Miscellaneous

And The Music Goes Round And Round

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Written for Keith Allen’s Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian
and his new blog “The Toy In Your Life”. Here’s what I had to say.

For as long as I can remember, music has been in my life in one form or another. There was never a time when I was not singing in a choir or choral group, either in church or school. My family was musical and the house was always alive with radio music, records playing, someone practicing the piano, someone else playing the mandolin, someone tinkering with the guitar, recorder, squeezebox, drums, and everyone singing, singing, singing.

I will always remember my Christmas present when I was 12 years old … a portable record player which my parents repeatedly made very clear was not  ‘a toy’. I knew that! The toy phonographs came with Howdy Doody decals or Mickey Mouse ears and were made out of cardboard painted to look like leather or plastic. I had those toy record players which didn’t last very long; this was the real deal. To me, my teal blue General Electric Solid State record player was ‘the Holy Grail’! My parents spent “good money on that thing” and expected me to treat it with respect. What they didn’t predict was how I would worship that suitcase phonograph every day of my life.

This baby had built-in speakers that really blew! And a real diamond tip needle. My older cousin Joseph taught me the proper way to raise and lower the arm and how to safely get the dust off my records. My parents gave me and my sister a weekly allowance and I used most of my money to buy records.

The first 45 to grace my record player was “Da Doo Ron Ron” by the Crystals (which was prophetic because “his name was Bill”!). The early girl groups were my idols; I loved their sound and their lyrics were perfect for young girls with hormones working overtime. Then the Beatles invaded the US and my life was changed forever.

That GE teal blue record player became my best friend and I took very good care of it. After I was married, we had a hi-tech stereo system in the living room but I still kept my phonograph upstairs in the bedroom where we’d listen to romantic tunes like “A Million To One”, “Daddy’s Home”, “I Only Have Eyes For You” and “Ooh Baby Baby”. When our sons were old enough, I handed down my record player to them and now our 15 year old granddaughter has it in her bedroom. Her latest purchase was the soundtrack to Guardians of the Galaxy which is pretty damn cool.

Thanks to Keith Allen for the invitation to write a little something on his new blog. I hope you enjoyed what I had to share today.

I’m Nancy, The Sicilian Storyteller.

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024

Be My Guest – More Info (For those who asked…)

This is “Da Doo Ron Ron” by the Crystals

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

74 thoughts on “And The Music Goes Round And Round”

  2. I was 8 in 1975 and got my first Beatles album which made me a life long fan…but I had a little more advanced turntable with big speakers that connected but it wasn’t too far moved from this. You picked a great single to christen your turntable!

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      1. Yes! I have an extra old pickup truck from the 80s…people say get rid of it…but no…it runs and is built well. So I get what you are saying.

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          1. I don’t want to bore you and this certainly will but…along the same lines…my wife and I went through 3 blenders…then at a yardsale I got a 1969 Oyster Blender…I swear it would blend iron….never looked back since. It’s really sad how short of lifespan all products have now. I do buy old when possible.

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            1. That’s fabulous! I wonder why the original owners were getting rid of it. Probably moving on to something they thought would be new and improved.

              My kids got me a pasta machine and a bread machine. Both are in the attic. The work and the clean up was twice what you’d have when just using your hands. And in the kitchen, there are few things better than working with dough!

              I love these great stories, Max; never boring!

              ~ Nancy

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              1. Thank you Nancy. I’m all about finding things that are from the 60s and 70s. I am ashamed to say but I will some times buy those avocado green appliances from yard sales and flea markets.
                I know you from somewhere…not YOU but your username…wait…did you post a Scorpions song recently? I went to Lisa’s site and I think she pointed to your site. Sorry I type and think in real time. I came here from Keith’s site today. It was great to meet you.

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                1. Yep, the Scorpions song was mine. I love music blogging and was much busier with it a short time ago on The Rhythm Section but things change and now I do what I can. I’m working on a new music blog for 2025 which I hope will be received well.

                  Is Badfinger your favorite band or do you literally have a bad finger?

                  Really nice meeting you too, Max.

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                  1. Oh…Badfinger the band…one of my favorite power pop bands. Them and Big Star and The Raspberries.
                    Ok cool! I’ll check it out Nancy when you publish it. I do a pop culture blog which usually are songs and some movies from the 50’s-90’s and once in a while I’ll do a modern one if it sounds old. I’ll cover some culture events like music festivals, Rumble in the Jungle (Ali – Forman), Evel Knievel… in fact I’m going to be in Keith’s “favorite toy”….my pick? The Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle.

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  3. Pingback: Share Your Nostalgia – Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian

  4. Keep itching to buy vinyl after I bought an old Beach Boys compilation for my ex-girlfriend’s player. Sadly, that relationship did not work out (and The Beach Boys album mysteriously disappeared!) but I have fond memories of the times listening. Will definitely get back into vinyl at some point! 😊

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  6. That song, like so many others, brings back memories. When I hear “Da Doo Ron Ron“, I am reminded of walking out of “The Sink” and into crazy love with a wild girl from Connecticut whose name was Russell. What a long time ago that was.

