New Spin on an Old Business

I’m guessing that almost everyone has that first band that they fell in love with or thought was just totally cool.

The first song I ever loved was B.J. Thomas’, ''Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head.'' I was about 5 when that song was my favorite. Don’t ask me why. But I think at the time the lyrics seemed funny to me.

The first band I ever truly loved was The Beatles. I think I liked the Beatles so much because another one of my favorites as a tyke was ''Hey Jude.'' We had the 45 rpm version of the song in my parents’ music collection. They had an interesting library of records— the Herb Alpert album Whipped Cream comes to mind— and 45s mostly belonging to my dad. I would play some of them on my rinky-dink record player.

Once I turned 10, music began to make a real impression in my life. The record store was the place I went almost every week.

Although records are still sold today there are very few stores selling them. And buying music is just not the same kind of experience it once was.

There’s nothing all that exciting about downloading an MP3 or going to the Apple store. I don’t wait with great excitement to visit Amazon. And I can’t even touch or see what I am about to buy.

I write about this because Saturday is Record Store Day. The event was first launched in 2007 as a way to celebrate the 700 independent record stores around the country, according to Record Store Day.

“This is the one day that all of the independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music,” said the RecordStoreDay.com Web site.   

When I was a kid, almost every Sunday my parents and I went out to dinner together and every afternoon, or as often as possible, I would make them stop at the record store. For me that store was Hegewisch Records in Calumet City. It was a pretty boring building and the inside was even less exciting with row upon row of records of nearly any genre available.

Back then, I could afford to buy a record at $5.99 for a single album, I think a double album was maybe $10.99 or $12.99 at most.

That store helped introduce me to The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and The Doors. It’s fair to say I was born a few years too late to enjoy the 1960s. The music, however, helped me relive the era.

Naperville, even with its large population and a college, really doesn’t have a record store. I did find Folk Era Records, which has about 70 titles in print. But you buy them on the Internet.

Aside from there really aren’t any "record" stores selling music in town. I’ve never been to Disc Replay, but I’m not sure I’d get the same vibe I did back in the day when I walked in to the record store to hear Led Zeppelin blaring through the store.

If you are interested in participating in Record Store Day, there are a few nearby shops that are participating and still sell albums. Music Masters Worldwideon Main Street in Downers Grove and Remember When Records on Ogden Avenue in Westmont. To learn more about Record Store Day visit the Web site.