for $1000):
From Philadelphia, a guy named Todd Rundgren led a band called Nazz. Their second lp was mixed for mono, but not released until 2022 (stereo first, then mono–guitar mixed differently, but whole thing sounds squashed):
An unknown LA Band named Alice Cooper cut their first lp, but the single was only released in mono:
This little novelty instrumental has always flowered in mono:
Finally, a real rarity. While singles were still issued in mono after 1968, they were always ‘fold down’–both stereo channel just combined. However, in 1970, Warner brothers realized they could have a hit with James Taylor’s Fire and Rain, they contacted the engineer, who mixed it for a radio station promo record in mono. Listen for the strong piano (played by Carole King) and the cello up front. Plus, it’s slightly longer!