tireguy: nice query. i do, indeed, remember the very first record i purchased. it was a 45rpm (big hole) of the platters, "the great pretender." must have been around 1957-58. bought it at the magnavox record/appliance store on 2nd street in davenport, iowa, next door to western auto. the first lp i bought was van cliburn playing tchaikovsky's 1st piano concerto, which was also in the 50's (that's the 1950's, BTW). -kelly |
Scarey, I do, it was an LP though.
Yes Fragile.
I bought it at Bradley's dept store in Wayne, NJ. I can't remember the price, but I did just happen to see it amoungst my CD's (bought it again) the other day and listened to it again. Great album. It's what was playing the first time I really kissed a girl. |
Hi, Tireguy.By jove!, I distinctly recall my first CD as if it were just 18 years ago...oh, wait; it was 18 years ago! (Looking skyward with a pensive countenance) One autumn day in 1983 "pops" picked me up from jr. high, and said that he bought that "new fangled CD player" for me, the one I'd been cajoling for, and that it was waiting for me at home. Well, I rushed towards my room and unpacked the brand-spanking-new player from its carton like a pack of wolfs devours a caucus. My first Cd was the sample one that came with the first generation CD players. It was, what I assume in retrospect to be, a digital recording of jazz; I especially remember track 1, which was "It don't mean a thing if you ain't got that swing" (not sung by Ella, of course). I was mesmerized at the iridescent shimmer of the CD; up to that time I've only seen those colors through a prism. Well, let me tell ya, I was amazed at the sound quality compared to my mid-fi Pioneer turntable. The vocals sounded so real, the ride cymbal also was much more palpable than I've experienced on any turntable. Ah, yes, it was a wonderful time, indeed. I could go on, but I won't bore you any further. ..Thanks |
I used to sit in the basement with one of those cheap tape recorders, pressing the microphone up to the 2" speaker on my clock radio to get recordings off the radio of some of my favorite tunes, (I actually still have a couple of those tapes laying around in boxes of debris I think...a window into the past). One of those songs was Billy Thorpe's "Children of the Sun", and I dug it so much that it was officially the first album I ever bought with my own hard-earned cash. Some friends and I started joking about that tune recently and it got me to thinking about it enough that I made a point of picking up a used copy (on vinyl of course) for a buck at the local record shop. Fond memories resurfaced of cranking up those sound effects on the beginning to near-clipping volume. |
What a mind blower my first record 45 was Smoke gets in your eyes by the platters in 1959....still like it today as when i was a nine yesr old in 1959.... |
i recall my 1st lp purchase was Greg Kihn, "Rock Kihn Roll" at Rainbow Records in the Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo. I remember they priced all their LPS at with the same digit. I think the Greg Kinh, sold for at that time for $4.44. that was the 1st of many more lp purchases to come. |
Tireguy,
Thanks for this opportunity to take a stroll down memory lane.
It must have been 1965, because the first record I bought was a 45 of "Mustang Sally" by Wilson Picket (I can't remember what was on the flipside). I bought it from a Thrifty drugstore near my house in L.A. I was 11 years old, and my allowance could cover the cost of a 45, but not an Lp. By the time I was 13, I was working so I could regularly afford LPs. I think the first LP that I bought was either the Beatles' "Revolver" or the Rolling Stones' "Aftermath". Soon after that I bought my first real stereo system, a Nikko receiver, some crappy speakers, a Garrard record changer removed from a boken portable record player, and a pair of Sennheiser headphones (weak bass, grainy treble, but I thought they sounded great!)
