Forgotten Hits

Can You Believe It?!?!? Even MORE Of Your FIRST 45's Memories!!!

It's the series that just won't quit!!!

We're STILL receiving FIRST 45's Stories ... so we've added yet another page to our website!

Send us YOUR FIRST 45's Memories ... and then check back to see yours posted with hundreds and hundreds of others. (I guess we never really forget our first, do we?!?!?) Enjoy!

EVEN MORE OF YOUR FIRST 45's MEMORIES ARE NOW POSTED ON THE FORGOTTEN HITS WEB PAGE!!! Enjoy!

When Sheryl Crow recorded the old Jackson Five Hit "I Want You Back" for her new "100 Miles From Memphis" CD, she told reporters that this was the very first 45 she ever bought. How cool is it that she first rose to fame as one of Michael Jackson's background singers!!!

The first record Bobby Abrams ever bought was a 45 of "Hey Baby They're Playin' Our Song" by The Buckinghams. His mother thought they were "nice clean cut young men", not wild like those other bands. Many years later, Bob Abrams would join The Buckinghams ... and play lead guitar for the band for 24 years!

The first 45 I bought was Pleasant Valley Sunday by The Monkees !!! I still have the picture cover, and of course the record is mostly white now from playing it many, many times. I grew up on a farm and got 25 cents a week for an allowance. So, I had to save for awhile. Thanks for doing this article, it's been fun.

Susan Cox

Do you remember your first vinyl music? Of course I had a few Beatles' 45's and LPs in the 60's that I would love to own now. Some of the first records I purchased go back to the late 50's including Laurie London's "He's Got The Whole World In His Hands," Johnny Horton's "Battle of New Orleans" and "Sink the Bismark," and Connie Francis' "Lipstick On Your Collar."

Just thought this list would be interested.

Chris Jones

It was 1956, I was listening to pop and rock 'n' roll music AMAP and I was determined to get that record "Singing The Blues" by Guy Mitchell (Columbia). I was so proud that my selection topped the charts for so many weeks. I played it many times, but was concerned about wearing it out. After that there were many more records I wanted, but alas, I had no money, so my record collecting had to wait for years until I had a job and had bought my first car.

In 1964 my serious record collecting began, still constrained by available funds, but launching years of research and hunting for old treasures. But even though I found out that Marty Robbins had recorded "Singing The Blues" first, I still always favored Guy Mitchell's recording much more.
In recent years the records have given way to CDs and mp3s, and XM Radio has uncovered hundreds more to add to my lists.
Thanks, everyone who has contributed to the preservation of the oldies!

Tom VK

I was living in Crailsheim, Germany. It was Christmas, 1965, when I got my first record player and my first 45s. They were "It Ain't Me Babe" by the Turtles on the orginal blue White Whale label. I remembered the original "B'" side was the fine rocker "Almost There". Also "Sunshine, Lollipops & Rainbows" by Lesley Gore, short and sweet at 1:37. I remembered the flip was a dramatic ballad "You've Come Back" written by Van McCoy. Another one was "A Taste Of Honey" by Herb Alpert. I remembered the record would skip at certain points. I remembered the flip side was a sprightly version of Anton Karas' "The Third Man Theme". I liked the Tijunana Brass so much that I bought the follow-up "Zorba The Greek" that was edited to 2:48 from a 4:26 version. In addition to the edits, there was some extra crowd noise, an overdubbed trombone towards the end, and adddtional reverb.

MMarvin

I remember the day of my first record buying experience very well. As a child, I lived on Staten Island, NY. Every Friday, my sister and I would take the ferry to NYC where we would go to my mother's office and my father would join us there. We'd then go to a greasy spoon for a Friday night dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches, heavy on the butter, and then travel to see my grandmother in Queens. One day, dad told us to come up early and he brought my sister and me to a Sam Goody store in lower Manhattan as a treat. I was 11 and I was allowed to choose a 45 to play on our new phonograph. What a decision! I loved Rock and Roll and 1958 was a great year for it! I finally chose “All I Have to Do Is Dream” by The Everly Brothers. They became one of my favorites and I eventually owned all of their 45s ... until I came home from work one day and found my niece had destroyed many of them by using them as frisbees while her indulgent grandfather looked on. Now that I have grandchildren of my own, I understand ... but I sure didn't then!

