Vinyl COHvers: A Very Worthi(ngton) Christmas

A view of Worthington's High Street during Old Worthington Market Day 2015,
the town's largest one-day festival featuring arts and crafts & food vendors

On last year's inaugural Holiday Edition of Vinyl COHvers, we found our selves in the Northeast corner of the Columbus metro in the suburb of Westerville.  In that post, we featured three songs from the Westerville High School Choruses and Orchestra, from a recording that had reached its golden anniversary (the album contained music from a Christmas music festival from December 19, 1966.)

This year's Holiday Edition of Vinyl COHvers moves only a few miles west along the I-270 beltway to another "W" suburb in Worthington.

vinyl cOHvers: Thanksgiving Triple Treat

The holidays can sometimes make you want to shout

Thanksgiving week can be considered something of an F-week: family, friends, (Black) Friday, and of course, food.  In some cases, it will be a bit too much, and stretchy pants will be appreciated by many after chowing down on the usual holiday eatings.

With that in mind, I figured I'd break a bit from the food posts and get back to a post on another favorite hobby of mine in vinyl record collecting. Ever since my spouse bought me a turntable for a present a few years back, it's been a slow but steady Katy-bar-the-door in collecting records for the both of us.

My previous focus had been on specific local albums and the history behind them (including my last post in April on The Dulcimer Alliance and Lima, Ohio's Great Black Swamp Dulcimer Festival.) With so many more records in hand since then, I'm going with a sampler platter approach for future posts, where you can have a gander of three albums with some local Ohio roots, including some of the liner notes (often the best things about older records) and some general impressions. I also jazzed up the linked videos containing the selected songs as well with visuals and historical factoids.

Vinyl COHvers: Lima, Dulcimer Hotbed of the Country

"Vinyl COHvers" is a regular blog segment centered around my vinyl record collecting hobby and specifically focused on those albums with an Ohio-centric focus.

As I've come to discover, the state of Ohio can hold its own in terms in the world of music. Of course, Cleveland touts its Rock and Roll connection, made famous by radio deejay Alan Freed and codified in its Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Meanwhile, Dayton proved to be the hotbed of funk for many years as bands like The Ohio Players, Slave and Zapp sizzled the R&B charts in the 1970s and 80s.

The Cleveland Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (photo courtesy of GoodFreePhotos.com)

On the local level, I've personally come to know and enjoy Columbus and its own diverse music scene, getting enjoyment from both national (exampled by Twenty One Pilots and Lydia Loveless) as well as local favorites like Angela Perley and the Howlin' Moons and Mojoflo,

Lima, located in the northwest reaches of the state, may not pop into mind as a music hotbed, being best known for its railroad, oil, and school bus manufacturing industries. However, the city has its intriguing own place in the musical world: those of a certain age and/or family makeup will recognize this city as the home of the fictional William McKinley High School from the TV series Glee.

That's all well and good, but what if I said that Lima could once rightfully claim the title of dulcimer hotbed of the country, as host to one most important festivals to feature this unique instrument? I certainly would not have suspected this myself, had I not uncovered the vinyl album featured in this blog's "Vinyl COHvers" segment, which led me to a very fascinating journey of discovery afterward.

Vinyl COHvers: Dalton and "The Mighty Morton" of the Ohio Theatre

Vinyl COHvers is a regular series of blogposts reflecting my side hobby of seeking out old vinyl records. Specifically, this series will focus on the history behind records that I have found during my travels which hold some connection to the Buckeye State.

Downtown's Ohio Theatre has a storied history ever since its grand opening to the public - the Greta Garbo film "The Divine Woman" premiered here in March, 1928. However, it is unknown whether workers putting the final touches on the then-called Loew's Theatre before its grand opening had grasped the true impact of what premiered the October prior.  Al Jolson's "The Jazz Singer", the first talking motion picture (in what Warner Brothers dubbed "Vitaphone") became an undeniable sensation. By 1929, almost all Hollywood motion pictures by Hollywood were of the "talkie" variety.

The entrance to the historic Ohio Theatre, located in Downtown Columbus

The Inaugural Vinyl COHvers Post: Holiday Edition

I am not one who craves material things all that much, but one of the items that I have received as a gift from my spouse has been one of my most cherished. My Audio-Technica turntable may be a basic edition, but it allows me (not to mention my spouse) to relive our days when vinyl records were king.

Unsurprisingly, one of our new favorite activities has been to refurbish our vinyl record collection. I had a few vinyl records from my younger days (mainly 1970 and 1980s vintage vinyl), but even with the resurgent market, old vinyl can be found at relatively bargain prices at numerous estate sales, antique stores and record stores.

I have Greenville, South Carolina to thank for what has become one of my unofficial official quests during my search for vintage vinyl. At Horizon Records, located just north of the main downtown area, I stumbled across a compilation album put out by one of Columbus' long-time rock stations, Q-FM-96.  Looking back at it, I suppose it wouldn't be too surprising that this compilation record would be found at this record store. but at the time it was such a novel find to me. Coupled with what I thought was a fair price as well as an increasing desire to learn about the history of this area, I took possession of it that day.

Since then, I've been on the look out for records that have some unique and/or novel connection to this area. As the vinyl collection as well as the reach of this blog grew, I had it in the back of my mind to share a little bit of my finds for you readers once I had the time and capability to do so.

Well, that capability has now arrived, and now the time is nigh - here is my first ever Inaugural Vinyl COHvers post.