Beatles • Rather Rare Records

about collectables and their alleged collectability and value

Last Updated on: March 25, 2020 by Neal Umphred

BUYERS AND SELLERS of collectables—whether records or memorabilia or Beanie Babies—often fail to achieve their goals of financial success because they do not understand a few basic concepts on determining collectability and value of the “seldom found.” Because this a record collectors website, I will generally refer to records below, but you can substitute almost any other collectable and the comments remain virtually unchanged. [Continue reading]

did paul mccartney really blow his mind out in a car in 1966?

Last Updated on: August 16, 2022 by Neal Umphred

A QUORA READER asked me “What is something that needs to be said about Paul McCartney?” This is an open-ended question and, for those of us who will go to our graves in awe of Beatlepaul but will probably go there also still trying to come to grips with Wingpaul, it’s also a loaded question. [Continue reading]

TimeMachine 1960 George first trip 1500 crop

traveling through time at 45 rpm (time travel records)

Last Updated on: March 16, 2020 by Neal Umphred

IT’S NO SECRET that most of us form strong emotional bonds with things during our teenage years. This includes attachments to humans (think your best friend), food (think pizza), even sports teams (think “Go, Phillies!”) This seems especially so about music: usually, whatever the hits on the radio were that we loved when we were 15-years-old, we are going to love—for better or worse—until we are 95-years-old! [Continue reading]

my first record show as a dealer (rock of ages part 1)

Last Updated on: May 5, 2021 by Neal Umphred

WE HAD BEEN TOGETHER for a year when we finally decided to make the move from the sultry summers of the East Coast to the more moderate West Coast. It was 1978 and the dreams of ‘the sixties’ didn’t seem so far off. Working two jobs each, we had saved the equivalent of $10,000 in today’s dollars. [Continue reading]

real rarity, relative rarity, and the “wow!” factor

Last Updated on: May 6, 2021 by Neal Umphred

IN RECORD COLLECTING, we bandy about certain terms so often that they lose their meaning. One such word is ‘rare,’ which should be considered a bugaboo not just record collecting, but all fields of collectables. Another abused word is ‘psychedelic,’ or, as it is more often used, ‘psych.’ [Continue reading]

the kinks’ plastic man wants to be ten feet long like king kong

Last Updated on: February 17, 2022 by Neal Umphred

IT’S DIFFICULT TO SAY why the Kinks fell out of favor as hit-makers, but by the end of 1968 they looked like they were already a part of rock & roll’s history. They were making music that veered off from most contemporary music pathways and as 1969 opened, remaining a Kinks fan was almost an act of defiance. [Continue reading]

antoine “fats” domino has left new orleans for the last time

Last Updated on: August 4, 2018 by Neal Umphred

I NEVER THOUGHT of Antoine “Fats” Domino as a rock & roll artist. I thought he was a rhythm & blues-based artist, maybe a boogie-woogie artist, definitely a New Orleans artist. For some reason, white teenagers in the ’50s glommed onto him and the rest is rock & roll history.

I mean, yeah, when I was a kid inheriting my Aunt Judy’s 45 collection, I thought everything in it was rock & roll, from great stuff like Fats and the Platters to Fabian and silly jive like Who put the bomp in the bomp-bah-bomp-bah-bomp, who put the ram in the rama-lama-ding-dong? [Continue reading]

I know where manchester is—do you know who the hollies are?

Last Updated on: March 17, 2020 by Neal Umphred

THE HOLLIES ARE FROM MANCHESTER—everyone knows that, right? Hah! I bumped into a young couple at the Bellevue Transit Center. Handsome young man with a very pretty girl. Both in their mid 20s, both spick-and-spanned and nicely attired. When we exchanged “Hellos” I heard the accent and asked them from which part of England they hailed. [Continue reading]

hyperbolic exaggeration in pop culture and miss patsy cline

Last Updated on: December 1, 2020 by Neal Umphred

MISS PATSY CLINE may seem to be the focus of this article, but she’s not—at least, not primarily. Primarily it’s about hyperbole in describing the accomplishments of popular stars, even when the artist doesn’t need any embellishment to shine among the other stars. Fans of any field of artistic or athletic endeavor are given to excessive bragging about their faves, whether it’s rock bands or comic book artists or baseball players. [Continue reading]