Liz Nilsen

As a young man of 11 years old, my very first 45 rpm purchased was The Marcels, "BLUE MOON". I loved the record. The booming bass voice of Freddy Johnson. Having that record was the bug that bit me. I had to have more. And more. When the Beatles arrived, the album bug bit me as well. I was on my way to cluttering my house with vinyl. What a sweet virus that is. And 18 years ago, the biggest bug bit me. CAMEO PARKWAY records. I boast of my collection of 45s and LPs. www.vinylphilly.squarepins.org
I was did get to see the Marcels perform in East Rutherford but with no originals. But in 2001, at the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in Sharon PA, outside of Pittsburgh, I met Freddy Johnson, the Marcels bass singer. Oh man, I was in heaven. Blue Moon, my first 45.
Vinyl Philly Dave

Hi Kent !

This is a strange story, but true!

I was reading stuff from My First 45's on your website and was thinking of mine at the time, Hey Little Cobra, and for the life of me, I couldn't remember the group.

Then all of a sudden, I saw at the end of the letter, that I'm reading a letter by Mitch Schecter. From the Rip Chords. I was blown away ! Thought you might like to know. Keep up the good work.

Mark

The first 45 I received was the Elvis - Too Much, but the first one I bought was at Hested's (like Woolworth) in Aurora, Colorado. It was Little Girl by Ritchie Valens. It was on the Del-Fi label, but it was an all gold label with Valens Memorial Series scrolled across the top. I still have it, but it doesn't play too well. I've since got it on mp3 ... a great copy, too!

joe

kent ...

i was seven, maybe eight years old when my mom took me to about seven record stores before we finally got "bo diddley" by the man himself, elias mcdaniel ... i had no idea - i'm not sure any white people did - what bo meant when he sang "mother asked mojo where you been ... up to your house and i'm goin' again ... i must have played that
wax 10,000 times ...
i still get chills every time i hear the track ...

by the way, i suggest that all your disciples log on to youtube and type in chuck berry and bo diddley ... it shows the two titans together on stage at an oldies show in madison square garden back in 1972 ... bo appears far more comfortable than chuck.
chet coppock
wls radio
chetcoppock.com

Kent,

The first 45 I bought was "My True Story" by the Jive Five, in 1961. It's still one of my favorite records. My dad made a deal with me - "You don't play that record again tonight and I won't fashion your teeth into flying Chicklets!" I must've played it a hundred times in a row. The sound of those voices mesmerized me. Now, my sister was two years older so I was proficient at wearing out HER Elvis, Buddy Holly and Doo wop 45's but that was the first one I forked over MY spondulicks for! Still a bargain at any price!

To the best of my recollection, the second and third singles were "Barbara Ann" and "Runaround" by the Regents on Gee Records. After that, the floodgates opened and every penny I got in allowance went for new 45's and scratched up ones from garage sales. I still have most if not all of them! Though it was an LP, the record I remember playing more than any other in my youth was "Elvis' Greatest Hits, Volume One." It's still my favorite, although "The Sun Sessions" pulls ahead from time to time!

Henry Gross

Used to be a place (ah, how many people have used that phrase) in Portland, Oregon called Al's records. The entire center of the relatively small store contained the 45's racks - what he didn't have, he'd order for you, but he usually had the top hits; this was before a formal Top Forty. I toddled in at the tender age of seven, laid down my quarter and bought Robert Mitchum's Ballad of Thunder Road. Shortly thereafter, I did the same thing and bought Elvis Presley's Rock-A-Hula Baby. I still have them, some 51 years later.
Cheers,
Iain McLennon
Portland, OR

I have several 45's myself. My very first 45's were bought for me by my boyfriend ( who later became my husband ) when we were going out: The Diary by Neil Sedaka and You Are My Destiny by Paul Anka. We living in Chicago at the time and the music was jumping!

Claire Rivas of Janesville, Wi.