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      1. You’re welcome, Nancy! Love your statement, “a story in every song and a song for every story.” It shows your devotion to music. आभार आपका 🙏

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  8. Reading this reminded me of my second record player which had an automatic record changer – I’d stack up my vinyls and when one ended another dropped down and started!

    My first was a wind-up one – now I am feeling old! I’ve got a modern machine now – I played my Sgt Pepper album on it a couple of days ago!

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    1. Wind-up? Wow! Those really were the good old days, Keith!

      Automatic record changer … that’s the name! Another friend referred to it as the spindle thingy and I knew exactly what she was talking about but neither of us came up with the correct name. Thanks for setting the record straight! 😀

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    1. Right?! Would you believe I have my mother’s 68 year old full size Frigidaire freezer in my basement? That thing has never needed service and only makes a few more noises than it did 68 years ago. Meanwhile, we’ve been in our house almost 40 years and we’re on our 6th refrigerator!

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  10. A wonderful share, Nancy. Many layers of lovely thoughts and memories. 🎶 At the start of your story I was so hoping that you still had this jewel and to learn that your granddaughter now treasures it, is very special. 💕 I no longer have my basic record player or my first 45s (sadly) but I do remember dancing endlessly to Funkytown in my bedroom. I wore that record out! 😂

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      1. Indeed, a fun subject! Thank you, Nancy. I appreciate you so very much. I no longer have that first record player, but I have one and love listening to my albums, however scratchy some of them are! 😄💃🏻🥰

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  13. Thank you for writing this, Nancy! I had this one, too! It really had a great sound. I used to play Beatles records on mine! So many wonderful memories of that record player. Oh, the 45’s I used to have that spun on mine. Music has always been a part of my life, too. I hoped that you piece might be about something musical.

    When I run the feature, I will post a link to this (and let you know when). Thanks again, my friend. Feel better!

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    1. It’s been a pleasure doing some blogging with you again, my friend! It’s been a while. The thing that excited me the most about this post was the reaction from my friends who shared some memories about their own record players. We’re all brought here together by the love of music and how it has shaped our lives.
      Like you, I also played my Beatles records on my phonograph, day and night, both singles and albums. I can remember my dad coming into my room at night yelling at me to “Turn that damn thing off! I’m trying to watch Ben Casey!” Haha!! The things we remember!
      Thanks again for the opportunity to share blogging, Keith. Thanks also for your good wishes! It’s going to be a haul.

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  14. Those were the days when I enjoyed a similar portable record player! What a joy for the eyes 🙂 BTW: As a teenager I had hardly any money, so I bought records from a shop that filled the jukeboxes and sold the exchanged records very cheaply

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    1. When I decided to write this post, I was hoping it would stir up some wonderful memories in others. I’m so pleased to see that is the case. Great to hear from you, Fred, and to read about the fortuitous arrangement you had with the shop. You definitely lucked out! Thanks for the great share! 📀

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  15. Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich wrote these nonsense syllables “da doo ron ron” as the refrain using them as a filler, being a temporary placeholder and they were supposedly inspired by Little Richard’s ‘Tutti Frutti’. 

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  16. Ah, I had a portable record player but it was smaller than yours – and the top was red plaid LOL. I tried looking up portable record players 1950’s (I’m older than you) and didn’t see it. There was also a carrying case for 45s…I had a portable radio that worked on batteries or you could plug it in and then by 1960 Ihad a transistor radio with an ear piece but just one. We had music wherever we went.

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  19. My parents had this nice radio and built in record player. It had this long spindle thingy that could hold many records. I loved playing them and watching them drop down. Hazel Scott was among my favorite singers when young.

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  20. Record players and the records of course, are like books in that they must ALL be treated with utmost care. 🙂
    I remember my first proper player too, and lying on my bedroom floor with the speakers on the floor beside me, and being fascinated by the sound switching from one speaker to another.
    (One track by a rock’n’roll band I liked, opened with the sound of a motor bike engine, and it tickled me to ‘hear’ that bike race across my floor from one box to another. ) 😀

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    1. What an image from your memory, Cee Tee! Are you talking about Born To Be Wild or Leader of the Pack? They would fit your description nicely.

      This little suitcase phonograph brought me so much joy and it’s just the bomb knowing my granddaughter is playing her tunes on it now …. 61 years later!

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  21. I remember buying my first record player, paying off so much a week until it was paid for, then bringing it home on the bus. I couldn’t use it as we didn’t have a 3 or 5 amp fuse (I can’t remember now) though I didn’t know then that it wouldn’t really have mattered for one evening. Oh happy days!!

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      1. It started when a friend had a record player for her birthday and I asked my Dad if I could have one for mine. He said of course, if I started saving now, I’d have enough. He added I could have anything I wanted as long as i saved for it, so I always have (apart from things like a house or a car loan)

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