I guess CRS Syndrome effects short-term more than long-term memory ... |
I do remember my first purchase of music. It was an orange/red 45 of the theme song from "Cheyenne" the western TV series. I recall listening to it as I worked on my plastic model of the 20 Mule Wagon Team (you got this when you sent in a slew of box tops from Boraxo detergent). Western's were my thing back then. My second 45 was Blue Hawaii, by Elvis, which I won as a prize @ a company picnic sponsored by my father's employer (I gave this to my mother and she ended up taking my sister and myself to see the movie - yuck). I cannot remember exactly my first LP as things had gotten a bit smokey around that time, but think that it was either the red "Nazz" album or maybe something by "Country Joe & the Fish" or "Quicksilver Messenger Service". I received my first CD, "Silent Will" as a gift around 1990 as I had helped with the production. The composer of the music is a friend of mine and our original deal was that my cat would be pictured on the cover (as payment for my contribution), but instead I just received a lousy credit. We are still friends though. I gave this CD (as I did the Elvis 45) to my mother who now lived 1800 miles away (I did not own a CD player until two years ago:-). I have always been a software junkie though. When I sold my LP collection in the mid 80's it took the buyer two trips, of double stacked crates, in a full sized pickup truck to haul it to his house and in the last two years my wife and myself have accumulated over 1000 CD's and approx. 300 LP's, in the past 9 months, (99.9% of them on the used market). I recently started collecting 78's and prerecorded reel to reel tapes, but unfortunately do not own the equipment to play them on. This will come in time, but first I had better consider getting a preamp as changing IC's from source to source is starting to get a little old. |
This is embarrasing but it was Iron Maiden Somewhere in Time. Cut me some slack. I was young. |
I don't have a clue what my first LP was, more than likely early Led Zeppelin or Spooky Tooth's "The Mirror". The most memorable was Born to Run by Springsteen I picked up when I was 16. I was out selling stuff on the street to raise money for the Ski Patrol and at the end of a long day we dropped by a local record emporium here in Montreal, Phantasmagoria. At the time I had a B&O turntable someone gave me (and I fixed), a NAD3020 integrated, and Mission speakers. I really wasn't familiar with Springsteen at the time, I was more into British rock and metal but bought it all the same, mostly cuz I liked the record cover. I'll never forget the first time I cued it up and listened to Thunder Road. I still love that record. My first CD was Peter Gabriel; I had bought a first generation "perfect sound forever" Yamaha CD player for $1200 and there were only two titles available, Gabriel and the 1812. Listened over and over again to the new digital wonder, and as much as I loved Gabriel's work, my ears kept telling me the CD phenomena wasn't quite as good as the hype. I bought the Gabriel release on vinyl to compare, and I went back to listening to my turntable to compare (a Thorens TD147 with an Ortofon pickup). I tried to return the CDP, no luck, and as a student who worked his ass off as a labourer all summer to raise the cash I was less than happy with wasting $1200. |
First LP is a memory too faded to recall. I do remember my first Pioneer table, and how the Grado I had odered to go with it took what seemed like weeks to show up ( I was a ripe old 13 at the time). My first CD ... I was 15 and the first gen 2 players (read CHEAP) were at the local electronics superstore. I took all of my birthday money and $99 later I was on my way home with the player and a copy of Beethoven 6. I was in heaven until my music teacher had me bring the player over to listen to on his system. His Linn/Roland/RS-1B system revealed the player as the hunk of junk it really was. I bought records over CDs 3:1 until I was in college and couldn't afford to replace my dead Pioneer table. Bought a turntable a few months ago, and am returning to analog as a staple in my system again. |
I don't remember the first LP that I bought (I'm pretty sure it was lame), but thankfully I remember the first LPs that I PLAYED (to the chagrin of my older sibs). At about age 6 or so, I played and played (and played) S&G "Bookends,", "Tommy" by The Who, and Iron Butterfly "Inagaddadavida" (unsure of spelling there). Aaaaah, that simplistic drum solo replays in me noggin sometimes.........I now have excellent LPs of the first two, and wouldn't waste my money on the third (in my opinion). Hmmmmm....I think I'll go play "Hazy Shade of Winter" right now! Thanks for the nostalgia trip tireguy! |
As a cerfified geezer (72+), my first was a couple of 78 rpm jazz records by Johnnie Guarnieri bought sometime in the early-mid l940s, played on a Sears Silvertone phonograph with a cactus needle. Top that! I still have 'em and they never sounded better. |
I'm glad to hear someone else's first purchase was embarrassing--mine was Kiss Alive. It was played on a portable phono player that had something like a 2x4 for a tonearm with a nail through it for a cartridge. |
Fun thread. First LP purchase of my own—“Meet the Beatles,” (when first released), at age ten. Still have it, but at last play, it had so much hiss, so many crackles, pops, etc., it sounded more like Beatles Meet French Fries Concession. I used to listen on one of those one-piece, suitcase-like record player contraptions, with the speakers that attached/detached on either side and a handle for carrying. |
I've listened mostly to vinyls upto 1991 until I moved into US. My first CD was Queen -- "A Night at the Opera". That's when my first "digital dissapointment" occured. Hoping to transfer all the way to CDs I've sold my records, TT and all applied stereo components in Russia; but than realized that I've made a mistake... |
I believe I was in 2nd grade and with the $5 I got for my birthday I purchased BOTH the Kinks first LP and The Music Machine, with a reveting version of "Tax Man". I think they were $1.99 each. I wore the grooves out on those 2 LP's. |
...buying Please Please Me in 1965. We had just come back from Germany after a 2.5 year stay & I was ready to get my own copy at the ripe ole age of 10. I was living in a little town in Southern Illinois that had a population of ~15k, but don't remember the price or the store. When I first heard a CD player I decided against them because even though they were very clean sounding, they were lacking in musicality & had a 2 dimensional sound. When I heard that George Martin was going to sit in on the CD process I decided to buy a CD player & started buying the Beatles CD's before I bought the player. |
Yes, indeed I do. The first album I bought actually consisted of 2, Pink Floyd's, Dark Side.. and Led Zepplin I.
