I grew up with 78 records. My older brother and sisters used to play their favorites on occassion. I remember the songs and working up a sweat jumping around to them. I can recall Spike Jones and Arthur Godfrey most. Later, I remember exploring our dark/damp/dank basement and seeing piles of old hard vinal records just moldering. One day, my dad said "carry them all to the garbage can". Being seven years old, I couldn't just drop them off in one piece. I remember the joy of smashing them to bits. How sad, as I look back. ~ I think what happened was the emergence of the 45 RPM and the LP. |
Around 1971 I was poking around a Goodwill store selecting my college wardrobe. I spotted a bin of old 78 RPM records. I started thumbing through them. I found some old friends among them. They were just 25 cents each, so I bought several to play on my parents old stereo (it still had a 78 RPM speed selector). I enjoyed their antique sound and bought more over the next several months. I especially liked the World War One era recordings and bought everything that I could find referencing the First World War. I also bought a load of stuff from the twenties. During the summer of '72, I bought a large Brunswick record player from about 1924. The turntable was electric, but the sound was mechanical. My folks were surprised, because it cost $120. (It remains the oldest piece of furniture that I own).
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I went off to Korea and when I came back, I continued to collect 78s. I bought some at auction, but most at GW and Salvation Army stores. I had them displayed in my living room for a while, now they're up in the attic, a few thousand of them. My old record player broke down a few years ago. (I think I left the turntable going for a week or so and it burned up). I bought a special player to play my 78 collection, which I do on occassion. One day, I'll dig through my stacks of old records and maybe play them again. |
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