In fifth grade I received a stereo for Christmas. What a mistake my parents made, I never stopped the hobby. My firat album was Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass with :What Now My Love" my first 45 was "Guitarzan by Ray Stevens and the first 8-track was Frijid Pink.
First received a children's three-speed record player as a Christmas gift in 1962. Actually, I had the first LP devoted to music from the "Mickiey Mouse Club" television show in 1955, but never had anything to play it on. This album contained 26 songs from the show and featured Jimmie Dodd and a handful of Mouseketeers. Most of the songs featured Dodd and some backup adult vocalists, including Dodd's wife, Ruth Carrell Dodd. The album sold for $3.98 in 1955, not cheap by any means in those days. Still recall the album was purchased at "Crawford's Corndrs," a little department store in El Monte, California. The album survives today in good condition. Still sounds pretty good, too. There is a decent high fidelity quality about it.
Once the record player was in the house, my first album to go along with it was "The Alvin Show," featuring Ross "David Seville" Bagdasarian. Of course, the voices of Alvin, Simon and Theodore were also supplieed by Bagdasarian. His natural voice was sped up to twice the normal speed, thus creating the effect of Chipmunks. I am convinced many parents were driven batty by the Chipmunk records. Not so much by the voices of the Chipmunks, but by the sound of "David Seville" going postal at the end of each track.
Album: Simon And Garfunkle Wednesday Morning 3AM 45: Little Eva - Locomotion But I was raised on my brothers Click Clack by Dikkie Do and the Donts! (that is really thier name)
Bob Dylan's Highway 61 and the Temptations Greatest Hits (I think). Still a Dylan fan and am soon going to a reunion concert of the local R&B bands that played our high school dances. Some things never change.
Around the World with Three Dog Night - double live album that totally blows all their studio versions away. Listen to 'Mama Told Me Not to Come' and tell me I'm wrong!
At 10 or 11 I bought an album with Beethoven's 5th and 9th symphonies. I distinctly recall travelling to Chicago from the suburbs to go to a museum with some neighbour kids. Somewhere in downtown Chicago was a small record store. I think that it might have been the first real record store that I visited. I might have purchased some 45s before that from a dime store, but I don't recall what.
First album I ever purchased was The Doors "Soft Parade" when I was in about fifth grade. I wasn't too popular with the Archies set. Of course, I wasn't too popular with my mother, either, when she heard Morrison cry out, "you cannot petition the Lord in prayer!"
Beatles - Yellow Submarine: Still have it, although you can practically see through it. My second record was Santana's third LP - with the man with the outstretched hand. Can see through that one too.
Shut Down by the Beach Boys, I think. Back in those days I principally bought 45s. Can't recall whether my first album was a Beach Boys one or Beatles '65.
I think the first three I bought back in 78 all within a few weeks Forigner there first LP Kraftwerk Man Machine I still love that LP and Aerosmith Toys in The Attic
A more than decent local musician left my home town of Des Moines to play with the "Archies" cartoon/45 stuff. No way I'll ever remember his name though after all these years.
I'm surprised so many people can remember. I think it may have been the Stones, Beggars Banquet. Other possibilities are Blind Faith, Hendrix's Are you Experienced, and Led Zeppelin II. Or maybe it was something else.
Although I had been collecting 45's for a short while, I remember my first LP purchase vividly. I was brought along to Toronto with my parents on a trip and ended up at Sam the Record Man, then and for a long while the mecca of record stores in Canada. I spent about four hours looking at album covers but only had the scratch ($5.00) for one album. On my way out I looked at the new releases again and narrowed it down to Paul Revere and the Raiders Greatest Hits vs. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. I chose Paul Revere and have been making the right picks ever since!
Now this could give someones age away. First LP was The Doors. I lived in Manhattan Beach California when I was a kid. A few friends and I (this was around the late 1960's)heard loud music playing in a garage that was closed but it was emanating loudly at the time. I was hooked because I remember hearing the song Crystal Ship being played over and over among others and thought that was a cool song. Months later I heard the same song in a record store when their album was released and I was very surprised and I bought it. I will never forgot that.