I purchased them at a department store, WT Grants. The year was 1974 and it was in the Fall. It was money I had saved from my paper route. I played them on a Gerrard TT that was a tubed intergrated given to me from my father.
Boy, did they sound great. I played both until I wore a groove through to the other side. Buying and playing these albums made an impact in my life and opened my eyes to the world of Rock and Roll. Or, at least 70's Rock and Roll! |
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The first record of my very own was a 45 of "Sugar" by The Archies that came free in a box of Applejacks, I was nine; that was played on an Army green Sears stereo with detachable speakers and a handle.
My first record of music was Benny Goodman's Brussels concert, that I "forgot to return" to my best friend's father. On that record Benny plays "Poor Butterfly", the first jazz solo that I ever learned. When I listen to that record today, that particular band is almost unplayable, I played it that many times on the Sears.
The first record that I paid money for was The Allman's Brother's "Live At The Fillmore East". Wish I still had it.
Nice thread. |
First album received was a K-Tel 33 1/3(Canadian co. who produced compilations of top 100 songs) - wore it out on my parent's Electrohome console stereo. First album purchased with paper route money was Black Sabbath's Paranoid... After the first 30 seconds my Dad advised me that it was only to be played when he was out of the house! Funny thing is I do enjoy hearing the cuts again but can't take the whole thing at one time. Sinatra on the other hand can play all day long... the apple actually (within time) doesn't fall very far from the tree... |
My first record was a 45 of Patsy Cline - "I Fall to Pieces". It was 1977. I was 8 and played it on my first stereo, a Garrard suitcase type portable record player with two detachable swing-out speakers.
My first full LP was the soundtrack to "2001: A Space Odyssey" remastered into quadrophonic to replace the my father's two-channel version. It was 1979. My father's rig was a Fisher Quadrophonic system with four HUGE 4-ways and power-o-plenty. It boogied. |
It was in Ottawa, Ontario and I bought Buffy Saint marie's first album...it awed me with the mouth-bow instrument that she played...along with her "In Piney Wood Hills" song!
Followed that by Donovan "Catch The Wind"...Eric Burden & The Animals"...and so many more... |
At the risk of dating myself, and with the caveat that I came late to the game of purchasing music, I got started with tapes and the first two were Synchronicity by the Police and Van Halen's 1984. Nice. Didn't get a CD player until 1993. Even more vivid, however, were the early mornings driving out to the beach at sunup in the old blue jeep when the only two 8 tracks we had were Pachelbell's Cannon in D and Willie Nelson. Couldn't have been more than 8 or 10 or so, but, when I saw Willie a couple of years ago (having not heard a note from him since) I was shocked to realize that I knew the words to nearly all of the songs. Spooky. |
.... and his friends in toytown (specifically Dennis the Dachshund). However since I was about 5 years old, and since this LP was purchased on my behalf perhaps it doesn't count. I've still got it. Not really audiophile stuff, but plenty of good memories. My first real LP was Queen "A Night at the Opera" ... an album I still love. My first CD was Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms" ... an album which I now really hate (sooooo bland).
