Oh, man... Thanks for the memories. Here's my console stereo story (mostly copied/ pasted from another forum, please forgive my laziness):
We didn't have a lot of money growing up. Mom was raising us 3 kids on her own, so it was definitely a momentous occasion when, after she'd saved up a month's salary (she was a music lover too), around 1971 or so, our little family went shopping for our first stereo system.
I was maybe twelve, just getting into all this stuff and didn't know much yet. Our main purchase criteria was to make sure that it could get all the way through Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" without skipping! (Remember that, folks?) So there we were, at the local TV & appliance store: Me with my pathetic little white-boy afro, big sis with her ironed-straight long hair and hand-sewn suede fringe jacket, and Mom, god bless her, standing there with her head held high, getting the task accomplished, while Robert Plant's GROANING, HEAVING, ORGASMIC SCREAMS echoed across the linoleum sales floor!
I can still see our salesman. Dude looked exactly like Jack Webb: White shirt, black tie, crew cut, sour puss. The poor guy damn near had steam coming out of his ears. But here's the thing: The Zenith console stereo we were trying out had the then-ubiquitous VM 2-knob record changer, but the production tonearm had recently been upgraded. Cartridge was still ceramic, but it tracked at an honest 2 grams. Compliance must've been improved too, because it got through that original-pressing Led Zeppelin sex slalom without a glitch, and Joe Friday got the sale!
Along with the Zenith's kinder gentler tonearm, we also started using a Discwasher religiously pretty early on (even Mom!). As a result, all my old vinyl is in remarkably good condition. So thanks for hanging in there with us, Joe, wherever you are!
-- Jim
We didn't have a lot of money growing up. Mom was raising us 3 kids on her own, so it was definitely a momentous occasion when, after she'd saved up a month's salary (she was a music lover too), around 1971 or so, our little family went shopping for our first stereo system.
I was maybe twelve, just getting into all this stuff and didn't know much yet. Our main purchase criteria was to make sure that it could get all the way through Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" without skipping! (Remember that, folks?) So there we were, at the local TV & appliance store: Me with my pathetic little white-boy afro, big sis with her ironed-straight long hair and hand-sewn suede fringe jacket, and Mom, god bless her, standing there with her head held high, getting the task accomplished, while Robert Plant's GROANING, HEAVING, ORGASMIC SCREAMS echoed across the linoleum sales floor!
I can still see our salesman. Dude looked exactly like Jack Webb: White shirt, black tie, crew cut, sour puss. The poor guy damn near had steam coming out of his ears. But here's the thing: The Zenith console stereo we were trying out had the then-ubiquitous VM 2-knob record changer, but the production tonearm had recently been upgraded. Cartridge was still ceramic, but it tracked at an honest 2 grams. Compliance must've been improved too, because it got through that original-pressing Led Zeppelin sex slalom without a glitch, and Joe Friday got the sale!
Along with the Zenith's kinder gentler tonearm, we also started using a Discwasher religiously pretty early on (even Mom!). As a result, all my old vinyl is in remarkably good condition. So thanks for hanging in there with us, Joe, wherever you are!
-- Jim
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Indeed. The first time my mom (now 84) heard that one, and the "Lemon Song", I was a bit surprised myself that she just smiled wistfully - so his numerous faults notwithstanding, dad must have done a couple of things right. Three kids by the age of 22 - those fall and winters in Brandon Manitoba must have been chilly.
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