Lunch Hour Finds - Antique Mall

Found some more 45's at the antique mall today at lunch.

The Beach Boys - Little Deuce Coupe (Capitol, 1963) [LP]
The Beach Boys - Little Saint Nick b/w The Lord's Prayer (Capitol, 1963) [Green Vinyl]
The Beatles - Nowhere Man b/w What Goes On (Capitol, 1965)
KISS - Tears Are Falling b/w Any Way You Slice It (Mercury, 1985) [Picture Sleeve]
John Lennon - Happy Xmas (War Is Over) b/w Listen, The Snow Is Falling (Capitol, 1971) [Green Vinyl]
Motley Crue - Looks That Kill b/w Piece Of Your Action (Elektra, 1983) [Picture Sleeve]
Poison - Talk Dirty To Me b/w Want Some, Need Some (Enigma/Capitol, 1986) [Picture Sleeve]
The Rolling Stones - Start Me Up b/w  (   [Picture Sleeve]
Jimmy Ruffin - What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted b/w  (Soul, 1966)

Afterwards I went through the drive thru at McDonald's next to the antique mall.  I got in line and placed my order and was advised to pull forward to the first window.  As I was paying a young girl asked me "is that vinyl?" while pointing to the passenger seat. I affirmed her query and she went on saying that her "parents made me listen to vinyl copies of their albums as a kid." I advised that I do the same with my daughter with our jukebox and 45's.  She went on to say that her parents had a turntable and she had listened to the likes of John Denver and other 70's artists.  I advised that many bands are releasing their new albums on vinyl and she should pick up her new favorites on vinyl with digital downloads.

I had fun trying to convert the masses and I had a smile on my face all the way back to the office.
_______________

Later in the evening my wife, daughter and I went to Borders and I found a few more cheap finds. Ever since Borders (and the other big box retailers for that matter) decided that books were more important than music and movies in their business plan I have not had as enjoyable experience shopping in the store. But as we walked up to the store there were racks outside the front door and a large pink cover emblazoned with the words "The Clash" caught my eye instantly.  I walked up to the rack and checked out the book and was shocked that they were selling this book for $5.99! This hardcover book was normally priced at $40.95.

The Clash by The Clash [Book]

Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (November 4, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446539732

After we went in my wife found the book she had come looking for we meandered back to the music and kids section with our daughter in tow. Every Borders store has severely reigned in the floor space of the music department and now the shopper is relegated to new releases, best seller back catalog titles or some diamonds in the rough if you will. These albums that I found fall into the third category. 
Jeff Beck - Truth (Bonus Tracks) (Epic, 1968) [CD] - $8.99
Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones (Island, 1983) [CD] - $6.99

On my way out I saw that Uncut Magazine, a music magazine published in the UK, had a feature about "The 50 Greatest Lost Albums."  I didn't pick up the magazine right away, but I'm going to need to go back for that one.

St. Louis Record Collector Show - May 2nd

Yesterday, I went with my friend to the St. Louis Record Collector Show at the American Czech Hall 4690 Landsdowne Avenue in South St. Louis.  I haven't been to this show in well over 10 years, but there is always an interesting assortment of stuff available. The show has been running for 31 years and mostly all at this location. See this article in last week's RFT about the show. The show runs about every other month only on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Admission is $2.50. (8:30 a.m. early bird entry: $5.)

Since my friend is not a morning person we agreed to leave about 10:30 which would put us at the hall about 11:00 a.m. We arrived and found a pretty decent crowd milling about.  I heard one seller exclaim that one guy had been at his booth earlier and dropped $400!  Most of the sellers were selling vinyl on LP or 45 RPM or CD's and DVD's.  I did not see anyone selling posters and such, but maybe there were a few floating around.

I went to the show mostly looking for 45's for the jukebox and was not disappointed. I came away with about 35 records plus blank sleeves and bags for 45's and LP's. The first booth that stopped at had a couple of boxes for $1.00 a piece and I found about 14 from this seller. Later, another seller I found on the other side of the hall said he had bought a large lot of 45's from a guy in Louisiana and had not even cracked 12 of the boxes.  He was selling them three for $1.00 and the quality ended up being pretty good.  I ended up going through what amounts to one box and found 21 titles to buy. I was also excited to find many of the original basic sleeves for the records.  I got the guy's phone number to maybe buy the rest of the boxes for $25 per box. 