I can't say I prefer CD or vinyl ... vinyl sounds better to me for some of the older rock recordings (Queen, Led Zep), but I definitely prefer the lower noise of CD for classical, especially choral or chamber music. However there's something about the sight of an LP spinning on a good looking turntable (in my case a Rega) which CD just can't capture. Perhaps I need to buy a top-loading CD player ?
BTW good thread ... life's too short to argue about subjective differences in equipment. |
Yes, I remember both (actually three):
First record owned: "Song of the South" soundtrack. I got it from my parents when I was four. Played it at 1:00 am when I was supposed to be sleeping on a plastic protable record player (until I got caught).
First record purchased: Led Zeppelin II, still have it, still love it.
First CD purchased: John Coltrane, eponymous from 1957. Bought it on the way to college in 1987. Glad I don't have that CD player anymore. |
I can't remember my first LP although I do remember a Black Sabbath record I did have. My sister could not understand what was wrong with me. I do remember my first hi end spkr however, it was the DQ 10. I been crazy ever since. Good thread. |
Foghat's "Fool for the City"....Slow Ride... Terreplane Blues...I was in 7th grade at the time, and since I'd
hadn't experienced sex yet, it was the one of greatest
days of my life! I bought it at Woolworth's dept. store
in Dubuque, IA, which has long since gone-the store-not
Dubuque! |
Great thread. First LP bought with my own money was The Allman Brothers "Live at the Fillmore East. Great album. The first CD.....Hmmmm, actually I don't remember. Dave. |
My first LP was some disney thing when i was 3. I think it was donald duck travel around the world. My first CD is New Order's Technique back in 89. |
What a response!!! I did not know so many others felt the same, also I see a lot of names I don't see that often, nice to see you all posting. Keep them coming, this is fun! |
Nice thred Tireguy. In the late '50s, my two year older sister had pretty much commandeered my folks Zenith 45 RPM record player, and she bought Gene Vincent's "Be Bop A lula". I couldn'd get enough of that song, and have loved R&R ever since. And we had 45s of Buddy Holly, Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, The Everly Brothers etc. If you be livin', you gotta' have rhythm.
Fast forward to early 90's, and the "post-Bose" era. I was wandering around the music/electronics section of a Fred Meyer Dept. store in Coos Bay, Oregon. They had nothing but CDs-- no LPs, and I was totally fascinated by the silences within the music compared to cheap LP systems. Well, I bought a $250. JVC boombox that played CDs, and half a dozen CDs, one of which was Anne Murray's "Christmas Wishes". I now have a $40K+ digital based stereo system, but every year at Christmas time we still play the Anne Murray CD for hours at a time. It's a beautifully done CD. And BTW, for portable use, we still use the old JVC. Cheers. Craig |
The first record I ever bought -- a 45-rpm -- was Elvis Presley's "You Ain't Nothing But A Hounddog", which I probably acquired in 1956 or early 1957. The first 33-rpm LP I got (in 1958) was "Dave Brubeck at Storyville", a Columbia release from Brubeck's club appearance at Storyville in Boston. I still have both of these recordings, and from time-to-time I haul them out when I'm feeling nostalgic (read: old). |
Great thread Tim Tireguy; what a response too!
The first record I ever bought was in 1963, a Veejay 45 - Beatles "She Loves You" got it at an old TV repair shop in Riverside for about 89 cents; I guess I was age 9 or 10. I remember being scared to bring it home because dad hated those "longhaired commies" so I could only play it on the family's Zenith portable when no one else was around. One day I forgot to hide it & then mom noticed it on the turntable (yikes) she wasn't too upset, but said that I'd better keep it hidden from dad or I'd get myself killed. I recall eventually being found out somehow, but there were no actual consequences contrary to mom's dire predictions. Apparently I converted them somehow because a few years later they bought me "A Hard Days Night" LP as a birthday gift & I was thrilled; still have that one, although it hasn't been played in eons. |
As a pre-teen kid I liked Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Elvis, Richie Valens, the Supremes, but I don't think I bought anything before the British invasion, and then I'm pretty sure it was the first lp released by the Dave Clark Five, followed by the Rolling Stones.
