Some may recognize those words as lyrics from Sam Cooke‘s hit song ‘Havin’ A Party,’ one of many, that was released 60 years ago that hit #17 and #4 on the Billboard Pop and R&B Charts, respectively.
Sam was talking about playing records, the dominant form of music during that time. Well, many may be surprised to know that vinyl records, once considered a thing of the past upon the arrival of compact discs, then, digital formats, have been making a steady comeback for the past 15 years. According to the folks Statista, for the first time in three decades, last year album sales exceeded CD sales!
Today is Record Store Day, an annual event that began back in 2007. According to their website: “Record Store Day was conceived in 2007 at a gathering of independent record store owners and employees as a way to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding nearly 1400 independently owned record stores in the US and thousands of similar stores internationally. The first Record Store Day took place on April 19, 2008. Today there are Record Store Day participating stores on every continent except Antarctica.”
In addition to classic releases, many contemporary artists acknowledge the day by releasing limited versions of their current releases.
Check out their website to see if there are participating record stores in your area!