Introduction
|
When I was a youth in the mid 1960s, my maternal grandparents owned a late 1940s to early 1950s RCA Victor radio-phonograph console. The top of the console cabinet was divided into two hinged sections. When the right side of the top was raised, it revealed the AM/FM radio tuner section with dark Bakelite tuning knobs. Under the larger, left hand section, the turntable controls were accessible. The famous RCA logo with the dog (Nipper) listening to "His Master's Voice" was on the inside of the phono cover. I remember spending numerous afternoons and some early evenings sitting on the dining room floor listening to various types of music and admiring the colorful record labels in their collection. I would focus my gaze upon the loudspeaker and the small orange-red pilot lamp at the base of the console as the music drifted up through the rooms of the house. I do have a photograph of this set, but I need to unearth it from the archives.In our own home, we had a circa 1956 RCA "Orthophonic" (model SHF-8) phonograph. It had a contemporary dark wood cabinet, and was supported by thin, tapered, metal legs which were fashionable in the decorative arts such as interior and furniture design (see photo below). The legs were removable, so it could also be converted to a table-top model. That system was in service until 1972 when we got a Denon AM/FM (stereo) tuner/phonograph. I am not sure what happened to the RCA Orthophonic set. Household favorites played on the RCA system included The Village Stompers (Dixieland Jazz), Louis Armstrong, Oscar Peterson, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, to name only a few. I have since inherited all of those 12 inch vinyl LP ("long playing") gems, and believe they have stood the test of time rather well. The Village Stompers albums are still in excellent condition, and sound great, but I am getting ahead of myself.
RCA "Orthophonic" (model SHF-8) phonograph (no
radio)
Photos Courtesy: Susan Manning / December 6, 2006
My original "Hey Jude" 45 RPM from Jay's Record Ranch
I started to realize that I had a growing personal interest in radio, music, and recorded sound in 1968 when I was eight years old. It began to take shape when my mother drove me to "Jay's Record Ranch" (long gone) in Henrietta, NY to buy my first 45 RPM vinyl record. It was the Beatles "Hey Jude" (B side: "Revolution"). The tune was hugely popular at the time, and through tight Top 40 play list rotation during the nine weeks it spent at the number one position in the U.S. charts, it bec