I remember when I was 11 or 12 years old and received ten cents a week for allowance and tried saving every penny I could to buy a 45. My first 45 was a Beatles record, Twist And Shout, which I played over and over till it could not play anymore. My girlfriends would come over to our house and we would make guitars from cardboard with a ruler and play these 45's. It was awesome. We would then make a little theater with chairs and have parents and family come and watch us perform as the Beatles.

Then the Herman's Hermits came out and at that time I was finding odd jobs to try and make more money to buy more 45's. My family did not have a lot of money but trying to find odd jobs and making ten cents a week for allowance made me appreciate more what I had bought. After the Beatles, I started to buy Herman's Hermits 45's records ... Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter, I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am and I'm Leaning on the Lampost, which was my favorite at the time. I still have those 45's hanging on the wall with all my other Herman's Hermits things and things I have collected from the 60's on my walls, which is so cool . When I go into the room it sure brings back good memories.

Thanks for letting us share the good days.

Terry Williams

My first 45 was Green Onions by Booker T. and the MG's. I did not buy it. It was a test record used by a local radio and tv repair shop. My father began working at the repair shop back in 1963. Every time they would repair a record player they would use the Booker T 45 to test and make sure everything sounded right. One day I was at the shop and Mr Pinkney, the owner, got sick of hearing it and tossed it in the trash can. I told him I liked it and wanted that 45. He replied, "You can have it, but keep it out of this %$##@ shop." I brought it home and it hangs on the wall of my record room to this day. The first 45 I bought was Surf City by Jan and Dean. It was from the local soda fountian. They sold 45s they pulled off the jukebox for 25 cents. I was hooked. Every week or so I would check the box and something good would be there. Early 45s I bought from "the box" were Suspicion by Terry Stafford, Do You Love Me by Dave Clark Five, Please Please Me by the Beatles It's All Over Now by the Rolling Stones and She's the One by the Chartbusters. That's been well over 40 years now, and 70, 000 records later, I still collect 45s.

Phil Shoemaker

Hello,

My very first 45 record purchase was 16 Candles by the Crests. (Lead singer Johnny Maestro passed away this year, 2010). It was 1959 and my girlfriend in Chattanooga was turning 16, and for her birthday I bought her the record 16 Candles by the Crests. I remember how mature I felt going into a record store for the first time to make that purchase. Shortly after her birthday, I moved from Chattanooga to Indianapolis and we lost touch. But in 2003 we found each other online. Realizing that we will be life long friends, we continue to correspond, and my wife and I have visited with her and her husband. And of course, for her 61st birthday I bought her a 45 record of 16 Candles by the Crests. As a side note, I'm a big fan of music harmony that is often referred to as doo wop, and suppose that even as a 16 year old kid back in 1959, I enjoyed R & B / doo wop harmony.

James Lewis

My first love lived out of state. He mailed me a dollar bill with a note asking me to go to the "record store" and purchase "Baby I Love You" by Andy Kim. I had never heard it, but he wanted it to be "our song". I begged my sister to drive me since I wasn't old enough! When we got home I played it for hours! To this day when I hear it on the radio all those wonderful feelings come rushing back!
PATTI PAVIS

My very first 45 was Come Softly by the Fleetwoods, I actually bought it for my sister's birthday. My next 45 was Alley Oop by the Hollywood Argyles. Then I bought a 45 for the song Nutcracker it was most all piano but can not remember the group ... I think it was Paul Revere and the Raiders. Then Palasades Park Freddy "BOOM BOOM" Cannon.
Frank De Priest

Long before anyone ever heard of Gurnee, Illinois, outside Lake County ... long before anyone thought of Great America or Gurnee Mills ... my sister worked for the "famous" Big Gurnee Discount Store. One day my mom was picking sis up from work and she told me I could buy a record with my hard earned lawn mowing money. I pored through the records and found "The Letter."
I got it home and put it on ... and I was really shocked to hear Joe Cocker!

I was probably 9 - how did I know I anyone other than The Box Tops did that song? But, in the end, I got to love Cocker's cover version. I still smile when I hear it and think of how dumb I was.

