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3 timeless Christmas wishes
The first wish Christmas bells, those Christmas bells Ringing through the land Bringing peace to all the world And good will to man “Snoopy’s Christmas,” the Royal Guardsmen, from “Snoopy and His...
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Remembering the big man
On this New Year’s Day, here’s something that’ll make those of us of a certain age share a wistful smile at the memory. The actor Victor Buono died 40 years ago today, on New Year’s Day 1982. The big...
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Gone in threes, 2021
They go in threes. They always go in threes. 2021 was no different. Adventurers: Greg “Da Bull” Noll (big-wave surfer), Carla Wallenda (matriarch of Flying Wallendas high-wire act), George Whitmore...
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Reviews in review: ‘His lush gush’
50 years ago yesterday, on Sunday, Jan. 23, 1972, the CloseUp section of the Green Bay Press-Gazette carried record reviews, as it did almost every Sunday. Some of the records reviewed on that day by...
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No stickers? Hey, no problem
“Oh, man! I don’t even have any stickers to give you!” “Don’t worry about it. I took some pictures.” That was my final exchange with one of the friendly gents as I checked out here, at Friends of Sound...
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The search for Seger continues
I read the news that day, oh boy. CO: Twist & Shout Records sold after 33 years / CA: Mike's Music Store closing after 50 years / TN: Third Eye Curiosities celebrates 4 years / OH: Hamilton’s Main...
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The long goodbye
A bunch of the record stores I once loved visiting are long gone. So it goes when you’ve been record digging for 50 years. Prange’s basement and Evans in Sheboygan, Prange’s loft and Bob’s Musical Isle...
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Dry spell
You’d think that over the course of a couple of months that have seen our local record show, a couple of pop-up record sales and Green Bay’s oldest record store having its long goodbye, I’d be hip deep...
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About that stereo …
“Dad, could I write a blog post for Father’s Day?” Sure, Evan. So with that, please enjoy the first guest post in the 15 years this blog has been hanging out in this corner of the web. Hey there. You...
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Last call at The Exclusive Company
The sky was crying when I left work earlier today. It was raining lightly as I headed out to go record digging at The Exclusive Company in Green Bay for the last time. But the sky was the only thing...
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Postcards from summer camp
If you’re wondering, yes, the dry spell continues deep into summer. That this cheesecake Christmas record, found last weekend among the cheesecake records at the mighty Stardust Records in Thiensville,...
View ArticleThe night Van Halen came to town
You know me here as mostly a music blogger. More formally, at least when writing for our regional history magazine, I am described as “a Green Bay writer and researcher who specializes in history...
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Traveling in time
When we were up north last weekend, we walked past a small-town corner drug store. Flashback. We didn’t go in, but I stood there on the corner, wishing I could step inside and find baseball cards,...
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Nine days in October
40 years ago this month, in October 1982, I witnessed four unforgettable events over a nine-day span. Now if I could only remember more of the details. Friday, Oct. 8 — American League Championship...
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Thanks for everything, Jim
It’s been almost 10 years, March 2013, since I took this picture of an old 45 record holder in my friend Jim’s basement. It was maybe that long ago that Jim moved to Missouri to be closer to a...
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Greetings from Pittsburgh
One of the great things about record digging is where it takes you while traveling. You often get down to the neighborhood level, where many tourists don’t go. You find other cool places along the...
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Harvey Scales: ‘You know how it is’
50 years ago this evening, on Dec. 7, 1972, Milwaukee soul singer Harvey Scales got top billing and a rave review in Warren Gerds’ weekly club music column in the Green Bay Press-Gazette. “Scales is a...
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Digging that holiday soul!
As this holiday season arrived, I just couldn’t bring myself to listen to Christmas music. I used to collect it. I’ve heard so much of it. The most popular, most familiar, most mainstream Christmas...
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Three under the tree, Vol. 45
Long ago, during the first three years of this blog’s existence — I may have been writing it on stone tablets — there was a long series of Christmas music posts when each December rolled around. There...
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O, ’twas a night for Satchmo and Irma
Please enjoy our traditional Christmas Eve post. On a winter day now more than 50 years ago, Louis Armstrong went to work in the den at his home at 34-56 107th Street in Corona, Queens, New York. That...
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