First record
by Bob on April 2, 2007
A radio producer at the BBC asked me recently what the first recordI ever bought was. I was stupified. I could not remember. So after thinking really hard and whistling, I was able to tell them what my best guess was.
The first record I ever remember buying was "The Space Cadet March" from the 1950s The Tom Corbett Space Cadet Show. I think I tried to eat the record. I had a hard time finding this, but remembered the chorus "We are space cadets and we are proud to say/Our fight for right will never
cease".
Realistically, in the folk genre I bought a Pete Seeger (and the Weavers) record early and I got into the 5-string bluegrass banjo ... so I bought "Goodnight Irene" by The Weavers who were covering a Huddie Leadbetter song. Don't ask me when. When I was really little. Leadbetter's music later got me into the blues and rock.
So the next clearest record I bought was "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs (still living) and the Foggy Mountain Boys. Pure delightful bluegrass 5-string banjo. I played it. It was recorded in 1949 but I got it sometime later.
My first rock record was possibly interesting. "That's Allright, Mama" recorded by Elvis Presley in 1954 or so. An Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup 1946 song covered by Elvis and others, like Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, Carl Perkins, et al.
And the last vinyl record I remember buying was the 1979 Broken English album by the brilliant Marianne Faithfull. There must have been more later. Maybe they all were CD's.
Oh well. Age shows.