Keith Johnson

The first record that I ever bought was Maybelline by Chuck Berry on 78 rpm. I probably heard it on Porky Chedwick's show on WAMO, as few other disc jockeys were playing Black music in Pittsburgh in 1955. My parents only had a 78 player and rock and roll and rhythm and blues became increasingly hard to find on 78s. Whenever I said that we needed a 45 player, my Dad would say "buy it on a 78". Finally, I had to take my Dad with me to a record store so that he could see that they were no longer releasing many songs on 78, so that he would agree to buy our family a 45/33 rpm player. However, as a result of his procrastination, today I have an extensive collection of early rock and roll on 78 rpm.

Ed Salamon

My first 45 that I purchased with my own money was "Hurts So Good" by John Cougar. I bought it at Target in New Albany, IN, for 99 cents and still have the picture sleeve with the price tag on it. That's recent for some people but sure makes me feel old. I was 11 at the time. Since then I've amassed over 3,000 45's from 1951 through 2003.
I continued to buy new music that I liked on 45 whenever I could but it is nigh on impossible now to find much on 45 although some of the new "underground" artists still release 45's which I think is cool since my jukebox holds 100 45's and I like to rotate them every month or so.
Nothing sounds as good as vinyl and nothing ever will for me.
Chad from New Albany, IN.

My first record was Tom Dooley by the Kingston Trio. I was only about 7 at the time and originally had the 78. I remember it clearly though because I put it on the chair one day and my dad sat on it and broke it. I cried so much that to shut me up, my mum made him go out to buy another copy and he came home with the 45.

The B side was Ruby Red, another great song which I finally found on CD about two years ago. The first record I actually bought myself was Let's Jump The Broomstick by Brenda Lee. I was lucky enough to meet Brenda on my first visit to the States in 2006 and was surprised to learn that although the song was a big hit in England, it did nothing in the U.S. Most of the 45s I bought later are long gone, but I still have these two and whenever I hear them they remind me of the days when music actually meant something
Cheers
Nick Gordon

Kent;
June 1963, grade 8 graduation dance. I'd never been at any dance prior to this night,
but always wanted to.
On a dance floo

r, two gals could fast dance together, but NOT TWO GUYS. There was roller skating at the area, but I didnt know that yet. I had to be content with ice skating to the pop stuff, Oct through April or May.
HARD to ice skate and "DANCE" at same time. WAITED for Elvis and RETURN TO SENDER.
Grade 8 graduation, turns out the chaperone, well, I think everyone knew her, but I knew her a tad better because I'd hang out with her younger brother occassionally. She brought a stack of 45s.
The SOUND(???) SYSTEM ... Put a small record player at edge of the stage and a mic in front of it.
Went through her 45s and said "You don't have any ELVIS stuff. "
Our house was a five minute walk from the high school so I went over and got the ONLY 45 I had ...
Good Luck Charm. For gaduating grade 8 was given $4 or $5. First LP??? Elvis Golden Records. Wasnt listed as Vol 1 because RCA had noooo idea as to where he'd go after 1959.
Soooo anyway, after a few songs, the gal put on Good Luck Charm.
CanNOT recall how the situation took place, but she came down on the floor level and the FIRST gal I ever danced with (we did the twist) was the chaperon!
Robert Black of Willowdale CANADA

I was in fourth grade - there was a school carnival - and I think I won a prize by throwing a basketball into a hoop or something like that. Anyway, the prize was a promotional copy (mono on one side and stereo on the other) of "Lay Lady Lay". Being the oldest and in fourth grade, I really wasn't sure about what the song was about, but I played it anyway.

kip wahlers

I’m only 43 now, born in ’68, but have been an oldies music buff since I was about 15. However, the first 45 I bought was in 1981 and was a BIG pop #1 song.

