are there albums where the covers are worth more than the records?

HERE’S ANOTHER QUESTION ABOUT VINYL on Quora that distracted me from various writing projects! The question is, “What vinyl album cover empty is worth more than a mint vinyl album without the cover?” Or, as I have worded it in this article’s title: Are there albums with covers that are worth more than the records? [Continue reading]

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the #1 hit records on the pop charts 1962

THIS IS THE THIRD in a series of ten articles listing and addressing the #1 records of the year as they appeared on Cash Box magazine’s Top 100 chart from 1960 through 1969. It was originally published as “Big Girls Don’t Limbo Rock” on my publication Tell It Like It Was on Medium on February 16, 2019. [Continue reading]

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a Freak Out labelography and price guide

THIS IS A LABELOGRAPHY and price guide for the initial pressings of the Mothers of Invention’s 1966 two-record album FREAK OUT! It is intended as a complementary piece to the article “What Was the First Rock Double-Album of the ’60s?” Whereas that piece was for a general readership, this article is intended for collectors (although many of those general readers can enjoy the photos and some of the history). [Continue reading]

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a blonde on blonde labelography and price guide

THIS IS A LABELOGRAPHY and price guide for the ’60s pressings of Bob Dylan’s album BLONDE ON BLONDE. It is intended as a complementary piece to my article “What Was the First Rock Double-Album of the ’60s?” Whereas that piece was for a general readership, this article is intended for Dylan aficionados and record collectors. [Continue reading]

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this was a time when it would benefit an artist to stand up

I WAS ONE OF THOSE TEENS who prided themselves in having a really cool record collection, bragging about albums and singles few of my clueless high school peers had ever heard of. So, of course, I was a big fan of Warner/Reprise Records in the late ’60s. Aside from championing my beloved Kinks (and Grommett save them!), [Continue reading]

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what was the first “rock” double-album of the ’60s?

 IT IS ACCEPTED “FACT” that two seminal works of popular music—the Beach Boys’ PET SOUNDS and Bob Dylan’s BLONDE ON BLONDE—were released on the same day, May 16, 1966. And there was a second reason to celebrate that date: BLONDE ON BLONDE was also the first rock double-album of all-new studio recordings, beating the Mothers of Invention’s FREAK OUT! [Continue reading]

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my review of paul williams’ “outlaw blues” for goodreads

WHILE I HAVE USED GOODREADS AS A SOURCE on my websites, I have not actually participated in the community of readers and reviewers. Until now: I just posted my first review for Paul Williams’s book Outlaw Blues for Goodreads. Oddly, it is only the second review of this important book (and the first was lukewarm). [Continue reading]

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talking with ken barnes on his career as a rock journalist

A FEW WEEKS AGO, I received an invitation from a young musician in England to make a connection on the LinkedIn site, the “world’s largest professional network.” Reluctantly I accepted it, despite the fact that I have yet to meet anyone who has actually benefited professionally from any of their LinkedIn connections. [Continue reading]

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managerial problems faced by a rock & roll band

JUST STUMBLED over this on Facebook and I wanted to post it here immediately sans commentary. This is a lesson that EVERY one of you wannabe recording artists should watch until it is burned into the deepest recesses of your lizard-brain: a brief description of the managerial problems faced by a rock and roll band . . . [Continue reading]