Meanwhile, my friend found a Devo DVD, but not much else so he was ready to go pretty quick. I could have stayed another hour or two, but since Scott was ready to go I figured I wouldn't leave him bored and get going too. Since my wife was still out with her sister, we grabbed some lunch at Qdoba afterwards and headed home.

My friend Tom, who couldn't go to the show this time, said that he's ready with his truck and trailer for next time. He might need it! The prices were pretty reasonable if you look around. I probably could have found some more rare singles had I been able to look a little harder.  The records I did find were good and decent quality, but not overly exciting. I think that I will try to get to the show a little earlier next time though. (By the way...Thanks goes to Tom for the tip on the article).

Here's what I found on Sunday...

The Beach Boys - I Get Around b/w Don't Worry Baby (Capitol)
The Beatles - Get Back b/w Don't Let Me Down (Apple)
Big Brother And The Holding Company - Piece Of My Heart b/w Turtle Blues (Columbia)
J.J. Cale - Crazy Mama b/w Don't Go To Strangers (Shelter)
Ray Charles - Hallelujah I Love Her So b/w What Would I Do Without You (Atlantic)
Bobby Darin - Splish Splash b/w Judy, Don't Be Moody (Atco)
Deep Purple - Woman From Tokyo b/w Super Trouper (Warner Bros.)
Dion - Runaway Sue b/w Runaway Girl (Laurie)
Dave Dudley - Where Does A Little Boy Go b/w I Keep Coming Back For More (Mercury)
Everly Brothers - Wake Up Little Susie b/w Maybe Tomorrow (Cadence)
Fleetwood Mac - Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win) b/w Sugar Daddy (Reprise)
Eddie Floyd - California Girl b/w Woodman (Stax)
Eddie Floyd - Why Is The Wine Sweeter (On The Other Side) b/w People, Get It Together (Stax)
The Fortunes - Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again b/w Bad Side Of Town (Capitol)
Ferlin Husky - Flat River, MO. b/w One Life To Live (Capitol)
Johnny & The Hurricanes - Red River Rock b/w Buckeye (Warwick)
Billy Joel - Piano Man b/w You're My Home (Columbia)
Jean Knight - Mr. Big Stuff b/w Why I Keep Living These Memories (Stax)
John Lennon - Stand By Me b/w Move Over Mrs. L (Apple)
John Cougar Mellencamp - Jack And Diane b/w Can You Take It (Riva)
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Don't Come Around Here No More b/w Trailer (MCA)
Wilson Pickett - Land Of 1000 Dances b/w You're So Fine (Atlantic)
Otis Redding - Respect b/w Ole Man Trouble (Volt)
Run DMC - My Adidas b/w Peter Piper
The Seeds - Pushin' Too Hard b/w Try To Understand (GNP Crescendo)
Carly Simon - You're So Vain b/w His Friends Are More Than Fond Of Robin (Elektra)
Sir Douglas Quintet - Mendocino b/w I Wanna Be Your Mama Again (Smash)
The Staple Singers - City In The Sky b/w That's What Friends Are For (Stax)
Edwin Starr - War b/w He Who Picks A Rose (Gordy)
The Stone Ponys - Different Drum b/w I've Got To Know (Capitol)
Sugarloaf - Green-Eyed Lady b/w West To Tomorrow (Liberty)
The Supremes - You Keep Me Hangin' On b/w Remove The Doubt (Motown)
Little Johnny Taylor - You're Savin' Your Best Loving For Me b/w What Would I Do Without You (Ronn)
The Temptations - Papa Was A Rollin' Stone (Vocal) b/w Papa Was A Rollin' Stone (Instrumental) (Gordy)
Jr. Walker & The All Stars - Mutiny b/w Home Cookin' (Soul)
Larry Williams - Short Fat Fannie b/w High School Dance (Specialty)

Lately, I have been buying some records at the local stores too and thought I would tack that on the end of this post.

