My grandfather gave me 50 cents for getting straight A's on a 4th grade report card, mid 1970s. I spent it as soon as I could on the single (45 RPM) of Barracuda by Heart. I can't remember what song was on the other side, but I played it constantly until family members started giving me more records. Some of my childhood favorites were the Grease soundtrack and later, Michael Jackson's Off The Wall and Fleetwood Mac (can't remember which one) and anything Rolling Stones. Otherwise my music enrichment came from a plastic, mod G.E. photo cube radio that I'd listen to when I played outside at Grandmas. A little later, someone gave me Donna Summer's Bad Girls. The album itself was a fold out featuring Donna Summer and her singers dressed as prostitutes and posing beneath streetlamps. I was probably 10 or 11, and so excited to get it that I brought it to school for show and tell. That was when we were living in Guam. Cassettes didn't make my radar until a few years later.
My grandfather gave me 50 cents for getting straight A's on a 4th grade report card, mid 1970s. I spent it as soon as I could on the single (45 RPM) of Barracuda by Heart. I can't remember what song was on the other side, but I played it constantly until family members started giving me more records. Some of my childhood favorites were the Grease soundtrack and later, Michael Jackson's Off The Wall and Fleetwood Mac (can't remember which one) and anything Rolling Stones. Otherwise my music enrichment came from a plastic, mod G.E. photo cube radio that I'd listen to when I played outside at Grandmas. A little later, someone gave me Donna Summer's Bad Girls. The album itself was a fold out featuring Donna Summer and her singers dressed as prostitutes and posing beneath streetlamps. I was probably 10 or 11, and so excited to get it that I brought it to school for show and tell. That was when we were living in Guam. Cassettes didn't make my radar until a few years later.
Amen to the Guy Scramble. I love that memory of your dad. Love this post.
Thank you for this loving reflection. I just went into Bull Moose with my partner today, somewhere I haven't been much yet, since after 4 years in New England I've only just realized its wonders. We were looking for vinyl to play with dinner—we have a cheap all-in-one record player by the kitchen door and we wanted to find things that cheer on cooking. We went to the bottom shelves and spent about 5 dollars—José Feliciano, Tom Jones, Flatt and Scruggs, Jimmy Buffett live. It wasn't about getting "good" records at all. It was about what would give feeling to that little spot in our house.