Thursday, April 21, 2011

R is for Record

The kind of record I'm referring to here is the record album that was played on a hi-fi or a stereo.  Records...LPs...made of vinyl.  Ah, all the time spent listening to records while I was growing up...such memories.  My cousin and I would put on The Supremes (remember them?) and take turns being Diana.  When it was your turn to be Diana, you got to stand on the ottoman and hold the hairbrush (read: microphone) and sing the lead parts.  When your song was over, you just traded places until it was your turn again.  Oh how glorious we were and we sounded JUST LIKE DIANA ROSS every single time.  (Right.).  We belted out "Stop! In the Name of Love," "Baby Love," "Where Did Our Love Go," "You Can't Hurry Love," and the like--and I can hear y'all singing right now!  You remember!  Oh and the Beatles!  We would sing and sing and sing and talk about our crushes- my cousin, along with everyone else was so in love with Paul but I was always a George fan.  Always.  We would even put on my parents' Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass records and pretend to play the brass instruments.  I loved "A Taste of Honey" and we could really play that horn part!    

Since we were in elementary school in the mid-sixties, the very best EVER sleep overs were always at friends houses who had big sisters.  Oh, but this was such a treat!  They would let us hang out in the living room with them for a while.  Everyone was in their babydoll shortie pajamas (remember those?  the little bloomer bottoms and the full little top that just covered them?) and the teenagers had their hair all rolled up on orange juice cans and they would be playing records by The 5th Dimension; The Lovin' Spoonful; The Righteous Brothers; and so many more---they would all be dancing around the room and singing into their hairbrushes (read: microphones), eating popcorn and drinking sodas and just having a blast.  Until the boys showed up.  Then we would have to leave while the girls flirted.  But that was ok because, at the time, we thought that flirting with boys was silly and stupid.  Ha, that didn't last long!    

Ah, "those were the days, my friend we thought they'd never end we'd sing and dance forever and a day..."

This is the 18th day of the A-Z Blog Challenge for the month of April. The hardest letters are withing these last 10 days...thankfully, we're almost FINISHED!  I just might make it!  Until then, I leave you with The Supremes: (if it doesn't work the first time, try clicking a second time)



17 comments:

  1. I miss records.. I miss that slight scratchy sound when you'd situate the needle.. it all sounded so real...

    I don't miss the scratches however that would suddenly make a sweet sounding record screech at you...

    those were the days... we had all our parents records from when they were growing up.. it's how I came to love Mowtown

    Nice post

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  2. Clare- I still love Motown too! Some of the best music ever was produced on that label! We still have most of our albums--at least the ones our girls haven't taken off with! LOL I agree though, I don't miss the scratches either-have a great day!

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  3. I was a George fan, too! Could never see why all my friends were so smitten with Paul.

    I remember it all - baby dolls, big hair rollers and vinyl. Vinyl has been the soundtrack to my life. I worked for several years in wholesale/retail record biz. We always thought we'd have 'vinyl in our veins' forever. Now, I have nothing to play the vinyl on but I still have some.
    We all loved Motown - it was so accessible. We could all sing (through our hairbrushes), we could all dance to it. Thanks for the memories :)

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  4. Stephanie-It was great, wasn't it?! Now I walk around with my IPod- but we have our memories!

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  5. Our babysitter used to bring over her records when she was watching us and we got to hear cool songs we would never of known if it weren't for her!

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  6. We still have a stereo set up. My daughter was astounded when hubs told her to flip it over and play something on the flip side. The CD generation is definitely missing out on something!

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  7. I used to pretend I was Cher and sing into my hairbrush. I also wrapped my head in a towel for the long hair effect. Yeah, I went all out... lol. I miss records, too. Maybe I just miss being a kid. Hard to separate the two.

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  8. "Baby love, my baby love....hmhmhmm"
    You got me singing here. Love it! I remember those days well. My next door neighbors sister was older and she let us participate in such party's too. (Almost forgot about that)
    I really should listen to more music, brings back memories.

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  9. Would you believe my son-in-law just purchased a record player! He then goes to a antique shop and purchases vinyl records for $.05 each. I think he was born in the wrong era. He is SO proud of his collection. I remember throwing away albums..who would've known I would have been the all time best mom-in-law if I had a stack of them to hand to him!

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  10. Beth- I know! I have always been grateful to the older girls for exposing us to some awesome music!

    Joyce- DD3 and DD4 both have stereos and most of our albums! They love them.

    Robin- Oh yeah! The towel for long hair---thanks! I had forgotten about that!

    Betty- I've been singing since last night when i wrote the post! They are great songs!

    Cindy-Our two youngest girls are just like that! They have most of our albums too!

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  11. I would be willing to bet if the ottoman and a hair brush happened to be available when Katy Perry hits your ear buds from your ipod...there might be a revival of those times.

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  12. Oh good grief! I was reading your post and you made me burst into song! Fun memories. :-) Now I'll be singing 'where did our love go' all evening!

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  13. Kipp- Katy Perry, eh? Haven't heard her...I'll have to give her a listen.

    Judy- GREAT! Wish you were here to grab your hairbrush and sing with me!

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  14. Oh boy, we are really showing our age aren't we. I can remember that whole scenario like it was yesterday. We still have records as well, and a few weeks ago my husband found a record player that somehow makes a cd out of the album. He is too excited!

    Susan

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  15. Susan- DD4 has a record player that does that too! It's pretty cool!

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  16. Oh wow, good for you for doing this A-Z Challenge! I wouldn't have the guts, I'd be too afraid I wouldn't be able to think of a topic. You've done fantastic!
    And the Supremes! Such memories of driving across country with my family.
    Thanks for coming by my blog. The sight of your name in the comment box always ALWAYS makes me smile. You are delightful!

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  17. The Supremes and vinyl, thanks for the memories. I hope you are having a Happy Easter.

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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! It makes me feel connected to everyone even though we may live far apart! Have a wonderful day!

 
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