Posted on

God, coincidence, numerology

I have 678 records. At least I did when I officially counted my records before launching MyVinylCountdown.com two or so years ago.

I have definitely picked up more since then.

Hit ABOUT ME here if you need more information about this.

I had written about this Nun study before.

A multi-decade study of Alzheimer’s Disease , is famous and has given people hope. They found examples of nuns with visible signs of dementia causing proteins in the brain. They found some brains upon autopsy appeared that the nun had Alzheimer’s Disease — but no one knew because the patient — the nun — did not show any symptoms of the disease, leading researchers to be optimistic that some people can fight this disease and workarounds by your very own brain can avoid much of the ravages of dying of dementia.

The number of nuns used in this multiyear study? 678.

See my earlier write-up

Now I have begun looking at 78’s — those hard but fragile slabs of chellac that made music at 78 RPM. I bought a couple of these and have enjoyed some very old good jazz.

So now i’m into 78s. Doubt they’ll go on the timeline like my 33s. They are 78s, like if only there were a 6 or 600 and they’d be, yes, 678.

Maybe a stretch. So I doodled while I was waiting to think. Which took me through a thousand memories and an hour of standing blank faced.

So start with 78 RPM records.

Take away 45 RPM.

Take away 33 RPM.

Equals Zero (0)

78-45-33=0

What? What does any of that mean?

Look I don’t know a thing about numerology except that I’d probably be promised Hell by a church lady if even talked about it.

One last thing while I’m still doodling. Let’s give a number to the letters RPM, a shorthand way of saying Revolutions Per Minute.

Let’s assign each letter a number based on where they are in the count.

There’s 26 letters in the alphabet.

R =18 P=16 M=13.

18+16+13= 60

That’s 60 as in SIXty.

Story is on 78 rpm records. Subtract out the 45s and 33s (from 78) and it equals 0. Zero is also the number that comes with 60, the number for RPMs added, as shown above.

Zap the zeroes as their doubling cancelled each other out.

Slide the now leftover 6 in front of 78 and it is 678.

But let’s look at one more thing:. The sum total of the RPM numbers added is 60. Double that and you have 120. In the music world 120 RPM was what Thomas Edison was playing on the original playback recording machine

I have written before about a numbers coincidence related to my battle with Lewy body dementia that almost blew what’s left of my mind.

FROM New York Times:

NOTE: I don’t want anyone to believe that I’m sitting on some magic numbers are something. I just noticed what appear to be coincidence. I’m fine with it being a coincidence, by the way. I don’t see God sitting around coming up with numeric answers to our own problems. But as I try to make my documentation of a Lewy body patient as complete as possible, I may seem to be pushing boundaries? Wasting time? Or learning that life is all about math?

Y’all keep reading. I will say this: I’m feeling much less random about the universe these days.

Posted on

Peter and Gordon — 272, 271

ALBUM: Knight in Rusty Armour (1967): In London for Tea (1966)

MVC Rating: Rusty, 3.0/$$$; In London 3.5/$$

Okay this is my fence post. This is my going as far out on my likes and dislikes — in other words, the limits of my looking for the good — nay, the great — in what I listen to. Peter and Gordon just go too far in a pop, non-rock way — yet they seem to want to be in the crowd that is making this powerful rock and roll music.

I’m not sure where these Peter and Gordon albums came from, possibly my wife Catherine’s siblings or my foster sister, Cathy, a hippie who loved the Moody Blues. But Peter and Gordon I? i don’t remember her playing, although she did play Jimi Hendrix, the Byrds and of course her Moody Blues.

just no have to say at this time to Peter and Gordon. Nice pop duo; I like ‘I’m Your Puppet.’

There’s a Beatles song or two. but P&G are just just not in my sweet spot of British invasion bands and their American counterparts. They are too poppy for me and think, to be fair, they were already established in the early 1960s as just what they are: pop duo.

And I ‘m a big pop music fan. Got no issues there, except when it is insipid or, worse, sounds lame.

Now I can be sold completely on 1960s invasion bands. The Herman Hermits, much I can live without, but the album ‘Blaze’ by the Hermits is fantastic. The Dave Clark 5, the Zombies, etc. In the United States, Paul Revere and the Raiders, the Grass Roots, the Young Rascals, and the Mama’s the Papa’s, are all groovy enough for me. Peter and Gordon, not so much, although they serve as a nice stepping stone from the past late, 50’s early 60s. But as duos from that era, I’ll take Simon and Garfunkel (better songs and vocals); and the Righteous Brothers (better vocals).