Then again, maybe it was The Singing Nun (my mother may have had something to with that one). |
My first lp was Jimmy Hendrix's "Are You Experienced?" I purchased when it was just out and I was pre-puberty. I probably had to mow about 3 lawns to afford it. I actually had my father, an Episcopal priest, listen to the whole album with me. (His was the only stereo in the house, and it was in the living room.) Neither my father, nor I, had any idea what Jimmy was meaning. I also had him listen sometime later to Alice Cooper's lp "No More Mr. Nice Guy." What a sport, he thought it was pretty clever...come to think of it, I don't remember us sitting down together after that. [:)]
I am pretty sure my first 78 was either the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back," or the theme from the TV show "Hawaii Five-0."
I did not own a cd player until 1994. I am pretty sure I bought "Dark Side of the Moon" first because I am basically politically correct about most things.
Charlie |
First record was a Stones 45...Ruby Tuesday on one side and
Let's Spend the Night Together on the flip. First CD was
Flim and the BB's Tricyle...I was a dedicated 'phile by then
and the sound on my new $150 Magnavox CD player blew me away...at the time. I still have that CDP somewhere maybe
I should post it for sale here. |
Motley Crue "Decade of Decadence" CD through a pair of Cerwin-Vega D-1's and a JVC receiver (1st of the titanium series) was one of the first. Its kind of stupid now but... |
Tim, I can't even remember where I parked this morning, but I always appreciate your ability to have fun and look at life the way that you do!
All I do remember is that it was old, heavy, played at 33 RPM's and it was probably something like "Snow White and Rose Red", not music, but one of my first records that was my very own. Yer pal - angela |
My first record was a 45 - Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" (around 1957). My first LP was The Platters "Great Pretender" (around 1960). Joel |
LP: "Drag City" Jan&Dean (still own it) CD: "Way Out West" Sonny Rollins (was a freebee when I purchased my $600 Yamaha first-gen player). And the Gods made love... |
First LP I remember listening to a lot was Danny Kaye: "Hans Christian Anderson" on one side and "Tubby the Tuba" on the other. First LP I bought was "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Or, could it have been the Monkee's first album? If it was the latter, the evidence is long gone, so I'm sticking with "Sgt. Pepper's." I believe my first 45 was "Downtown," Petula Clark. I got into CDs late. First purchase was k.d. lang's "Absolute Torch and Twang," but years after it was first released. |
DoWah Diddy Diddy Dum Diddy Do was my first 45, played by a fine sewing needle and paper "horn" held by a 10yr old human "arm" on my folks broken Phico console.
I was hooked! Next came my very own Hammond B! |
I believe that Jefferson Airplane Surrealistic Pillow and Cream Disreali Gears were two of my first. Guess that puts a distinct time and flavor to my late adolesence (probably a junior in high school at the time, ca. 1968). |
My first 45 was Tommy James and the Shondells - Crimson and Clover. It was on Roulette records and I listened to it "over and over". :) |
Dekay: Country Joe and the Fish... And it's one, two, three what are we fighting for, don't ask me I don't give a damn, next stop is Vietnam, and it's five, six, seven, open up Pearly Gates, well I ain't got time to wonder why, whoopee we're all gonna die!!!
Wow!!! I have not thought about or heard that song for at least 30 odd years. |
My first cassette was the Kraftswerk's ' The Man Machine" , which I was listening over and over again and again. Till this day I am not tired of them. Disco came and went ( although some I still like). Of course, Now I have the CD and play it on 50K+ system. Since then I have graduated to variety of music, BuT mY Love For Kraftwerk remains. |
Dear Tireguy:
Boy do I ever! I've loved music for as long as I can remember. My mom used to buy me 45's of songs I'd fallen in love with on the radio when I was a kid and had NO money. (This followed a long string of making my own tapes from the radio. Story available elsewhere in these pages.) The Night Chicago Died by Paper Lace was one of the first. With my first paper route came money to buy the 45's myself. Hooked on a Feelin' and The Streak were amongst the first then. Then it happened, I saved enough to buy a whole LP! My first was EJ's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy followed shortly thereafter by Yes' Fragile and the Who's Tommy. These records hold a special place in my heart to this day. If you've fallen in love with this hobby get yourself a turntable and a few records. You can thank me later. |
We had such steam what happened? I know there are more then a few who have not stepped up to the plate, come on this is kinda fun! |
