According to the Lansing Heritage site, in the article about the JBL Hartsfield, during the 1950s recordings didn't have much content beyond 10 Khz. Then by the late 50s, early 60s LPs had content in the highest audible octave. In the 1960s Audio Fidelity Records boasted FR to 25 Khz. In the 1970s the development of RCA CD-4 phonograph records required FR to 40 khz or beyond. CD-4 was a discrete system unlike the matrix systems. As with FM stereo, the out of band information is the additional channels but unlike FM stereo, there was no matrix circuit, just a downshift to recover the rear channels. I only know of 2 manufacturers who specifically made phono cartridges designed to play CD-4 records, B&O and Empire. I've still got an Empire 4000/DIII which claims to track as low as 1/2 gram. It works very well but doesn't sound any different to me than 999VE which never claimed response beyond 20 khz.
A problem with very high frequency recordings on vinyl is that they can be easily damaged. One reason is that the G force exerted by the stylus on the vinyl is greater with more rapid acceleration characteristic of those frequencies. Lower dynamic mass, higher compliance result in lower force required to keep the stylus in the groove. Also stylus geometry affects record wear. The greater the contact area, the lower the force per unit area or stress. Damage occurs when the force per unit area or stress exceeds the modulus of elasticity of the vinyl. That point is called the elastic limit, the point at which the vinyl no longer snaps back after being deformed. It undergoes what's called plastic deformation. This can be seen on a stress-strain curve for any material, vinyl, steel, aluminum etc. The complex polyhedral stylus geometry of CD-4 cartridges increases the surface contact area. However a few playings using a conventional cartridge tracking at say 2 grams or more having an eliptical stylus may wipe away the out band signal.
Tonearms that are dynamically balanced, that is have their center of mass coincident with their pivot points also have lower dynamic mass with any cartridge. Most tonearms are not dynamically balanced, they rely on a difference in the center of mass between the front and rear of the pivot point to apply tracking force.
