Our post about the birthday of the LP elicited some great feedback on Facebook. I asked for the name of the first LP you ever bought. I got a lot of great answers, including one from Mike Smock, who said, “LP’s? how about 45’s? – CCR – Down on the Corner/Fortunate Son.”
That spurred me to open one of the many, many boxes of 45s that have sat, untouched, in my garage over the last three moves. What a wave of memories that generated!
So what was your first 45 purchase ever? And how about your favorite 45 of all time?
The first 45 I bought was Chubby Checker‘s “Limbo Rock”. It wasn’t what I had intended to buy. I knew what the song I wanted sounded like, but didn’t know the title, so, being just seven years old, I picked the 45 that looked like the most likely candidate. Of course I was wrong.
Favorite 45? There are three that I still cherish as much as the day I bought them.
Free – All Right Now: This was a DJ record that came with two mixes, a short and long version. The guitar bridge before the final chorus pans from left to right and back again in a call-and-response that builds to and explosive climax. When my buddy John Schumacher bought the album, I thought I’d get it, too. But I discovered that the album version was a total re-record and had none of the punch of the single. Sadly the album mix is all that we hear now days and generations assume it’s the real deal. Look deep at the Free catalog over at Rhapsody and you may find the original single version.
B.J. Thomas – Rock n Roll Lullabye: Another DJ record with two versions. The Beach Boy background vocals are dead-on and the stereo mix is head-phone perfect. The long version has a 35 second intro with Fender Rhodes and vibes that is un-paralleled. I actually had two copies and wore out one of em, listening through my David Clarks on the good old Sony stereo in our living room.
Everything is Everything – Wichi-Tai-To: Jim Pepper, the Native American sax player who is behind the band Everything is Everything was the inspiration for this one hit peyote laced wonder on the Vanguard label. It’s a mono mix and didn’t do much on the charts, but it inspired a ton of others to record it, including an extended riff on the Brewer and Shipley Weeds LP. I did an Internet search a few years back and found eleven different versions, from jazz fusion to the Harpers Bizzare.
Got a first 45 / favorite 45 recollection? Share it with us!
