Preserving Our Vinyl History

Regular readers of the blog know I have been having some computer issues lately. But it has not stopped me from finding great material.

I want to extend a hearty thank you to Bobby Pepper (http://www.djournal.com/) for the rights to republish this fascinating look at our vinyl world. Enjoy:




LEE COUNTY NEIGHBORS:RECORD PLAYER

Daily Journal

By Bobby Pepper
Lee County Neighbors Editor



Inside a 600-square-foot room in Bob Wheeler’s Baldwyn home, an all-star lineup of recording artists is being preserved.

On one shelf is Bill Monroe. Nearby are the Beatles. They’re surrounded by, among others, Buck Owens, Patsy Cline, Boots Randolph, Roy Rogers, Hank Williams, Black Oak Arkansas, the Commodores and KC and the Sunshine Band. And in one special place in Wheeler’s home, there’s Elvis Presley.

Anytime Wheeler wants to hear one perform, he takes it off the shelf, pulls out a disc from a protective jacket and places it on a turntable. When the music starts, history comes to life.

Wheeler has been collecting recorded music for most of his 79 years, and he’s compiled an extensive personal library of vinyl discs of almost 100,000 records. Some of his oldest recordings date back to the early 1900s.

“I’ve got some LPs that are 50, 60 years old,” Wheeler said, “They keep on going because I took care of them, kept them out of the dust, the dirt, the heat and the water, and they still play.”

Wheeler said between 20,000 and 30,000 records are kept at the home he shares with his wife, Mary Bess. The rest are in a 1,200-square-foot storage building near Houston in Chickasaw County, where he lived before moving to Lee County 12 years ago.

“I’ve got music from all over the world,” he said. “They’re not catalogued. Maybe inside my brain, per se. But I know what I’ve got.”

Wall-to-wall records

Wheeler is surrounded in his crowded carport-turned-record room by all types of discs in their original jackets. Against one wall are a dozen or so boxes filled with the smaller 45 rpm discs. He also has many tube-like wax cylinder recordings that were played on phonographs in the early 1900s.

He’s passionate about music. He organized bluegrass shows, ran a record store and wrote a weekly newspaper column on country music history while living in Chickasaw County. Even though his collection features a diverse range of performers, Wheeler especially enjoys country, bluegrass and gospel.

“The first LP I bought was George Beverly Shea, the man who sang with Billy Graham for many years,” Wheeler said. “It was his first LP. ... I never did concentrate on one artist. I have hundreds of favorites.”

Wheeler often plays the record just long enough to transfer the music to a cassette. He said he has about 2,500 cassettes of his favorite albums, which he prefers to listen to while driving his car.

The collection includes other recorded formats from bygone eras – 8-tracks and reel-to-reel tape. Wheeler also has compact discs, but he admits he’s too much of a music traditionalist to give up the vinyl and cassettes.

“What few compact discs I do have, they’ve been given to me,” he said. “I’d say I have about 50 or 60. I never did get into that. You can’t beat an old 78.”

One drawback to sticking with vinyl, Wheeler said, is the rising cost of record player needles.

“I used to get them for $2.95, now they’re asking $30 for them,” he said. “I’ve got some turntables sitting out here, and all it needs is a $30 needle and we’re back in business.”

The ‘father’ and the ‘king’

Of all the recording artists in Wheeler’s collection, two that stand out are the Father of Bluegrass and the King of Rock ’n’ Roll.

“There’s no one artist that I have everything of,” he said, “but I have more of Elvis and Bill Monroe than anyone else.”

While he keeps most of his Monroe records on the shelves, Wheeler has his Elvis records and memorabilia – books, magazines, newspaper clippings, even promotional soft drink cans – in another room.

He started the Elvis collection 35 years ago.

“I won’t say it’s the best one in the world,” he said. “I’m sure I’ve got things other people ain’t got, and vice versa, because no two collections are like. Couldn’t be. But it’s pretty extensive.”

In addition to his records, Wheeler has a large memorabilia collection of books, magazines and photographs of recording artists and about 450 Western movies on videotape.

Wheeler said he’d like to organize his collection of records and memorabilia, but feels it would be an overwhelming task.

“It won’t happen in my lifetime,” he said. “I wish I could. That’s what it needs. I need a building about 100 by 160 feet and display everything like a museum.”

Wheeler enjoys talking to people about music. He hopes his huge record collection is his contribution to keeping music from the past alive.

“I like preserving music, enjoying it, collecting it and being a country music historian to a certain extent,” he said. “My purpose is to preserve music.”


SOURCE: http://www.djournal.com/

Reprinted By Permission