Euclid Records - April 30

Andre Williams - Rib Tips Part 1 b/w Rib Tips Part 2 [45 RPM]
Various Artists - A Tribute To Woody Guthrie (Warner Bros.) [Vinyl]
The Clash - Super Black Market Clash [CD]
Jesse Malin & The St. Mark's Social - Love It To Life [CD]
Palace Music - Viva Last Blues [CD]
Various Artists - Live At KDHX Vol 7. [CD]

Record Exchange - April 23

The Beach Boys - Wouldn't It Be Nice b/w God Only Knows (Capitol)

The Box Tops - The Letter b/w Happy Times (Mala)

The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man b/w I Knew I'd Want You (Columbia)

The Byrds - I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better b/w All I Really Want To Do (Columbia)

Bob Dylan - Just Like A Woman b/w Obviously 5 Believers (Columbia)

The Kinks - All Day And All Of The Night b/w I Gotta Move (Reprise)

The Kinks - Tired Of Waiting For You b/w Come On Now (Reprise)

The Kinks - Autumn Almanac b/w Mr. Pleasant (Pye)

The Kinks - Father Christmas b/w  Prince Of The Punks (Arista) [Picture Sleeve]

Drive By Truckers - The Big To Do [CD]

Upcoming St. Louis Record Collector Shows

American Czech Hall

4690 Landsdowne Avenue 

St. Louis, MO

10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Admission is $2.50. (8:30 a.m. early bird entry: $5.)

Sunday, July 11

Sunday, September 12

Sunday, November 7

The Weather Outside Was...Frightful...No, That's Not It...

On Saturday the weather was beautiful for late November. St. Louis has had some perfect weather this year. Not too hot, not too cold. My wife and I had plans to go to St. Louis and do some shopping with her brother and his wife. First, we went to the Central West End to a store my wife wanted to go to called Ivy Hill.  She found some earrings that she liked there and we also went to a couple of other stores.

Then we headed downtown to the Syndicate Lofts on Olive for an art show. These were all local artists and my wife found out about the show from one of her co-workers. We had a card, but left it someplace though I remembered the address somehow.  After driving around a little we found the address. We had to be let into the building and went up to the 5th floor. There was an artist with some jewelry, pottery, metal sculpture and paintings. After looking around a little my wife found some earrings and our sister-in-law found a pendant.  While we were downtown we decided to stop in the new Culinaria (Schnuck's) grocery store and check it out. We bought a few snacks for the ride home and headed back to my wife's brother & his wife's house.

Before heading home we stopped by the Record Exchange to look for some Christmas 45's for the jukebox. We searched through about 4 boxes stuffed with 45's and found a few gems to go home with us.

Gene Autry - Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer b/w If It Doesn't Snow On Christmas (Columbia)
Pearl Bailey - Five Pound Box Of Money b/w Jingle Bells Cha Cha Cha (Roulette)
Booker T. & The M.G.'s - Jingle Bells b/w Winter Wonderland (Stax) [Promo]
Johnny Cash - The Little Drummer Boy b/w I'll Remember You (Columbia)
Charles Brown - Merry Christmas Baby b/w Lloyd Glenn - Sleigh Ride (Hollywood)
Clarence Carter - Back Door Santa b/w That Old Time Feeling (Atlantic) [Promo]
Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song & Mrs. Santa Claus b/w Frosty The Snow Man & Little Christmas Tree [Picture Sleeve]
Perry Como - Silent Night b/w O Come, All Ye Faithful (RCA)
Bing Crosby - White Christmas b/w God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Decca) [Picture Sleeve]
Stan Freburg - Green Chri$tma$ b/w The Meaning Of Christmas (Capitol, 1958) [Picture Sleeve]
Bobby Helms - Jingle Bell Rock b/w Captain Santa Claus (And His Reindeer Space Patrol) (Decca)
Eartha Kitt - (This Year's) Santa Baby b/w Hey Jacque
Donny Hathaway - This Christmas b/w Be There (Atco)

I cleaned the records on Sunday and made the title strips (green) on Tuesday and got them into the jukebox on Wednesday for the holiday season. Now if we can just finish decorating the tree.

Beer, Tunes, and Monday Night Football

My old friend Tom came over to the house last night for a visit. Tom and I go waaaayyy back - Kindergarten to be exact. We went all through school together and 30 years later we are still friends.  Tom was there when I went to my first concert - Aerosmith with guests The Black Crowes at The Arena in St. Louis, MO in 1989. Weirdly enough my wife and her brother were at the same concert. We have seen several shows together over the years and we'll be going to see Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven in a couple of months - see this post.

Tom brought over some Big Sky Brewing Moose Drool Brown Ale and O'Fallon Brewery 5-Day IPA and some fresh eggs from his dad's chickens. My wife made a delicious Peter Potter Stew, a beef stew recipe from our sister-in-law, and mashed potatoes and green beans for dinner. We had dinner while our daughter ran around the kitchen showing off for Tom.

