What was the first record album that ever bought?
I can remember it vividly - more vividly, in
fact, than such other adolescent landmarks as my first kiss or my
high school graduation.
It was a cold, rainy spring morning when I
got on the bus and headed for the old Twin Fair store on Elmwood
Avenue in Buffalo. Once there, I made a beeline for the record
department, where I spent the next two or three hours examining
each and every record album in the store.
Finally, after seemingly endless internal
debate, I walked up to the checkout counter and set down my money
along with my selections -- "The Return of Roger Miller" (the one
with "King of the Road") and the Righteous Brothers' first album
(featuring "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling"). They were $2.99 each
in mono, a dollar cheaper than the stereo versions.
Those were the very first record albums that
I ever bought, and I was immediately hooked. Now, nearly 30 years
later, nestled next to thousands of other slabs of 12-inch vinyl
that I've added to my ever-growing collection, I still have those
first two albums.
I guess you could say that those two albums
were my personal musical "roots," although, of course, I didn't
consider those implications at the time, and those well-worn
grooves still sound exciting and somehow comforting to me, despite the scratches
and pops that have developed over the years.
It got me to wondering what record albums
might have initially influenced today's recording artists. Here's a
sampling of what I discovered. Click one of the links to the right to open the gallery.
Charles H. Haymes and G. C. Haymes
(drawing by Charles H. Haymes)
Click one of the links on the right to open the gallery.