I still have it and it’s in pristine condition: CENTERFOLD by J. Giles Band b/w RAGE IN THE CAGE. I bought it at Speedy’s Record Shop on 6^th and Hamilton Sts in downtown Allentown, PA. What a great place to get music (they moved about 20 years ago, but closed about 5 years ago). I was given $5 bucks a week allowance then and I would go into town every Saturday and buy one 45, see a movie and get a Frosty from Wendy’s and still have a little change. Life was good then. The Centerfold 45 was interesting to me because it was on a pink and black label with a handprint logo at top, disturbed by EMI America. Being new to record collecting I was eager to see what other labels did. The following week I bought PRIVATE EYES by Hall and Oates, which has Nipper on the front. My dad told me about “His Master’s Voice” tagging which by then had been stopped. From then on I was hooked. I would have listening parties at my house because no one else would spend their money on records.

I collected for about 25 years and stopped a couple of years ago at about 6K 45’s. Now I’ve switched to collecting a more expensive hobby: game worn baseball jerseys. Let me tell you, you can’t get a game worn jersey for a buck-forty-nine!

It’s ok to look back to the past … but don’t try to live in it!

Dave Z

Alburtis, PA

In 1957 I was 12 years old and starting to pay attention to the songs on the radio. My favorite was Black Slacks by Joe Bennett & The Sparkletones. One Saturday I went with my grandmother to the A&P to help her grocery shop. I saw a display of 45s in one corner and had to look at them. I found Black Slacks and bought it.
Kris

In 1959, I bought my first 45, Guitar Boogie Shuffle, by the Virtues, on the Hunt label. Curiously it was my grandmother who turned me on to the song. We used to sit in her kitchen in the early morning and listen to the radio. Grandma always listened to KQV, AM 1410, in Pittsburgh. When they played that record she always said she liked it. So I returned every empty soda bottle I could find for the deposit -- I scoured the neighborhood -- scraped together the money and bought the record from the record department of the Pittsburgh Merchantile department store. I think I paid 49 cents for it -- approximately 25 returned bottles! That very record is still in my collection. It also was the start of a long relationship with the 45, which continues to this day. As a followup, in later years I had the good furtune to meet and become friends with jazz guitarist, Jimmy Bruno, who's father, Jimmy, was the lead guitarist for the Virtues and played the lead on that record.

-- Joe Nez, Pittsburgh, PA

My first record was Paul McCartney and Wings' "Live And Let Die".

I bought the 45 with my babysitting money for 99-cents.

I remember that Paul and Linda were both rocking these really cool shag haircuts on the cover. I finally had long hair myself in college, but then I quickly grew this bald spot and it ruined my dream!

Ryan Murphy ("Glee")

My first 45 was Robot Man by Jamie Horton, in about 1958 or ‘59. She had another record “My Little Marine” after that.

My second 45 is one that I’ve been trying to figure out for years now. I can remember a light-blue label, and the song had something to do with a soldier sitting under a tree reading a letter. Or maybe it was a girl sitting under a tree reading a letter from her soldier boyfriend. Not sure, but I’d love to know what it was.

Like many others on your site, I got a 25-cent allowance back then ... and 45s were 50 cents ... so I had to save up for two weeks and then buy a record I just “had to have”. Never a week went buy that I didn’t have a favorite song that played on WCFL or WLS. “Itsy Bitsy ...” was one of those, as was Del Shannon’s “Runaway”. I still have most of those 45s although I can’t vouch for what shape they’re in.

Kathy Reilly

Rediscover Music

I lived in the suburbs of Philly from the early 50s through the present.

Since Bill Haley was then going from country and western to sort of a rockabilly - rock ‘n roll sound and lived in Chester, PA, I had some early recordings of him on the Essex label such as ‘Dim Dim The Lights” and ‘The Saints Rock and Roll.” By the time he signed with Decca, a “B” side of a single received play in the movie “Blackboard Jungle” and it all broke loose with that tune, “Rock Around The Clock.”

Later that year (‘55) I bought “The Great Pretender” by the Platters and away I went. My first summer job was at a small town swimming pool and amusement park / roller skating / bowling alley combination facility. The first week’s pay bought me a “45” record player and every check thereafter sent me to the local record store for some more of that good time rnr. I played a little drums and guitar for a local rock and roll band in the late 50s / early 60s. For a while I taught a course, “Rock and Roll Up To The Beatles” at a local high school evening course.

I now have 14,000 songs in my iTunes collection and love to make CDs for friends / acquaintances, high school reunions, etc. — for free. Every year or so I try to find a Philly area musician who recorded back in the day and I take him / her out to lunch and I take notes of our conversation.

