Music, Back In "The Day"

We recently got a USB Turntable.  What is a USB Turntable? you ask.  Good question.  A USB Turntable allows you to play an album, with a USB connection to a computer and save it to an MP3 file, which can be listened to on the computer, ipod, MP3 or even saved on a CD.

Your next question may very well be "What is an album?"  Back in the day, when we wanted to have the music of our favorite artists and enjoy it at home, we purchased for about $5.00, an album, a 12" diameter piece of vinyl with grooves in it that you play on a phonograph.  They came in 45's (that's what they played on the radio)  which had one song on each side, and 33 rpm formats.  The 33 rpm or LPs had a whole album.                  

                          

That's the way it was in back in the day.  Albums were eventually replaced by cassette tapes and then by CD's.

With the USB Turntable, it allows us to be able to enjoy once again all of the albums that we collected in the early days .  We have dozens that we have kept over the years and now can finally enjoy them again. (It's a good thing that I didn't store them at Grandma Packer's or they would now be in the landfill with my baseball card collection.)  Just kidding, Mom!!  (And yes, I still have issues regarding my baseball card collection)

Anyway, to get on with the story,  each album came in a cardboard cover, or jacket.  Inside the jacket, holding the album itself is a paper "sleeve" or dust cover that gives the album extra protection. 

While converting "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel, I came upon the following printed on the dust cover.  I thought you might find it interesting and probably amusing. 

Here's How Records Give You More Of What You Want!

• The Best For Less.  Records give you top quality for less money than any other recording form.
• They Allow Selectivity Of Songs And Tracks.  With records it's easy to pick out the songs you want to play, or to play again a particular song or side.  All you have to do is lift the tone arm and place it where you want it.  You can't do this as easily with anything but a phonograph record.
• They're The Top Quality In Sound.  Long-playing phonograph records look the same now as when they were introduced in 1948, but there's a world of difference.  Countless refinements and developments have been made to perfect the long-playing record's technical excellence and insure the best in sound reproduction and quality available in recorded form.
• They'll Give You Hours Of Continuous And Uninterrupted Listening Pleasure.  Just stack them up on your automatic changer and relax.
• They're Attractive, Informative And Easy To Store.  Record albums are never out of place.  Because of the aesthetic appeal of the jacket design, they're beautifully at home in any living room or library.  They've also got important information on the backs--about the artists, about the performances or about the program.  And because they're flat and not bulky, you can store hundreds in a minimum of space and still see every title.
• It It's In Recorded Form, You Know It'll Be Available On Records.  Everything's on long-playing records these days...your favorite artists, shows, comedy, movie sound tracks, concerts, drama, documented history, educational material...you name it.  This is not so with any other kind of recording.
• They Make A Great Gift.  Everybody you know loves music.  And practically everyone owns a phonograph.  Records are a gift that says a lot to the person you're giving them to.  And they keep on remembering.

And Remember...It Always Happens First On Records

Ahhhh, the good old days.