Peddling the Hits of ’73

Summer vacation was just starting in 1973, and young Philip was set to start making money for his record addiction. A quarter for a load of hay unloaded was my wage. On a good day, I might have enough money to purchase two 45 RPM vinyl records at Saffell’s in Richland Center or Shultz Brothers (aka the Dime Store). They cost approximately 69 cents each back then. My dear mother would often ask me why I didn’t save my coins. ‘What will you become from buying those old records’ she would ask. I think we all know the answer. After converting many of my records to digital, I still play some of them on Saturday nights. My other hobby was picking on my older sister. The evil pranks usually backfired on me. The dead snake I put on the handlebars of her bike, wound up wrapped around my neck like Indiana Jone’s whip. My scheme of hitting her with a rotten egg was foiled when I fell on top of the stink while running after her. A highlight was when the ice cream truck would stop. That is when I would convince mother to buy me a two-stick blackberry popsicle while she was picking a few basic groceries. There were several peddlers that showed up in the rural areas. One that many people in the Richland Center area will recall is the Rawleigh Man. His name was Jim Nee. If I had a nickel for every time that someone has asked my if he was my dad, I would own a lot more vinyl records. Though he had the same name as my father, he was a distant cousin. The other Jim would show up with a large case, open it on the kitchen floor and proceed to go through his long list of supplies…. paprika, pie mix, salves and ointments, black pepper, vanilla extract, tapioca pudding, drink mixes….wait…what? Mom, will you buy be that red and that blue drink mix? I know it’s not Kool-Aid but if you add two cups of sugar, it tastes the same.

That was a great era in which to grow up. The Spring of 1973 radio waves were loaded with new songs that would eventually become classics. Some of my favorites that I tried to tape off the radio on my reel-to-reel tape recorder were Little Willy-the Sweet, Stuck in the Middle with You-Stealers Wheel, Drift Away-Dobie Gray, No More Mr. Nice Guy-Alice Cooper, Will It Go Round in Circles-Billy Preston, and The Cisco Kid-War. I will spin a few of those this weekend when we feature songs from the May of ’73 survey.

We regularly hear from new friends between six and midnight Saturday nights. Last week our first trivia winner was from Nashville, Tennessee. It is proof that you never know who is out there listening. Spread the word about radio that is fun, Those Were the Days on WRCO, WRCO.com, and thru the free Civic Media app.

Phil