Tom Moore

My first record when I was 5 yrs old was He's So Fine by the Chiffons. My parents bought me a record player and I used to watch the red and white 45 go round and round and then play it again.
Although the song isn't really ever forgotten I just haven't heard it in many years. Appreciate you playing it again.

Daniel Viscarde

Hi -

First 45 I bought was "Space Race" by Billy Preston ... purchased it at an Alco Store in Concordia, Kansas, for 75 cents back in 1973.

The second and third 45's were purchased for the same price at the same location later in the year 1973, on the same day:

Just You 'N' Me by Chicago and Helen Wheels by Paul McCartney. It was a blast to look through the new 45's, and there were usually a few of each ... and you would make sure you picked out the prime ones.

Douglas Rhine - 2011

The first 45 I bought was Stevie Wonder’s "Hey Love”. (Wonder later would write “Tell Me Something Good,” our first hit for the band Rufus.) Then the first album I ever bought was Led Zeppelin’s first album in high school. I’m a big rock ’n’ roller. If you look at early Rufus, that’s what we were doing.

Chaka Khan

I started buying all the records by Alvin and the Chipmunks in the early 1960's, along with "Hello Muddah,Hello Faddah" by Allen Sherman. Then the Beatles hit when I was 14, and I had to buy all their singles (starting with "She Loves You"), then all the Dave Clark 5 singles.
Finally I had to stop buying baseball cards and comic books so I could buy more records. Starting in January 1965, I would go downtown every Saturday and buy three or four 45's, starting with This Diamond Ring, You've Lost That Lovin Feelin, Keep Searchin and Tell Her No. I didnt stop until I had over 7,000 45's and they stopped making them.
Fred

The very first record I ever bought was a 78rpm of Freddy's "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans" in early 1960. I told Freddy that when I interviewed him years ago, and he was amazed. He didn't know it had been released on 78. Canada was a few years behind the U.S. then. It was on the Quality label here in Canada and unfortunately, it's been lost over time. I had an Aunt and Uncle living in Easton, Pennsylvania at the time and that summer, my family travelled down to visit them. My dad took me to a local record store (possibly it was in Philadelphia) where I bought my 2nd record ever - a Cameo Records 45 of Bobby Rydells' "Volare" in a red picture sleeve with a head shot of Bobby on the cover (that one I still have).

Doug Thompson

Canada

You've got to understand, my first record was "Martian Hop", I loved the Four Seasons and, in 1964, I became a Beatle fanatic. Elvis Presley was for old farts, even when he came back.

Bob Lefsetz

First 45 was Good Luck Charm and First LP Elvis Gold Records. (1958)

Robert Black

In 6th grade, in 1962, I had a crush on a girl name Donna. For "share and tell day", she brought in a 45 of Dion's The Wanderer. I loved the song, wanted that record. Donna and the song were a potent combo. But, I had to wait for the 45, since it was on back order at the only store selling 45s in our small town. So, the first 45 I took home was "My Boomerang Won't Come Back" by Charlie Drake. (the chorus swings ala Louis Prima).

In 1996 I bought a jukebox, and ordered more 45s to add to my collection ... including a copy of "Boomerang." (I had traded my copy away in '65), When I received the new copy, I realized that there were two versions of Boomerang, as the original was deemed too controversial for radio. The edited radio version was politically correct with certain word changes.
I've always loved Dion, he still sounds great! Donna is long gone, and she was never a prima-donna!
Billy F.

Kent:

The first 45 rpm that I ever owned was Johnny Ray singing "The Little White Cloud That Cried".

Then my mom bought for herself (which I eventually got) Eddie Fisher ... and lots of them.

DJ Stu Weiss

The first 45 RPM record I ever owned was one I had stolen at Big Apple Supermarket in Atlanta, GA. It was called “I Ran All The Way Home” by the Impalas. This was fall of 1959. The first legit 45 I ever owned was given to me for a birthday gift “Blue Velvet” by Bobby Vinton.

Bob Jones

kk@forgottenhits.com