Sunday, June 5, 2011

78 RPM



I see old 78s while junking every week. They only go for a buck a piece at local record stores. They're not worth much anymore, unless you come across a rare one. Even so, I came across a few last week that I decided to buy. Not sure why.

Perhaps, in the moment, I thought about the music on these records - records themselves - even just actual physical music - it's all dying. It's going fast. I bought them out of respect, if not merely to avoid having someone throw them away, as if they were garbage. Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Glenn Miller - the good old stuff that my grandparents enjoyed - back when being in a band meant you were an actual musician - a seasoned musician. Okeh, Columbia, Victor, Decca - some of the former giants. It was a nostalgic buy, and worth the fifty cents I paid for each of them.

I can't play them, but I may have another use for them. Either way, it was worth a few dollars, and it was certainly worth tracking down a few of the songs. Some I recognized, others I didn't, even though they were hits in their day. Enjoy a few:

Bing Crosby with Vic Shoen and His Orchestra - The Road to Morocco
Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra (vocal refrain by Frank Sinatra and the Pied Pipers) - I'll Never Smile Again
Glenn Miller and his Orchestra - American Patrol
Frank Sinatra - Among My Souvenirs



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