Neighborhood Record Stores

"I see you sent my letters back, and my LP records and they're all scratched..." 
From 'I Can't Stand Losing You' by the Police

One of the things that have constantly evolved is the way we buy our music. If you're as old as I am, you remember buying 45 RPM records as a young kid and then LPs as you became a teen and grew older. You may even remember the first album that you bought. For me it was Stevie Wonder's "Innervisions" album, the one with "Superstition" and "Living for the City" on it. Maybe you were one of those who bought your sounds on 8-track tapes or later on cassette. If you're in your 20s or younger, all you'll probably remember are the CDs. downloading, and streaming. You've never had the pleasure of hearing a pop or click or the misfortune of buying an album and having to return it because of a long scratch that made the needle skip as the vinyl record turned repeatedly to that same spot.

If you're one of those from the CD/download era, that means you probably have no knowledge of neighborhood record stores either. Places where the guys who sold the records knew about the music they sold. And that's what you got there - records. No movies and other stuff, just music. Today you will be hard-pressed to find such a store. Even the mall stores like Sam Goody are long gone. The last places that I saw selling CDs were Best Buy, and that was some time ago. Being that I rarely get out anymore because of my disabilities, I don't know what's happening now. The last sign of actual physical media came when I was in Barnes & Noble a number of years ago. and I saw that they were selling - could it be? - 33 1/3 LPs! Like anything, what goes away someday comes back. Now audiophiles are buying records again, though the only bona fide record stores are the independents who sell mostly used LPs.I would think the places where the store clerks cold make good recommendations are long gone. Who knows? Maybe there are some surprises out there. There's always a surprise sitting out there waiting to be discovered.

AND YOU MAY REMEMBER...
    ...The local record stores here in South Philly. East Passyunk Avenue had two of them.All older neighborhood people remember Record Bar. There was another shop too, somewhere above Mifflin or Moore streets, but I can't remember the name if it would save my life.     

    ...Remember Nick Petrella's on Snyder Avenue near Broad? My late Aunt Carmella used to tell me he was a talent scout, but I don't know if that was true. The Mario Lanza Museum was housed in the back of the store, and Mr. Petrella could often be seen sitting outside the store during the warmer months. Talent scout or no, from what I'm told he did know music.

    ...You may remember the chains and independents that are long-gone too. Remember Platters Ltd. on Chestnut St. near 10th? There were always punk rockers sitting outside that place. Maybe some were employees, but probably just music fans. Wall to Wall Sound and Listening Booth were to of the major chains back in the 70s, names now committed to record store history. I mentioned Sam Goody earlier. Then again, they're one of the mall stores where you usually wound up paying a few bucks more for an album than at the neighborhood joints.    

     ...There was a big record store called Jerry's Records on Market St that went bust in the late '70s. I remember they had this blowout sale which was more of a teaser to get you in the door. They had a weekend where they sold albums for a buck, but when you got there it looked like they broke out the stock of albums from artists that no one heard of or wouldn't care to listen to. Shortly afterward, they were gone.

    ...But the granddaddy of them not a neighborhood store, but close enough to hop a bus or train to get to. Third Street Jazz & Rock stood on - you guessed it - 3rd Street just north of Market Street. You had to go to the basement if you were into rock music, and it was by no means like your mall or big box store with promotional displays and whatever. You found your artist's records by thumbing through racks with signs written in magic marker (do they still call them that, or are they simply known as Sharpies today?). If you wanted to know something about music, you asked and got an informed opinion. When I was 18, I worked loading trucks and packing cartons at the slipper factory above the old Stanley Hardware store on Market at Bank Street. Every Friday, almost without fail, my friend Professor and I would head to the bank at lunchtime to cash our measly pay checks. That meant that when quitting time came, we headed right over to Third Street Jazz and bought a few albums. Imports, bootlegs, hard to find artists, they had it all. But they're gone too.

What was the first album that you purchased? The last CD? And can anyone explain why anyone besides a kid would buy singles when there were so many great tunes on albums?  You may buy the LP or CD on the strength of one song and find that you liked most if not all the songs. For most, those days are gone. Now people are buying individual songs online, but who knows for how long? I read recently that Apple may put iTunes to rest. Will the only remaining means of obtaining music through streaming services. I know the LPs are coming back, but are they re-releases of older albums or new music too? The mind wanders.



Originally published 01/08/2008 and updated.