Looking at the year 1880, “the first commercial production and sales of phonographs and phonograph recordings occurred. Steel frame construction of “sky-scrapers” happened for the first time. February 16, 1880: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers was founded in New York City. Construction began on the Panama Canal by the French.”

Records became a big part of my life as a teenager. My grandfather had the first phonograph that I ever listed to back then. It was a long cabinet with speakers at each end that he made himself. As I remember, artists like Burl Ives, Bing Crosby, and the Big Band performers, plus the Music Man musical were part of his small vinyl collection. It wasn’t until later in high school that I owned my own stereo but we had a small record player for 45s like “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” The radio was always on Chicago’s WLS in the basement and I kept up on the “Top 40” through flyers that we would get at Jack’s Record Shop. I didn’t buy a lot of records but the store was a hang out for my classmates.

I didn’t go to the dances until college but I liked to sing along to the car radio. The Beatles were just starting to come on the scene and I especially enjoyed their harmony on songs like Help! The Beach Boys were always a favorite for the same reason, along with Jan & Dean. My tastes began to change as a handful of STEREO records began to hit the market. I began to buy albums by Led Zeppelin, Cream, and The Doors. I was also fascinated by the Beatles as they began to experiment with albums like the Magical Mystery Tour and the music began to move from one speaker to another. Then, of course, cassettes, 8-Tracks, and CDs produced a cleaner sound since you no longer were concerned with needle scratches. These innovations allowed listening to recordings in the car rather than simply relying on the radio. 

After college, vinyl records suddenly began to take a back seat when it came to buying music, but have seen a recent resurgence. The thing I always liked about albums were the designs and the detailed information on the band and lyrics provided. You learned more about the music and the artists than just listening to their songs. There was no room for this information, or too small to read, on or in the plastic cases that accompanied the format that you bought. Fortunately, the internet now provides all this background on the tunes we hear, but it is still the preferable experience when you can read the album cover while you listen. Unique albums made the music collectable, so it’s good that recording has taken a step back in time. I don’t currently own a turntable but many of my friends still do.