Posted on

Glenn Phillips — 273

ALBUM: Swim in the Wind, (1977)

MVC Rating: 4.0/$$$

Here is one of the best guitarists you’ve never heard of deals. I think I’ve already said that about him. Aaaargh there are so many best guitarists out there — THAT YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF.

But this guy is the real deal.

Glenn Phillips is an Atlanta-based musician and was in the Hampton Grease Band in Atlanta, which some swear was better than the Allman Brothers. I was about a generation behind Phillips. Although I never saw him live I do have his album — listen to the one I put on video to the end, and you’ll see some blazing and tasteful guitar.

I do understand from others that Phillips taught and mentored some of the good ones around Atlanta including Bob Elsey of the Swimming Pool Q’s. I’ve said before (mostly) instrumental guitar music is good for certain situations. In other words I have to be in the mood. Joining Phillips on an instrumental guitar record, I’ve got Steve Howe, Chet Atkins, Mark Knopfler, John Fahey the Ventures, the Raybeats, and Paco DeLucia

Posted on

Alabama man’s massive 78 RPM record collection: Is it valuable? (Blog version)

A version of this was published Monday night on AL.com.

A 20-something Alabama man may be sitting on a goldmine with thousands of 78 RPM records he inherited from his grandfather.

Or. he may not be.

Sitting on a goldmine, that is.

Now it’s time for the thrill of the search and research.

A 78 sold for $19,600 just last week. It was by pre-war blues singer Charley Patton, according to ValueYourMusic.com.

The young man who inherited the giant collection contacted me after reading a column I wrote recently on 78’s — those antiquated platters, 10 inches in diameter, made from shellac. The heavy but fragile discs give you one song at a time on the turntable, spinning at a blistering pace of 78 revolutions per minute.

Is there another Patton in these endless boxes? How about a Robert Johnson, another pioneering blues singer, whose music on 78s have sold for more than $10,000 at least three times.  Tommy Johnson, another now deceased bluesman, had one of his 78s sell for $37,000.

But the man with inherited records knows there may be money in those boxes but he isn’t holding his breath for something that is kind of like winning the lottery. The man who agreed to talk as long as we don’t name him for security and privacy reasons, may just have a big collection of fine music, whose value might make him wonder whether it’s worth the time and effort to store and catalog. Upon his invitation, I went to view the collection a few days ago and am still in awe of its scope and quality — most were in mint or near mint condition — that’s a big plus in the collectors world.

I warned him ahead of time I’m no expert. After looking at about 10 percent of his collection I found no Holy grails — Pattons or Johnsons. They may be in there — but it is kind of a needle in haystck search. I got the feeling there’s stuff in here that people have forgotten.

On a tight schedule, I took some pictures and poked around for two hours. He has some interesting stuff. Early Louis Armstrong, The Ink Spots, Rosetta Tharpe, King Oliver, Sy Oliver, Bud Powell, the Mad Caps, the Royal Mounties, some spoken word, and lots of promotional records (for the DJ’s).

He has more than a dozen 78s of a young Frank Sinatra. Early stuff. There was a whole box of only Gennett labels, a label started in a piano maker’s business in Indiana. Some of those Gennett’s dated back to the turn of the century.

I discovered Lincoln Chase — he’s the guy who wrote the novelty song ‘Jim Dandy’ made famous by Black Oak Arkansas.

You can see how I can go down a rabbit hole like this and never come back.

But back to the needle-and-haystack cliche’.

As the generation of people who actually bought and listened to 78 RPM records dwindle, the attics are being searched and basements explored, sending a lot of shellac to market.

The old blues music being the most sought after is a supply and demand issue. Blues at that time consisted of black musicians playing to black audiences, often in rural areas.

That’s why there are so many 78 collections out there that are flush with Big Band and Easy Listening music — Tommy Dorsey, Guy Lombardo, Lawrence Welk and Fred Waring. That was what sold to mainstream white America. Of course, blues music came to be one of the cornerstones of rock and roll. And the Brits, for the most part, beat white Americans to the discovery of this timeless music made in America.

The records most people are familiar with are 12-inch vinyl records that spin at 33 1/3 RPM, and the 7-inch 45’s that spin at, well you know.

