Mysteries of the Vinyl

Junk stores, yard sales, antique stores and thrift stores are a passion of mine. I enjoy searching their shelves for different oddities, unique things and sometimes useful things like tools, clothes and books. No trip to any of these places is complete without a glance at the old records that are normally stashed in the back corner. Most titles are artists well known on records well scratched. Some good hearted souls looking to help out noble causes give up that a Willie Nelson LP that serves as nothing but a giant coaster or flimsy frisbee. I guess somebody might find use in the album sleeve's artwork, but half the time those too are pretty beaten up as well. However, among those old pressed recordings are some that remain in pristine, or very gently used condition. Unfortunately, there is a good reason for the albums' fine condition; they were very seldom listened to. There are many albums produced by religious groups that sold vinyl pressed collections of their music at whatever church they happened to be playing that Sunday. Featured on these covers are images of the group clad wide ties, butterfly collars, horn rimmed glasses and matching bell bottomed suits. The majority of these are locally produced with a phone number on the back to call for bookings. I wonder if these were originally purchased because the group gave a stellar performance at church that night or if they were purchased out of kindness by friends and family. A few weeks ago I did purchase a few 45s that I have no clue regarding the sounds they hold. I was visiting a friend in Paducah, KY and found a huge stack of old records at an antique store that would take hours to sift through. I spent only 20 minutes or so and found four 45s that were intriguing, at least to me. They were not recordings released by by a forgotten record company of some forgotten group of evangelicals seeking to spread their message in song. They were 45s in decent shape issued by known music production companies. Two are by artists I know and enjoy, but of songs that I have never heard, or heard of. I look forward to hearing Charley Pride belt out "No One Could Ever Take Me From You" and Glen Campbell grace my ears with "Don't Pull Your Love/Then you Can Tell Me Goodbye" and "I Miss You Tonight". The more intriguing mystery lies on the other two 45s. From Hallmark Music there are two songs by Don Cross, who I have never heard of, titled "Mairzy Doats" (WTH?) and "Coney Island Washboard (Was Her Name)". On a 45 from the more reputable Capitol Records is "True Love" and "Something Nice and Easy" by Red Steagall, who I have also never heard of. What makes a 45 great, especially with an unknown artist, is that you never know what genre you have stumbled upon. Are the two songs by Don Cross country, rock, pop or some spoken word diatribe of his political beliefs? Whatever it is, somebody at some point found the recording of sufficient quality to invest in pressing it onto a vinyl record. Did the backers of Don Cross and Red Steagall's ears deceive them into making some foolish investment? I will give the records a listen tonight and there will be a follow up blog to let you know.