A Vintage Vinyl Surprise

I’ve kept a box of old records in my closet for the last 45 years. It’s moved with me to at least 8 different times. Here’s a photograph of some records that were in that box.

See the guy second from the left sporting the debonair mustache? That’s me! And this is the 45 rpm record my band The P-15s released in 1980. You’re Not That Girl on the A side with Elevator Boy on the B side. Sales were not exactly spectacular and I ended up with a box of the remainders. I’ve given away a few copies over the years but I’ve held onto to the bulk of them through thick and thin. Apparently I’m the only member of the band to do so.

I’ve sold a few copies to collectors over the years, including one to a young lady from Japan who insisted that the A side You’re Not That Girl was her very favorite record. But I never expected there would be any substantial market for them. As a general rule I don’t like hanging on to old stuff, but I held on to these like they were lost treasure (I should point out here that I still have all the songwriting and writing notebooks I’ve kept since high school).

So imagine my surprise and delight when I found out these records were considered collectible. I was contacted by a vintage vinyl dealer who was interested in buying as many of my records as I was willing to sell. We traded a few emails and came to a deal. He paid me via PayPal, sent me a box and I packed up the records according to instructions. They’re in his hands now.

Selling the records won’t make me rich, but they were worth more than I expected. But what I’m really happy about is knowing that my old records will find new homes with collectors who appreciate them as much, or even more, than I do.

And for anyone who’s curious, here’s the songs: