Vinyl: def:

1. synthetic plastic material made from polymerized resin, group of organic compounds: the univalent chemical radical CH2CH, derived from ethylene.

2. The stuff my childhood was made of.

When I was a kid, a stack of 33’s and 45’s would keep me happy, quiet and very entertained all day. I remember I had a pretty decent record collection, but in all the years that passed I had lost track of them and eventually assumed they were lost along the way. Just recently I opened a Seward Trunk as part of Project 14 and found a small treasure trove of vinyl records inside.

So now, with a new toy I just got from Ion Audio, I’m converting everything I found and will be posting them here. I’m not very familiar with vinyl audio correction and/or pop and hiss removal, so what you hear is what the vinyl record actually sounds like.

This first record is a 45 from my early early early childhood. And actually, it wasn’t even originally mine. It was part of my mother’s record collection that she had left at my grandparent’s home for safekeeping. Of course, I found the record collection stash in their home. And of course, I did what any 3 year old kid would do when he finds something he wants… I asked my grandparents if I could have it!

For some reason, I think that’s going to come back and bite me in a few years.

Anyhow, this record is part of “Columbia Special Productions” and was “Created Exclusively for Chevrolet Dealers”. The song on the first side is “Camaro” and is performed by The Cyrkle (there’s a second information link about The Cyrkle here). You can see in the photo below the details on the record.

The song on the second side is “SS 396” and is performed by Paul Revere and the Raiders. I was always partial to that song on the record.

The 45 survived just fine in the Seward Trunk, despite no paper cover or heavy cardboard enclosure.

Click below to listen to the first song, “Camaro” by The Cyrkle.

[audio:01 Camaro.mp3]

The next audio link is the second song, “SS 396” by Paul Revere and the Raiders. There’s a small hiccup in one of the refrains… that’s because when I was 5 years old I dinged the record enough to make a skip on it. Through sheer vinyl wizardry that’s been long lost to the ages, someone in my family knew of a way to scratch a record needle through a skip so that from then on the record would play onward.

[audio:02 SS 396.mp3]

I couldn’t find any lyrics to “Camaro” and I’m not about to guess what they’re really saying. But I did find the lyrics to the “SS 396” track…

Forget about your Hemi’s and your GTO’s I’ve got a new machine, and she really gos. When I pass you up on the drag strip you’ll know darn well You’ve been beat by a porcupine V8 Chevelle Taching it up now, you better be quick Cus’ nothing can outrun my SS 396. There’s lots of chrome goodies sitting under the hood She looks real pretty, like a tough one should. On the redline tires, she sits real mean She’s the coolest hot one… you’ve ever seen Crusing the highways, getting my kicks Everyone’s checking out my SS 396 Look at her go (look at her go) She sits real low (she sits real low) Dealer tires grip the road Her deep breathing fours (deep breathing fours) And they’ll never settle short (never settle short) Feel the rear end grab the load

Take you for a ride man, it’s really a treat Strap yourself into a bucket seat. The four speed tranny is starting to whine You’ll know about the Super Sport Once we get off the line Crusing the highway, getting my kicks Nothing can match my…SS 396 Look at her go (look at her go) She sits real low (she sits real low) Dealer tires grip the road Her deep breathing fours (deep breathing fours) And they’ll never settle short (never settle short) Feel the rear end grab the load Take you for a ride man, it’s really a treat Strap yourself into a bucket seat. The four speed tranny is starting to whine You’ll know about the Super Sport Once we get off the line Nothing can match my…SS396 SS 396 SS 396 SS 396 SS 396

No ebay for this record! I just have to find a really good hiding place for it now.