Music Memories and Vinyl Records Are Hard-to-Find by Alexis Andrews - December 8, 2008 What was your first ever vinyl record? Last week I was cleaning my attic when I stumbled upon old vinyl records and used CDs. What a find! The discovery immediately triggered in me a strong, intense nostalgic feeling. You see, I suddenly had in my hand a precious Chipmunks LP vinyl record which I have neither seen nor touched in more than a decade. It was one of the first vinyl records I ever owned. Remember the Chipmunks? The Grammy-award-winning animated music group? While I no longer have a turntable, I decided that I will hold on to this record, Sing The Beatles Hits, which might be hard-to-find music now. Yes, they might have bastardized some of the best songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney – such as “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Do You Want to Know A Secret” – but then again, Chipmunks is not the same without Chipmunks voices. This pleasantly surprising incident at the attic led me to a coffee table conversation with my friends, who all shared with me information on the first ever vinyl records they had bought. “First always lasts,” said Stephanie. “First impressions, first memories, first vinyl records.” Stephanie had shown much better taste than I did in terms of looking for the first vinyl record to buy. Hot August Night by Neil Diamond was her first ever vinyl record. “I remember going to the record store and falling in love with the cover,” she recalled. But the live Neil Diamond record boasted of more than just great artwork. Released in 1972, Hot August Night was a chart-topper and a major critical success. “Well, Stephanie,” my other friend Andrew chimed in, “if you’re talking about covers, I’ll tell you the one record I bought out of sheer beauty. It was a vinyl record with a classic cover, but not the first one I ever had of course.” Andrew then went on to talk about Seventh Son of a Seventh Son by Iron Maiden, the heavy metal band’s seventh studio album. It was released in 1988 by EMI in Europe and Capitol in the US. But what about the first vinyl record that Andrew ever owned? “Oh, I don’t remember now,” he said. “But being that I am an oldie, it must be some hard-to-find music, a Faces album most likely, with my idol Rod Stewart.” “Aren’t you going to ask me what my first vinyl record was?” complained John, who wasn’t exactly shy about his fading youth. “I’m sure you’ll all say it’s old, which it is, but not many of you will remember it as being naughty.” John went on to explain that the first of many vinyl records he had bought was My Ding-a-Ling by Chuck Berry. Topping the US charts in 1972 as a novelty hit, this Chuck Berry record had stirred a lot of controversy and criticism from DJs and critics alike. Radio stations refused to play “My Ding-a-Ling” because the lyrics were said to have had a very sly tone and sexual innuendo. “Ah, the memories,” John sighed. Indeed, the stories that go with the music has just as much nostalgic impact as the records themselves, but both are precious and hard to find.  Subscribe to Latest Articles

2 Responses

Lauren Glenn December 17, 2008 4:42 AM I had Metallica's Garage Days $5.99 Revisited on LP which went out of print a few years later. The picture discs and see-through discs were great. Record shows were always a good place to find hard-to-find LPs.

pigdog January 1, 2009 4:42 AM for me, having grown up in the 70's with high school in the 80's and university in the late 80's my first ever exposure to vinyl will always be the Beatles Hard days night. which i played till it worn off from the family turntable one can imagine how expensive these original beatles pressing costs nowadays, and with ham fisted kids like me playing these lps to death!

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