Since Tom had been on the expedition to pick up the jukebox back in February I showed him around the machine.  He was excited to see it working and hear the sounds it made while in normal operation. I showed him what I had found out about the box and we played some records and talked while my daughter danced around the room. Tom said he still liked the way that the jukebox looks old and used, but was happy to see it playing music.

After a while I put my daughter to bed and Tom showed his new Toyota Tundra pickup truck to my wife. She and I both got to test drive of the truck and liked it very much.

Since Tom and I grew up together we both share a common admiration of local Rock stalwart KSHE-95. Tom has a friend named Richard who is a few years older than us that apparently loves KSHE Classics.  These are songs from the late 1960's, 1970's and early 1980's that get played now and then that longtime listeners to the station will remember from the station's halcyon days.

Tom brought over two cd's worth of KSHE Classics and wanted me to hear a song called "St. Louis Browns" by Skip Battin.  Both Tom and I were surprised that I had not heard of this song before now.  Being a big fan of The Byrds I was surprised that I didn't even know that Skip Battin (bassist 1970-1973) had released a solo album in 1972 with a song about the former St. Louis entry for the American League.  I have found recently that I need to start looking further into the solo work of the various members of The Byrds from the late 1960's and early 1970's. I have long known about solo albums by Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark and David Crosby and Chris Hillman's work in the Flying Burrito Brothers and Manassas, but did not know that other members like Gene Parsons and Skip Battin had released solo albums as well.

Skip Battin - Skip (Signpost SP 8408, 1972)

I had heard about half of the songs on the first cd we played and had a few of them in my collection already. The quality of both cd's was lacking so if I want better versions of these songs I'll have to find them myself. The second mix cd was a mystery because it had no song titles.  We started playing the songs and trying to figure out if we knew the song.  We recognized some and I did searches on the lyrics to find some of the others.  It was a fun game trying to identify the mystery tracks.  By the time we got through the 2nd CD of songs it was almost 11 o'clock and time for Tom to hit the road. A few are still a mystery, but overall the experience was good and Tom and I got to treat my wife to some 1970's KSHE Classics.  John Ulett would be proud!

Finds At Euclid Records

Found a few more 45's for the jukebox at one of my favorite stores, Euclid Records, on Friday at lunch. It's so great to have a record store with this kind of selection close enough to the office to run over there on my lunch hour.

Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks - Mary Lou b/w Need Your Lovin' (Oh So Bad) (Roulette 4177, 1959) Cut in New York during their 2nd session at Bell Sound Studios. No. 26 on the charts in the summer of 1959.

The Rivieras - California Sun b/w H B Goose Step (Riviera 1401, 1964)

Ronny And The Daytonas - G.T.O. b/w Hot Rod Baby (Mala 481, 1964)

Leonard Cohen - Avalanche b/w Dress Rehearsal Rag (Columbia, 1971)

Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls Of Fire b/w You Win Again (Sun 281, 1957)
Recorded October 8, 1957 at Sun Studios, Memphis, TN. Reached #2 on Billboard Pop Charts, #3 on R&B Chart, and #1 on the Country chart.

The Amboy Dukes - Journey To The Center Of The Mind b/w Mississippi Murderer (Mainstream 684, 1968)

Junior Wells - Cut My Toe Nail b/w I'm Losing You (Bright Star 146, 19??)

Jimmy Dean - Big Bad John b/w I Won't Go Huntin' With You Jake (But I'll Go Chasin' Wimmin) (Columbia 4-42175, 1961) [Picture Sleeve]

Wilco - You Never Know b/w Unlikely Japan (Nonesuch 520404-7, 2009) [Picture Sleeve]

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Official Live 'Leg (Counterfeit Version)
To find out more information on this rare promotional album go here

Finds At The Antique Mall II

I went digging in the crates at the antique mall again today at lunch time and found some more 45's for the jukebox. Most are hits from the mid-1960's, but I was happy to find the three Ray Charles singles on Atlantic. The first two singles are taken from the album What'd I Say (Atlantic, 1959). I already have an original copy of the single for "What'd I Say Parts 1 & 2" that originally belonged to my dad. Complete with his inscription of "Larry" in cursive on the B-side. The third Ray Charles single is also on his album   Yes Indeed! (Atlantic, 1958).  I bought the "Band On The Run" 45 to replace the one I had in the jukebox and I'm glad that I did because the new one sounds much cleaner and crisper. I haven't even cleaned the record yet.

