Victrola
My brother calls me right before my birthday in November and says, “You’ll never guess what I have.” He was right. I couldn’t guess.
He told me he’d gotten a turntable and was able to play some of his old records. He asked if I had kept my records and I said, “They are somewhere around here.” I had a feeling they were in the garage and if the mice hadn’t eaten them (or sold them to their music-savvy relatives), then I still had them.
For my birthday, he gave me a turntable. After doing a little sleuthing, I found out that my brother, Gary, had given me his turntable and that my nephew had another one for Gary for Christmas. I quickly ran out to the garage and found my mouse-spared vinyl records. They are still very dear to me and reflect some of my early musical influences.
Billy Joel, Dan Fogelberg, Kenny Loggins, Foreigner, Journey and Earth, Wind & Fire top the list. I actually attended a concert of Billy Joel’s in college and also Journey and EW&F. Those were enjoyable times with my friends.
When I was in college, I was the Entertainment editor for the University of Colorado’s student newspaper (it was a paid position as I put myself through college – perfect, right?) I had albums sent to me for review so I have some lesser known artists like Shakatak, a group of mullet-laden young men and a woman with a serious perm. I also still have an album for The Power Station, which was a collaborative effort between Robert Palmer, John Taylor, Tony Tompson and Andy Taylor. I didn’t know a thing about them but I really liked the album.
I also got a copy of the press release for each album, which I thought was totally cool, since my major was journalism.
The first album that I purchased with my hard-earned money was Rose Royce with the “Wishing on a Star” lead track. I learned of this song while at work one night at Wyatt’s cafeteria near my house. We listened to it as we cleaned up and my new-found, cool music-loving friend, who was older than me, introduced me to the group. I fell in love with the song and had to have it. I was 15 years old when I purchased my first album. I probably spent half of my first year’s worth of earnings on music. I loved so many artists and would learn their songs by heart. They had album liner notes at the time so you didn’t have to wear out your records, learning the words.
This past November, my friend and I found an estate sale where a gentleman’s family was selling his 45 rpm collection (revolutions per minute, according to my husband). They were in pristine condition and cataloged by artist, name and even season (there was a whole Christmas collection). Many of the artists I’d never heard of, so I think some of them could be collectibles?
I gave my brother the records for part of his Christmas present and he was less than thrilled. It seems he didn’t get a record player for Christmas. The one that my nephew had was buried somewhere in his garage, along with many other items that he’d bought through a liquidator. My sister-in-law, Amy, ordered one but it was on back-order. Rats.
Please excuse me. I have to go turn my Billy Joel record over. I was reminded how few songs were actually recorded on the vinyl records. But, the sound is still amazing. And, I still remember most of the words!
I’m behind on the A to Z Challenge and I hope to get caught up this week. Keep your fingers crossed.
dmweiden@gmail.com
I'm Diane, a marketing executive in the non-profit sector living in Terre Haute, Indiana. My husband and I moved from Denver, Colorado, 15-plus years ago and this blog highlights our joys and challenges in adjusting to our new home and town. I also share things I love: photography, wildlife and domestic pets, writing, knitting, making jewelry, food, travel, my faith in God and music. I'm also writing a mystery novel so stay tuned!
11 Comments
John Holton
Shakatak is popular on the “smooth jazz” stations.
I had a nun in grade school that called any record player a Victrola. Wish I still had my vinyl…
dmweiden@gmail.com
I soon discovered that I really liked Shakatak. Did you know that stores are selling vinyl once again? There are of course the used stores that sell from older collections. And, I understand they are making vinyl records again. I have no idea if they sound as good as the originals. Thanks for visiting my blog! I appreciate it.
rolandclarke
V could also be Vinyl – I’ve got a few boxes of records from my pre-tape/cd days. Mostly LPs – rock (incl David Bowie/Jethro Tull/Vevet Underground), jazz (incl MJQ/Thelonius Monk), and classical (incl Shostakovich/Mahler)- but also some 45s from the 1960s by artists like The Beach Boys and The Beatles, whoever they were. My wife bought me a record deck like the Victrola a year or so ago, and we can relive our youth.
dmweiden@gmail.com
So glad you stopped by. You have some great artists there! I do enjoy listening to the records again. Do you remember 8-track tapes? Oh, I loved those too but I didn’t buy as many (thank goodness). Doubt those will ever return. Congratulations on almost completing the A to Z challenge. I’m hoping to get caught up but I fear it will be a week or two after the event. I still enjoy participating. Stay safe and well.
rolandclarke
I remember 8-tracks or rather listening to other people’s as I never had any. I’m way behind on A to Z and all my posts – links to old ones – were scheduled in March. It takes me a year to catch up – if I ever do.
moondustwriter
There was something about buying vinyls I felt so “grown up”
Im glad they are back unfortunately I sold most my vinyls to feed my children
Happy last week of A to Z
dmweiden@gmail.com
Thank you for visiting my blog. I know – who knew albums would be so “hip” again? You can always get your favorite albums back – some stores are selling them again (new ones, not old). Glad you were able to feed your children. Congrats on doing the A to Z challenge.
jlennidorner
Seems I missed seeing your handful of A to Z posts last month. Sorry about that!
I hope you and yours are staying safe and healthy during this difficult time.
J Lenni Dorner~ Co-host of the #AtoZchallenge, Debut Author Interviewer, Reference& Speculative Fiction Author
Diane Weidenbenner
Thank you for visiting my site. I really appreciate it.
Susan Bernhardt
My father had two Victrolas in our basement at home. He gave one to my brother and the other to me. Mine was in a wonderful wooden cabinet. He also gave us some 50+ old records that we played for years on special occasions. A couple of years ago we gave the Victrola to our youngest son. Little by little, we’ll need to start finding new homes for our treasures.
I enjoyed your story. My husband and I still have our vinyl records from college, many are duplicates as we had some of the same taste in music. We enjoy listening to them usually on Friday evenings.
dmweiden@gmail.com
Sorry for the late reply. That’s great that you and your husband had similar taste in music. I still like to listen to the records but they seem so short compared to CDs now. And, you have to turn them over to listen to the other side. We’ve become so lazy …