Record Store Day…The Results

Greetings from Asheville, where the weekend has concluded, Record Store Day was fun, and we’re ready for Easter.  It’s here that there’s always good music on the turntable, in the CD, or on the MP3.

Record Store Day has come and gone, and from what I saw, as well as what I’ve read around the country, it looks like it was quite successful for many stores across the United States.  Saturday was the fourth edition of Record Store Day.  If you are not familiar with it, it is a nationwide salute to the independent record stores across the country, and it’s an event that has gotten bigger each year.   In fact, it’s popularity has reached a point to where it is getting a fair amount of coverage in the press, even, with articles such as this one from the “Indianapolis Star”.

INDIANAPOLIS STAR ARTICLE

Despite multiple independent stores in the Asheville area, I was only able to visit one, thanks to a visit to the Home and Garden Show, as well as an Easter Egg Hunt.  I made sure, though, that I went to the store that I knew was going all out for this day, Harvest Records, on Haywood Road.  This place has a nice selection of new and used CD’s and vinyl in several genres.  Like many stores around the country on Saturday, they, too, had were offering limited edition specials and Record Store Day only offerings from local and national acts, mostly in the Rock and Classic Rock fields.  And for those into those types of music, there were some really cool offerings, I must say.  In addition, many stores around the country, Harvest included, had their own special deals, as well.  This is what I was most interested in.  Their special couldn’t even be found in their main store front.  No, for this one, you had to go around the building’s side, down the stairs, and through a large garage door to their basement area.  There, within three or four dimly lit rooms or sections, were plastic container after plastic container full of albums.  No CD’s, no cassettes, only 33 1/3 rpm treasures, I’m guessing between 10 to 20,o00 of them.  Albums to satisfy every music taste, and each album only a dollar.  To steal a quote from my Father-In-Law, “This place wasn’t Heaven, but it was right next door.” 

It’s a good thing that I didn’t have unlimited funds, or else the wife and daughter might have been waiting for me to come back to pick them up after dropping off a truckload at the house.  Of course, Dear, I’m just kidding on that.  Literally, you didn’t know where to start looking, there were so many.  It was just amazing.  I would guess that you would have spent 2-3 hours before you could have seen all that was there.  Between my wife and I, we didn’t probably even make it a quarter of the way through.

Now, my wife isn’t the biggest Country Music fan in the world, in fact, most of it, she really doesn’t care for (though she did stay in the room, with me, the other night through most of the Kenny Roberts album), other than Ronnie Milsap and Charlie Rich.  However, I credit her for 1. Patience, and 2. she actually found the Sons Of The Pioneers albums I got.  Oh yes, what did we take from there?  Some nuggets, of course…

Roy  Clark – “Magnificent Sanctuary Band” – Dot Records

Roy Clark & Buck Trent – “A Pair Of Fives(Banjos That Is)” - ABC/Dot

Donna Fargo – “The Happiest Girl In The Whole USA” – Dot

Larry Gatlin – “Not Guilty” – Columbia

David Houston – “A Woman Always Knows” – Epic

Ferlin Husky – “Sittin’ On A Rainbow” – Capitol

Ferlin Husky – “Just For You” – Capitol

Burl Ives – “Pearly Shells” – Decca

George Jones & Gene Pitney – “Together!” – Design/Pickwick

Loretta Lynn – “Before I’m Over You” – Decca

C. W. McCall – “Wolf Creek Pass” – MGM

Melba Montgomery – “Don’t Let The Good Times Fool You” – Elektra

Buck Owens – “Sings Tommy Collins” – Capitol

Buck Owens – “The Kansas City Song” – Capitol

Ray Price – “Touch My Heart” – Columbia

Ray Price – “Night Life” – Columbia

Jeanne Pruett – “Satin Sheets” – MCA

Sons Of The Pioneers – “Tumbleweed Trail” – RCA Victor

Sons Of The Pioneers – “Lure Of The West” – RCA Victor

Nat Stuckey – “New CountryRoads” – RCA Victor

Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn – “Lead Me On” – Decca

Leroy Van Dyke – “Movin’ Van Dyke” – Mercury/Wing

And one more thing of interest, the people.  Wow!  They were numerous, in fact, the store was so busy when I first went by around 1PM, there was no place to park, so we had to come back late in the afternoon, and then, it was still busy.  They were buying the vinyl, and here’s the kicker, almost all of them were well under my 44 years of age.  We’re talking twenty and thirty-somethings, as well as teens, going through the dollar bins, as well as in the main store, and they were walking out with multiple LP’s under their arms.  I also saw some reports, online, of stores where people were lined up and down aisles, waiting to check out.  Incredible.

Well, in conclusion, it was very fun to be a small part of Record Store Day.  I can’t wait for edition 5 and I urge you to join in, next year.  It’s alot of fun, and you never know what you might find that will please the ears.