Spinning is what my head was doing when I saw the collection. There were boxes and boxes — I counted about 45 to 50 that I could see, boxes of 40 to 50 records each. There were rows high up I couldn’t count and, he said, there were more up in the attic. To add to it, he had LP’s (33 1/3) and 45’s — boxes of them. I Iooked through a box of 45’s and LP’s and saw a real hodgepodge of older and newer records from the likes of Pink Floyd, Roy Orbison, Beastie Boys, Michael Jackson, and Johnny Cash.

I’ll follow this search and bring results when he gets them. He says he wants to sell but like everyone with a large collection he is unsure whether to sell individually, in lots, or in bulk.

No matter what method, I think he’ll do well.

My own MyVInylCountdown collection started at 678 and has grown some. But as I age and battle this disease I, too, will downsize my records. While it is fun to nab a record that gets more valuable with time, the most important thing is the music.

As the Doobie Brothers sang, “Listen to the music.”

Posted on

David Olney, singer, died singing, guitar in hand

I posted this earlier on AL.com. I really enjoyed this man’s work. I wish I could find an old video of the band Dave Olney and the X-Rays doing Oh My Love.

Here’s what I posted earlier today and there’s also a Countdown story I did back in December as I was working on the ‘O’s of my 678=record collection. See link to that below or search Olney on the Search on my blog


David Olney joined the club of those who died doing what they love.

In this club are the marathoner who was struck and killed by lightning near the finish line and Pete Maravich who collapsed and died playing pick-up basketball.

He joins my colleague Jim Jennings, a crusty veteran journalist, who slumped in his chair but did not fall like Olney. I was sitting right next to him at the Oakland Tribune when he was hit with a massive heart attack that all the compressions in the world could not overcome.

Witnesses, according to NBC -News, said Olney stopped in the middle of a song at a festival in Florida, said “I’m sorry,” slumped over and died. Just like that, life left him.

I’ve talked to Olney and have some of his music. He fronted one of my favorite bands when I was a student at Auburn University. He played the Casino — now defunct, I believe. Thursday nights $5 cover and 50-cent Budweiser long necks. We’d go there and dance. His band was incredible and I’d talk to them during breaks. That’s a great song I’d say. Thanks, he’d say.

[GO HERE FOR MY COUNTDOWN PROFILE OF OLNEY]

And Dave Olney and the X-Rays were good songs, Oh My Love, the Contender and Gonna Wait Here for the Cops. The guitarist was phenomenal.

Here’s an acoustic version of a song on his first album.

Olney is one of my Countdown columns. Check the link here for more about Olney and to sample some more music.

Posted on

Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door Pete Carr and Patterson Hood in backyard

Carr made and topped my list before.

It’s a backyard BBQ I’d have loved to have been therel

Posted on

My Vinyl Countdown still on track but it is more difficult (blog version)



Sitting here hunting and pecking my keyboard this early morning until my meds kick in.

In the morning after 10 or more hours without the meds find me with my most outsized symptoms. Tremors and slow thinking to be specific.

But morning is my best writing time simply for its peace and quiet. Only distraction: Internet.

So, it’s like catching a wave. timing the meds. Which reminds me I’m going to see the Beach Boys in Birmingham next month. I could seriously use some ‘Good Vibrations.’

For right now, I’ll pull out some tasty record reviews from the archives after I tell you what I’ve done and what I will do over this long MLK weekend. Good weekend for having a dream.

Quicky recent ICYMIs: I almost ‘bought’ a record store.

I explored the subset of record collecting — 10″ 78s.

I gave readers a tour of my brain.

Coming up this weekend: A young man contacted me about his grandfather’s record collection and I enlisted my wife, Catherine, to drive a long way so I could help at this gentlemen’s request discern what he has. News reports of 78s worth thousands of dollars has, it is safe to say, people running to their attics or basements. The collection I looked at was spectacular, easily more than 2,000 mint condition 78s. But is there a holy grail in there? See what I find out in a column this weekend.

And lastly for another column coming this weekend: MVC as simple as 1,2,3.

My Vinyl Countdown by the numbers. I am getting closer to the 678 record reviews or record reminisces as I call them to bring awareness to my disease: Lewy body dementia. I’ll give you an update on my top wat my top 10 (or 15) musical countdown posts are and my top 10 or 15 non-countdown posts.

I’m in the ‘P’s in my alphabetic listing and the P’s are taking a lot of time, might turn out to be my biggest alphabet number so far, still to come Prince and Pink Foyd and a dozen or so lesser known, but good to great music. Music like John Prine, P.J. Proby, and Bud PowelI hope you will explore if you find what I write compelling you to give something new a whirl.

