I love collecting vinyl records and over the years, I've collected hundreds and hundreds of singles, many of which would probably fetch a pretty penny at auction. I'm always on the hunt to find my next gem of a record and I'll usually find them in a local thrift store. Once in a while, I'll find a single on Ebay, such as the singles for 'Three Little Birds' by Bob Marley and an original USA copy of Buddy Holly's 'That'll Be The Day' from the 1950s. With shipping costs, both singles cost about $25 Canadian each. If I find one in a thrift shop, the cost is usually $2 or less.
I was a teenager in the 1980s and was among the last group of kids to be able to walk into a record shop before the introduction of the compact disc. While I embraced the CD, I saw how it impacted the vinyl record manufacturing sector. Up until the 1980s, Canada had its own robust record manufacturing industry. Fast forward to today and none of the big labels manufacture their own records in Canada anymore. Most records are imported from the U.K. or Japan, for example.
In the last few years, I've witnessed the resurgence in popularity of the vinyl record LP (full length Long Play) but the 45 RPM single is still very limited to special runs. Back in the 1950s, 60s, 70s and into the mid-80s, the 45 RPM single reigned supreme with many bands preferring to release singles over albums. It was much easier to write and record just two songs for a single than a dozen songs for an LP.
Times may have changed but my love of the 45 RPM single hasn't. It might have something to do with the fact that I bought myself a 1978 Seeburg Jukebox back in 2010 for just $700!
In this, my first post in what I hope is a series of posts showcasing my 45's (as I like to call them), I'll start with a batch of singles from my most recent thrift store find. Most records in thrift stores are so beat up, they aren't worth the money and most of the time, I leave empty handed but a couple weeks ago, I got lucky and found a handful that were worth scooping up.
As soon as I saw this, I knew I had to have it. The single, 'She Sells Sanctuary' was a huge hit for the Cult on the Vertigo label and manufactured by Polydor in Canada. The sleeve opens up into a huge poster of the band and the record is near mint. For $1.99, it cost about half the price than when it was initially released in 1985. Finding a popular single with its originally picture sleeve is a big plus for collectors. Below is the massive Island Records single, 'Higher Love' by Steve Winwood released in 1986 which also includes the picture sleeve. This was a very successful label as they also had another popular act on their roster, called U2.
We're just a couple weeks away from New Year's and I want to party like it's 1999! When I played this Prince single, '1999', it came out sounding as if the record was pressed only yesterday. As you can see on the paper sleeve, it was manufactured by WEA which at the time was one of the biggest record companies in Canada as it had several big labels under its umbrella.
Eric Clapton really became a solid solo musician in the 1970s after brief stints with Cream, Derek and The Dominoes, Bonny and Delaney, and Blind Faith. He broke out in 1974 with his first number one hit, 'I Shot The Sheriff', a song that was written by Bob Marley. Here's one of his classics, 'Wonderful Tonight', released in 1977 on the RSO label which he had composed for his then wife, Patty Boyd.
The RSO label was huge in the 1970s as they had one of the biggest acts of the decade, The Bee Gees. The 40 million + selling double LP 'Saturday Night Fever' was released on the RSO label.
First, they were called Jefferson Airplane in the 1960s (Go ask Alice when she's 8 feet tall), then they morphed into Jefferson Starship in the 1970s (Count on me) and finally in the 1980s, it was just 'Starship'. As Starship, they scored a few top hits including 'Sarah (no time is a good time for goodbye), 'We Built This City', a song composed by Elton John and Bernie Taupin and this one, 'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now' which was featured in the hit movie 'Mannequin' and was released in 1987 on Elvis' label, RCA.
I was really happy to find this next one, Night Ranger's 'Sister Christian'. It was a big hit when I was still in high school. Released in 1983 on the Epic label, the single is ranked as one of the most popular of that decade. 1983 was very a big year for the Epic label with the release of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' LP. 70 million copies and counting. Not bad.
As for when I played this single through my headphones, I can say without a doubt, the record is still "Motoring"!
Saving for second to last (on purpose) is this cool find. Paul McCartney is the most successful songwriter in music history, no small feat (Barry Gibb comes in second place). If I find one of his records and it's in very good condition, I'll usually snap it up. Here's a copy of his soft hit 'So Bad' which also includes the title track to the LP it was included on, 'Pipes of Peace', on the B side.