First album I owned was the first KISS album, which I received for my 7th or 8th birthday I think. I don't remember the first album I paid for, but it was probably either Queen's News of the World or Styx's Grand Illusion. I also really loved Ted Nugent and The Beatles. K-Mart was the place.
Sogood51 yes it passes the clap test thanks to the Michael Green pressure zone controllers in the upper corners of the room just visible in the pictures.
Not as bad as my first "sink the bismark", great system you have by the way! Wondering if your room passes the "hand clap" test though? I'll bet my Krell's would hunker-down and try to hide if those big-ass tube amps pulled up along side.
I don't know if I can do this its so embarrassing. Ok its Shaun Cassidy title unknown gee wonder why I don't remember the title probably a good thing anyway. was a LP played over and over on our killer Zenith Quadrophonic receiver turntable combination rig
A yellow 45 with the theme song from the western series "Cheyenne". Can't remember what the flip side is.
I won my second 45 (Elvis's "Blue Hawaii") @ my father's company picnic by driving a spike all the way into a 2x4 with 2 whacks of a hammer. The fat drunk guy running the contest said I was too young to participate, but my father talked him into giving me a chance. The guy got pissed off when I won (3 blows/whacks was a win). I then called the old guy a peckerhead and got into trouble. Gave the 45 to my mother who later took my sister and myself to see the movie (the movie sucked).
Mine was, at the age of 12 '' Tom Jones Live at the Flamenco in Las Vegas'' I did not have a clue who Tom Jones was, I just wanted to buy my first LP. Listened to this record for a whole year before getting my second LP, SGT Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band....when I heard this for the first time...''Wow''
I had a cheap mono 1 speaker portable record player, to which I connected another ''speaker'', a $ 2,99 Radio Shack 6'' driver that I taped to a cardboard box in which I had cut a 6'' hole with a knife. So there I had it , ''Stereo'' sound!
I went to kilobuck systems since, ( with kilobuck speakers ). Funny, my memory brings me back to a time where this joke of a system (by our snobby audiophile standards) is the best-sounding system I ever had, listening to ''with a little help from my firends'' between my two mono speakers in my bedroom, scratches and all....now THAT was fun !
Growing up in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the 60's, we listened to a station out of Windsor, Ontario, CKLW AM. It was either garage rock or soul for us. Bubble Puppy-Hot Smoke and Sasafras, Blues Magoos-Pipe Dream, There's a Chance We Can Make It, then there are the Detroit Bands: Amboy Dukes-Baby Please Don't Go, Rationals-Respect, SRC, Stooges, MC5, Underdogs, Up, Iguanas (Iggy Pop's first band), Bob Seeger System, Mitch Ryder, Unrelated Segments, so many others, they go on forever.
I asked my mom to get me She Loves You, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah by The Beatles, on 45RPM. She came back with You Can't Do That with Money Can't Buy Me Love on the flipside, explaining that She Loves You was sold out and the guy at the record store told her I would be okay with this one instead. I was a little hesitant, thinking my dear old mom might have gotten hoodwinked by some smooth talking salesman, but when that platter hit the needle -- I was in heaven. What a great record! I started with a "suitcase" style record player, which usually needed a nickle on the tone arm to keep the needle in the groove, then graduated to the kind where the speakers were detachable and finally, a Gerard Turn Table connected to a Pioneer receiver/pre-amp with separate amplifier. I always had a stereo in my room, always had a more serious set-up than my friends, it always seemed to hold more importance for me than most of the people I knew. I was hooked early. Started with the Beatles and a sears record player.
1962 - joined the Columbia Record Club and got a mono recording of Isaac Stern doing Haydn and Mozart violin concerti. Still have that record . . . . It was the start of a very long love affair with recorded classical music - - - -and it's still going on to this day.
Beatles: From I Want to Hold Your Hand to Abbey Road.. After watching them on Ed Sullivan I was hooked. Eventually the Filmore East, Woodstock....Twas an amazing, groovy time, peace man, warren
"Collection" by the "Young Rascals" I must have worn out that LP. Think I paid around $3.00 for it. I'm still "Grooovin" to the music! After that came the Stone's "Aftermath" then Chicago Transit Authority. IMO, still all classics and the best time period for pop and rock music of the last century. Boy, I'm geting old!
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
