for those who never gave up their turntables
SHRINK-WRAPPING ALBUMS did not become standard practice for the American record industry until 1963-1964. Prior to that, EP albums and LP albums were shipped to wholesalers and retailers without any protection! Then Robert B. Cohen, a rack jobber in New Jersey, started wrapping records in protective plastic sleeves, making him the “Godfather of Shrinkwrapped Albums.” [Continue reading]
A SERIES OF ARTICLES about Elvis Presley’s Gold Standard records has been taking up most of my time (along with redesigning the look of all my blogs). Because of that, I have been ignoring both the readers of this blog and those who salivate waiting for me to answer a question on Quora. [Continue reading]
THELONIOUS MONK was perhaps the most stylistically and artistically idiosyncratic (and visionary?) pianist and composer of his era. By the end of the ’50s, Monk was already a legend among jazz musicians and aficionados. He had also had it with dealing with tiny Riverside Records. As was and is common with musicians and their record companies, there were disagreements over money. [Continue reading]
TO MANY MUSICIANS AND FANS, John Francis Anthony Pastorius III—or Jaco to everyone who knew him—was arguably the most inventive and most influential electric jazz bass-player of the past forty years. His flair in both playing his instrument and in onstage performance earned him the nickname the ‘Jimi Hendrix of the bass.’ He [Continue reading]
I WAS INVITED by a young musician in England to make a connection on the LinkedIn, the “world’s largest professional network.” Of course I accepted it, despite the fact that I have yet to meet anyone who has actually benefited professionally from any of these LinkedIn connections. Nonetheless, I certainly don’t know everyone on that network, so maybe I was missing something. [Continue reading]
A FRIEND WAS LEARNING THE ROPES of making money by selling other people’s ‘collectables’ by auctioning them on eBay. It’s his experience that inspired this article, “Grading Records for Sale Part 1.” Let’s pretend his name is Luke. As the bulk of Luke’s consignments were from friends, it was a reasonably relaxed affair and no one was trying to pull the wool over the other’s eyes. [Continue reading]
I INITIATED A NEW TOPIC on the Record Collectors Guild website in September 2004 titled “The Pseudo Psychedelic ’60s.” I had hoped for a lengthy and engagingly argumentative and informative thread that went on forever. Below is what I got instead: it was fun, but I did not really leave it with more knowledge that when I launched the conversation. [Continue reading]