My earliest memory of phonograph records (this would have been in the mid-1950’s) was of my dad playing thick, vinyl 78’s on a phonograph that had belonged to my grandmother. Shortly after that, there appeared in our house a player that had a slot in the front where you slid a 45 rpm in. I was maybe two or three, so I skipped the technical questions in favor of projects like spilling red paint all over the storage shed and myself. These musical occasions were infrequent, and my parents’ collection seemed small. My recollection is that they really didn’t buy records. Money was tight, and the player left a lot to be desired sonically.
In the early ‘60’s, Mom and Dad bought a small Zenith stereo console which had a turntable along with AM and FM radio. This was a huge luxury for our family. There followed the purchases of a few “albums”: Bing Crosby’s Christmas album (my dad could seriously imitate Bing, down to the vibrato whistle); some generic big band things; and several comedy albums, including Brother Dave Gardner and the Kennedy spoof, The First Family. I loved listening to that Kennedy record, not getting many of the jokes but fascinated by the Boston accents. Then they killed the guy and that record disappeared from the collection.
It was on Sunday, February 9, 1964, that all hell broke loose. My two younger sisters got my mom to buy them 45’s of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You”, and a whole new world opened up for me. I started really listening to the radio, which played non-stop Beatles and other British Invasion stuff. I must have played my sister’s singles hundreds of times, driving my parents wild. I was 10, and it wouldn’t be the last time I heard the time-honored phrase, “Could you turn that down?”
But I didn’t actually buy my very own record until the spring of 1965, when I proudly purchased the 45, “I Feel Fine” b/w “She’s A Woman” on Capitol Records. From there on out, I was a record buyer. In quick succession, as much as my very small allowance would allow, there followed more Beatle singles and then, in the summer of ’65, the Help! soundtrack album. It was a gatefold, opening up to show photos from the movie. Deluxe! The album had only 7 Beatles songs, alternating with George Martin instrumental arrangements. My room now featured a small portable record player, and I quickly learned to drop the needle only on the Beatle songs.
Many, many vinyl albums and singles followed, until my collection was impressive for a lower class kid. By the time I finished high school, I had early Todd Rundgren, Jeff Beck, Yardbirds, most of the Beatles’ catalog, Donovan, Herman’s Hermits (great songs!), John Mayall, Soft Machine, Bee Gees, Buffalo Springfield, Incredible String Band, Cream, Hendrix, Blind Faith, and near the top of the list, the first two albums by the Band. I even got my first real job at a vinyl/8-track tape rack jobber, working in a warehouse full of records and tapes. Heaven for a 19 year-old. As the French would say, when it came to records, I was a common sewer.
For me, the vinyl experience was not only an auditory thing but a tactile one as well. The feel of taking a record out of its sleeve, handling it carefully, checking out the grooves, along with the accompanying cover art, lyrics, notes—such a superior experience to any format that has come along since. It was even an olfactory thing—the scent of a brand new vinyl record was intoxicating, as one anticipated the first listen to an artist’s latest offering.
Turns out, one day I had the good fortune to have a vinyl record with my name on it, when Are You Serious? was released in March of 1978 on Big Sound Records. I remember savoring the wonderful mastering job (by the legendary Bob Ludwig) as I listened to my first record for the first time. When the UK/European version, Staring at the Ceiling on London/Big Sound came out a few months later, I got a copy and that pressing sounded so incredible. What an experience! I smelled the hell out of that one…
Fast forward to 2011. I have a new album out, available in CD format and downloads. It’s called Resonance Road, and it’s my 9th album. Ironically, the record company (Three Cool Cats Records) is planning to release the next single, “I Love All This”, as a 7” vinyl 45 in the spring. I will love all that. So it all comes full circle, in a different century. Vinyl comes back, and a new generation is discovering the wonderfulness of anticipating, buying, opening, holding, smelling, and listening to a real record. You really can’t bootleg or digitize that feeling. There’s nothing quite like it.
Van Duren’s career began as he fronted several bands in the early 1970’s like Malarkey (w/ John Hampton), the Baker Street Regulars (w/ Big Star’s Chris Bell and Jody Stephens), and Walk ‘n’ Wall (again w/ Hampton, also including acclaimed bassist Mike Brignardello). Van moved to New York City in 1977 and recorded his first album, Are You Serious? which was followed by Idiot Optimism in 1979. Van returned to Memphis in 1981 and helped form one of the top bands in the Bluff City during the 1980’s—Good Question. The band released 2 albums, Thin Disguise (1986) and Chronicles (1991) and played thousands of shows around the region until 1999. Van also recorded two albums with the late Tommy Hoehn at legendary Ardent Studios, Hailstone Holiday (1999) and Blue Orange (2002). Many of Van’s recordings were also released in Japan in the early 21st century. Van’s new album, Resonance Road, continues the journey through a landscape of love and heartbreak.