45's
Ray Charles - That's Enough b/w Tell Me How Do You Feel (Atlantic, 1959)
Ray Charles - You Be My Baby b/w My Bonnie (Atlantic, 1959)
Ray Charles - Swanee River Rock b/w I Want A Little Girl (Atlantic, 1957)
James Brown - Get It Together - Pts 1 & 2 (King, 1967)
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Tyrell - Ain't Nothin' Like The Real Thing b/w Little Ole Boy, Little Ole Girl (Tamla, 1967)
Kool & The Gang - Celebration b/w Morning Star (Deelite, 1980)
The Supremes - Reflections b/w Going Down For The Third Time (Motown, 1967)
The Supremes - You Can't Hurry Love b/w Put Yourself In My Place (Motown, 1966)
Paul McCartney & Wings - Band On The Run b/w Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five (Apple, 1973)
The American Breed - Bend Me, Shape Me b/w Mindrocker (ACTA, 1967)
The Coasters - Yakety Yak b/w Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart (Atco, 1958)

The Mama's and The Papa's - Deliver (Dunhill, 1967)

The Records Will Be Playing Soon...I hope

In February, our dream of owning our very own jukebox that plays 45 RPM records came true. I had posted a note on Facebook stating how I was thinking about buying a jukebox that we saw for sale at a classic car business in St. Charles, MO. One of the responses I received was from Amanda, a girl that I knew from state student council while we were in high school. She said that her mom had one for sale if we were interested. This piqued my interest and we started exchanging e-mails. She told me what model she thought it was and I responded with some pictures. The pictures weren't quite right and she said it was much cooler and had been in the movie 'Ghost'. I researched clips on You Tube and found out that the jukebox was a Continental II made by a company called AMI. I sent pictures again and she confirmed that this was the model. Amanda had her mom take some pictures of the jukebox and send them to me so I could ascertain the condition of the machine. The jukebox looked to be in good condition on the outside, but I knew from her e-mails that it wasn't in perfect working order. After discussing and agreeing on a sale price we made plans to go pick up the machine near Champaign, IL.

We rented a 16' box truck with a lift gate from Enterprise and I grabbed my friend Tom and my wife grabbed her brother and we drove the two hours to Central Illinois. We knew that we were going to pick up an old jukebox, but we arrived and found that the jukebox was in a house that was just over 100 years old itself. After the meeting my friend's mom and brother we were ushered into the basement to a party type room that was decorated like a bar. There were antiques all over the basement and the jukebox was tucked in a back corner of the room. The jukebox looked like it had not been played in a while and had cobwebs to prove anyone who wanted to disprove that theory. We began to hatch a plan to get it out of the basement. Amanda's brother went to work taking off the banister to the basement stairs so the jukebox could fit through the door. We loaded the jukebox onto the appliance dolly and Tom, my brother-in-law, and I pushed, pulled and heaved the jukebox up the stairs out of the basement into the backyard. We loaded it into the truck and started the trip back home after loading a Hoosier Cabinet, church pew, and drafting table for my friend Amanda.

After getting the jukebox safely home, we bathed in the glory of our acquisition, but soon realized that the machine needed more work than we thought. There was brittle and cracked wiring and there was no cartridge to play records. I found and ordered a cartridge from the internet, but we decided that the only way for this jukebox to play was with the help a trained repairman. I had done my research before buying the jukebox and found a company called Grand America Jukebox in St. Louis who repairs coin-operated machines (jukeboxes, soda machines, pinball machines, etc). I spoke to the owner Jeff by phone and we set up an appointment to come look at the jukebox. Jeff came at the appointed day and time and surveyed the condition of the machine. He left and went back home to give us a couple of quotes on fixing the machine, and/or restoring the machine. We started hold our breath on how much it would cost.

Jeff got back to us in a few days with the quotes. We decided at this time the best route would be to get the jukebox in working order and think about restoration later. We made another appointment with Jeff to pick up the machine so he could work on fixing what needed to be repaired. Jeff and I loaded the machine, and after taking our deposit for his services and promising to give us an update on the work; Jeff left with the jukebox and an empty void in the house.

The jukebox has been gone about a month and I am missing it already. I am ready to carefully pick out each of the records, make the labels, and start playing records one side at a time when we get home from work. Then, maybe we can have a party and officially welcome it to the family.