McCartney's Pipes of Peace LP was hist last with Columbia after which he renewed his old contract with Capitol / EMI and has been with them ever since. Of course, this time around he made sure to retain all the rights to all his new music onward. He's bought back the rights to many of the earliest Beatles hits including 'Love Me Do' and expanded his music publishing empire by purchasing the rights to Buddy Holly's songs. His incredible success would eventually place him on the 'Billionaires List'. His first single upon his return to Capitol / EMI was the title track to the movie, 'Spies Like Us' in 1985.
I saved the McCartney single for second to last to give this next single the glory of being last on the list but surely not the least. Why? Because it features Paul McCartney once again, except this time with the Beatles for their number one hit, 'Hello Goodbye'. As soon as I saw this original Canadian pressing, I knew I had found a true Beatles collectible.
The record is well played so I would give it a B minus rating but what makes this cool record really stand out is what's on the B side.
Hardcore Beatles fans will recognize this single as it has a slightly different version than the version on the 'Magical Mystery Tour' LP. In the middle section where John Lennon sings 'Sitting in an English garden' and then sings the chorus, 'I am the eggman, they are the eggmen. I am the walrus', at this point the note is extended a few seconds while the LP (and radio) version does not for some reason, making this single a very nice find, indeed.
There's more. I dug deep for more information on this single and discovered that the RCA manufacturing plants had manufactured the original first pressing. It was also the first Capitol single under a new numbering system (which were scribed by hand in the runoff area). The one way to tell if the pressing I had was an original is by reading the inscription below 'The Beatles' heading. The inscription reads' 'MFD. In CANADA BY CAPITOL RECORDS OF CANADA LTD. REGISTERED USER. COPYRIGHTED'. Later Capitol copies had the word CANADA in brackets. This record does not have the brackets which proves it to be from the original RCA run.
The Beatles Hello Goodbye / I Am The Walrus single, having been originally pressed in 1967 (Released Nov. 13, 1967), is the oldest pressing of the batch of singles I had found, . All the others were pressed in the 1980s. They came at a cost of $1.99 plus sales tax each which I think is still a very good deal.
Once in a while, I find some extremely rare singles such as Gene Vincent's 'Be Bop A Lula' and the original Quality Records Canadian pressing of Jerry Lee Lewis' 'Great Balls of Fire'. On the label it states, ' By special arrangement with Sun Records'. Of course, Sun Records is where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison made their first records. The 'Great Balls of Fire' single is so clean I'd give it an A Plus for the excellent condition it is in. I had found this single about then years ago now and didn't pay more than 49 cents plus tax for it at the time. I'm sure I could fetch $20 or more for it on Ebay.
That's it for this post. I hope you enjoyed my finds so far. Since I have at least 500 singles, I have enough material to keep posting for some time to come, I hope. Subscribe to keep posted on when I release post #2 for 'My Awesome Singles Collection'. Please share your comments below. Do you have a cool record collection? What do you love the most about vinyl records? Are they better than CDs? Until next time, keep spinning those records!
Interesting tidbit: The Beatles #1 single 'Hello Goodbye' was a follow up to their previous #1 hit, 'All You Need Is Love' which was a follow up to their previous #1 hit, Penny Lane which was a follow up to their double A sided #1 hit, 'Yellow Submarine' / 'Eleanor Rigby', which was a follow up to their previous #1 hit, 'Paperback Writer'. What followed afterwards was their #1 hit, 'Lady Madonna', followed by their biggest #1 hit, 'Hey Jude', followed by their #1 hit, 'Get Back', followed by their #1 hit, 'The Ballad of John and Yoko', followed by their double A sided #1 hit, 'Come Together' / 'Something', followed by their #1 hit, 'Let It Be' and finally followed by their last #1, 'The Long and Winding Road'.
Peace and Love to everyone.
Earn free Bitcoin Satoshis using CryptoTab Browser.
Purchase any precious metal at OwnX.
Secure your crypto in a private wallet - Ledger Nano X
Support free speech - join Rumble today.
Earn TFuel watching livestreams on Theta tv
Subscribe to my blog and hit the 'like' button if you enjoyed this post. Tips are always appreciated.
Check out some of my previous posts.
A brief history of the incredible, everlasting vinyl record.
See the Beatles' brand new video 'Here, there and everywhere.
Thanks for the music, Meat Loaf.