Now on with some reviews from the archives.

The Flamin’ Groovies

ALBUMS: Now (1978)

MVC Rating: 4.0/$$$

I was graduating from high school when this came out. Talk about retro.. This group was like something out of 1966. They cover ‘Paint it Black’ on this album like it was a new song.

‘There’s a Place’ cover sounds like the 1960’s prom band checking in on the Beatles.

All this came to me in the early 1980s.

I discovered this Flamin’ Groovies in a strange way. I was at the Birmingham public library doing some research and they had vinyl records that you could check out, like a book, and return later. This would have been mid-1980s.

I picked up a Flamin’ Groovies album called Groovies Greatest Grooves. It had the song ‘Shake Some Action,’which blew me away. It’s the sense of discovery that you live for as a record collector. Again I was looking for tunes not rare artifacts and that song was one good song. Cracker later recorded it and it was featured in a movie, all much later.

I made a cassette tape out of it that I have no idea whether I have or not.

The  thing that made the Groovies groove work was that they played essentially covers or originals that sounded so close to their heroes, early Beatles, Stones, and Who. — with no irony. That’s what makes it great. Just a few guys from San Francisco playing songs they love from another era.

So, it wasn’t surprising to see that this 1978 album, a comeback of sorts, was produced by retro-man Dave Edmunds. “Yeah My Baby” written by Edmunds, and band members Cyril Jordan and Chris Wilson sounds like a long lost classic. Or long lost classic B-side.

The sound seems  like it was coming through a B&W TV set.



Posted on

The Plimsouls –274

ALBUM: (Everywhere at Once), 1983

MVC Rating: 4.0/$$$ (an extra bump here for the two very strong songs. The rest of the album is 3.0 and 3.5 quality).

The Plimsouls first came to my attention through the movie ‘Valley Girls.’ I know that sounds like a bit of a sex romp but it wasn’t — really. I paid close attention.

Actually it was an early Nicolas Cage vehicle, who even at his young age was developing that amazing ability to act to be the same character in every movie.

That character, of course is Cage playing, of course, Cage.

Anyway the Plimsouls’ song Million Miles Away was featured in the movie, even a ‘live’ version of the song with the Plimsouls playing it in the club. It would fade in volume and camera attention to the band if the characters walked closer to the band. You know that effect: star talks to friend and band’s sound fades to background, then the friends turn their heads toward the band and and the volume increases dramatically.

Million Miles Away and That’s the Oldest Story are the two stellar songs — in fact two of my favorite rock songs of that era, especially the latter. The rest of the album couldn’t keep up though.

After the Plimsouls disbanded, Peter Case has put out quite a few albums as a solo act. See my post on him. And also, post Plimsouls, Paul Collins led a power pop band The Beat. Before all that, both played in an edgy new wave band called the Nerves. The third Nerve, Jack Lee, wrote Hanging on the Telephone, a hit for Blondie. The Nerves released it prior to Blondie.

This is I think a snippet of the movie only quick glance I didn’t see Cage.

Posted on

The Pentangle — 275

ALBUM: Solomon’s Seal (1972)

MVC Rating: 3.5/$$$

When it was suggested that the band was a folk-rock band, one of the band’s members said that is wrong. One of the worst things you can do is put a rock beat on a folk song, said John Renbourn. The band preferred a folk-jazz categorization.

I think that’s fair. I’ve often said that a portion of what is called progressive rock isn’t really rock. Emerson Lake and Palmer, for example have gone off on deep forays into what is closer to classical music — unless that term is reserved for time-tested centuries old compositions by Bach, Beethoven and Mozart.

Pentangle’s original line-up from the late 1960s through the 70s: Jacqui McShee (vocals); John Renbourn (vocals and guitar); Bert Jansch (vocals and guitar); Danny Thompson (double bass); and Terry Cox (drums).

This music is pretty and subtle. It has a sound that is both timeless and dated at the same time. Let me explain. I feel like I’m way back in time when I hear Pentangle but can’t pinpoint a date or era. That’s unlike, for example, the Stray Cats, whose style can be tied directly to 1950s music– at least in that bands original incarnation.

Pentangle could be turn of the century music or 14th century music. I don’t know — just go with me here. They look and sound like a band that would sound great Live at the Stonehenge.