Thursday, December 4, 2008

They're Playing My Song!


Well if this doesn't take you "seasoned" viewers down Memory Lane nothing will.  While I never had a spiffy model like this one that folds up, I still remember my first "hi fi" that played LP's.  Jay Gilbert, I can hear you hyperventilating over this one!!  I think I had this maddening habit of swinging that top arm back so that my favorite records would play over, and over, and over. I am sure that drove my sweet mother up the wall! If you want this one for your very own, give Jim Reed at Reed Books, Museum of Fond Memories a call. It's yours for the right price. Oh, and if you need a some fabulous old LP's, give me a ring.  I'll work with you on that deal.


Please stop by my new blog....PARIS THROUGH MY LENS

The Tune du Jour is a song that I played over and over and over.....
"Chances Are" by Johnny Mathis 
( and I STILL like it! )


Discover Johnny Mathis!

23 comments:

Olivier said...

nostalgie nostalgie, je préfère les vieux vinyles aux CD.
nostalgia nostalgia, I prefer old vinyls in CD.

Jane Hards Photography said...

Brother and I had a one in it's own red carry case. First record, Disney songs. Tastes have changed. Can you image sowmon will happen upon this today and ask what an LP is. Happy days retro image. Now I need to ind out what happened to mine.

Julie said...

In Australia, LPs are in vogue and sell quite healthily. My ex has all my old ones but never plays them. The first ones I bought in November 1965 were the soundtrack from WS Story, a Sinatra, a Streisand and Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major with David Oistrakh. Bliss ...

Benjamin Madison said...

Nice shot and thanks for the Johnny Mathis - it holds up very well - I haven't heard it for years but it sounds even better than it did way back when.

angela said...

Nostalgia...your shot captures it perfectly.
We bought one of these but with fewer buttons not so long ago as we still have stacks of perfectly good vinyl..

Jill said...

Well, now I know we must be related! I had a similar 'HiFi' and left the arm back so it played over and over and over. Chances Are was one of my favorites, along with the Everly Brothers 'Dream'.

Pat said...

I remember my little record player...and I had a special blue vinyl carrying case for my 45's. Babooshka, I've had students ask me what a record player was when they saw one in a then-not-so-outdated French book. Same goes for cassette players...

Unknown said...

I love those oldies! My parents had a fabulous Dual which is now at my sister's. She can be really persuasive when she wants family old stuff! lol!

Tanya Breese said...

My first record player was Disney Aristocats and I remember it being an aqua blue color with pictures of the little cats all over the turntable. I also remember using the turntable as a sort of merry-go-round for my Barbies,lol. I belonged to the Disney record of the month club or something like that and would get these great albums of Disney stories with books attached. Oh gosh, I wish I still had those things!

I remember when Ashlyn first saw a record in kindergarten. Her teacher brought one in. Ashlyn came home all excited and told me about this "big, black cd" her teacher brought,lol. Now she's so fascinated with records and always wants to purchase them when we rummage through flea markets.

RoeH said...

Can anyone believe that those were top notch once? I'd forgotten. We had a large record player / radio machine and the record player part of it folded up into the machine. I also remember listening to many radio programs with that machine. Wish I had it now. I'm so glad we got to grow up in those days.

Karen said...

Thanks for Johnny and "Chances Are".. can't remember how many times I must have fallen in love to it as a teenager. Hmm, and maybe even once or twice as an adult.

I still have one of my old turntables and piles & piles of LP's.. just cannot part with most of them and some boxes of 45's.. now to find the spindle for the 45's..

A few months ago someone was giving away French LP's and 45's on Freecycle and it was the first time I responded to an "Offer"... I now have them and do enjoy Johnny Hallyday and Edith Piaff on my scratchy turntable.

Janet said...

We called these "record players," and I have a reproduction "stereo" as well as the old, antique 48s and 33s. I could never part with them! Nice memory!

Virginia said...

Well how much fun to hear all the memories that this photo has evoked! I told Ming last night that this was a "lame" offering today. Guess that shows what I know ! I had forgotten about that fat spindle thing that adapted for 45's and yes, I fell in love to Johnny Mathis a few times myself~HA Keep the "record player' memories coming.

And JM, don't let your sister get all the good stuff!:)

Julie said...

I must retrieve (from my ex) a bunch of 78s that belonged to an uncle who died in London in 1956. He had a massive collection collected after having seen shows in the West End. My favourites - and still in the pile - are recordings in plain brown wrappers by Paul Robeson and especially a song entitled "Tell Me a Story" sung by Frankie Laine.
"You promised me you said you would,
You’ve gotta give in so I’ll be good
Tell me a story and then I’ll Go to bed."

Good memory-jogger, Virginia ...

Bob Crowe said...

B&W is certainly appropriate for this oldie. The picture brings back memories of my first component stereo, the absolutely cheapest thing at NYC's long-defunct E. J. Korvette discount department store. The name was a contraction of eleven Jewish Korean veterans, the founders. But I digress. Looking at your post, I can hear the snaps and crackles. I want to clean the needle.

BTW, to answer your question of a couple of days ago: yes, I make all of it up.

Jilly said...

Lovely old turntable and I adore the song too. When I lived in Los Angles I often bumped into Johnny Mathis (well not literally but passed him, you know). Always love his voice.

Laurie Allee said...

I had one not too much different from that one when I was about 12 years old. It played all my Shawn Cassidy records. (You can stop laughing now.)

I am jealous that you still have all your vinyl. I unloaded most of mine at a yard sale in the early 90s. Sigh.

Great pic, V.

Victor said...

I still have all my vinyl (well most of it) and I'd sure love to have this record player but the shipping to BC would beat me up I'm sure. Chances Are still works because it's simply classic.

I'm way way behind on my blog viewing and commenting but I'm headed over to your Paris pictures now. Cheers!

Virginia said...

Snap,
If I'm not mistaken, Jim had this one playing the records that are on it when I was in there one of the many times.

Laurie,
I should unload mine. I am certain they are warped beyond belief by now, but for some reason I have this attachment. Maybe I'll just keep the covers. I keep thinking I'll find a good home where someone has a working player. Or maybe I'll just give them to Jim Reed. I think they would like to be at the Museum of Fond Memories!

Tanya, THe big black CD was priceless!

Bob,
Remember that little puff of lint that got on the needle???

Ken Mac said...

this is very cool and looks to be in great shape! So drag out that old sign..bring it on Virginia!

Wayne said...

I think it's a great shot. If I couldn't replace an album with a CD I kept the album and I have a decent stack of them still. I have a turntable but it's been a long time since I listened to any vinyl.

My family had a stereo like this. It's always amazing to me that that was the state of the art in my lifetime. Even the most imaginative couldn't have foreseen gadgets like the iPod back then. Well, I've never been one for science fiction, so maybe the scifi guys imagined such things.

Diederick Wijmans said...

Memories of the sixties when we used to play the small 45 records, which would jump down one after another, driving my parents indeed up the wall.

Thérèse said...

Living in Arizona we discovered not long ago that it's really not a good idea to leave the old records in the garage due to.... the heat! lol
But keeping the song on I'll go over to the French side of your blog.