LinDee Rochelle took the challenge and so wowed her editor that the magazine team accepted the article over deadline and over word count. The article below fanned her interest into a book series of a lifestyle that parlayed into a legacy for pioneering Rock & Roll Radio Disc Jockeys. (Link to Book 1)
Blast from Your Past was born …
Fall 2008
Let’s Rock-N-Roll Down Memory Lane!
~ LinDee Rochelle
You can’t think about rock-n-roll without a smile. Go on,
try. See?! So where were you in 1954? ’64? ’74?
Did you swivel your hips when Ed Sullivan prohibited
Elvis’ sexy sway on the little screen? Or let your mind expand in a Jefferson
Airplane concert? Maybe you rocked arm-in-arm with your friends to the gravelly
protests of the enigmatic Dylan. And we all welcomed the British Invasion led
by The Beatles.
The early years of rock-n-roll
were all that and so much more. No one expected the music that revolutionized
and defined an era to endure and keep rockin’ on, 50 years later. Yet here we
are … groovin’ to the beat, forcing oldies stations to stay on the air … and
when no one is looking, belting out Billy Joel’s “It’s still rock-n-roll to
me!”
What happened to the mind-blowing
concert posters, ticket stubs, and backstage passes from our rebellious youth?
Most of us lived through it, we unfortunately didn’t collect it.
Rock-n-roll memorabilia
and collectibles are hotter than Hendrix’s flaming guitar in the ’67 Monterey
Pop Festival. Fueling the fire of rock-n-roll collectibles are bands from our
psychedelic days, who are still (or again) touring, and find their audiences
filled with several new generation of fans.
I know the “moldy-oldies” radio stations
have been fading from the airwaves faster than a doobie disappeared at a Summer
of Love concert. How can I possibly think kids are listening to old time rock-n-roll?
I learned firsthand while indelicately balancing the deadline for this article
and vacationing with family from Washington State.
The Morrison Hotel
Gallery in La Jolla was the next stop on my trip down Memory Lane, but I’d
promised to spend time with my 14-year-old great-niece, Katie. Faced with a
one-or-other decision and hoping to combine business with pleasure I
off-handedly asked about her musical preferences. Without hesitation she
rattled off The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The
Who. Huh?! Guard your grandparents’ old collectibles I advised her, and start
amassing your own, now—they’re only
going to increase in value. Competition for the good stuff is hotter than ever.
“Will
you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m sixty four?”
So what is the good stuff you ask? Eric Clapton’s faithful ol’ guitar,
“Blackie,” commanded the highest price ever paid for a guitar in auction. You’d
have thought for $959,500 it had Clapton’s right arm still attached to it. Christie’s
recently recorded some of the most astounding auction prices ever, for our
memories. Did you once see Jimi Hendrix wearing red, olive, blue and
green-striped worsted woven trousers? Someone in the US seriously wants to
preserve that memory and paid $39,580 for the privilege.
Led Zeppelin fans … would you want
that John Paul Jones amplifier circa 1969, so
much that you
But top honors for high-priced
sales go to two of Christie’s most nostalgic and expensive offerings: John
Lennon’s rare, hand-penned lyrics for “Give Peace A Chance” from 1969, sold for
a record $833,654; topped only by The Beatles’ hand painted bass drum skin that
graced the cover of the legendary 1967 Sgt.
Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album—$1,071,134.
So, what is collectible and affordable? Regardless of age, when a
popular rock musician dies, the collectibles market shakes faster than we did
twisting to Chubby Checker in the ‘60s. Smart people scoop up the more uncommon
memorabilia and the rest of us simply hug our memories a little tighter. Though
aging rockers like the venerable Sir James Paul McCartney may be past the “When
I’m 64” mark, their memorabilia always has been and shall remain collectible.
But what else is out there?
“Love me tender, love me sweet, all my dreams fulfilled.”
It’s no secret that music defines
every generation. Songwriters chronicle the mood, political climate, and fads
of the day. And what did we do in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s when we heard a song
we liked on the radio? We bought the vinyl record. Did your prized edition of
Elvis’ 1957 Loving You survive life’s
storms? How about the Rolling Stones’ December’s
Children from 1965, or 1973’s moody Dark
Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd?
Vinyl records are a great way to
collect and display your rock-n-roll memories—or more to the point, their
sleeves and covers. Although the vinyl is important, it’s the rarity of the
record and the desirability of the cover art that drives up the price.
There are the where-are-they-hiding
rarities like the Rolling Stones’ Street
Fighting Man single (1966) valued at $18,000, Elvis’ Good Luck Charm (1962) missing in action at $25,000, and The
Beatles’ infamous Yesterday & Today
“Butchers” cover commanding $10,000, if you can find one. But there are also
many good, solid collectible vinyl going for $200 or less. Keep in mind that
high-paying collectors look for mint condition and prefer sealed editions.
I don’t know about you, but my vinyl
didn’t stop spinning until the 1980s—and they look it. How do I know what’s
going for how much? “Mighty” John Marshall, “the record guy,” can tell you
whether your vintage records are going to fund your around-the-world retirement
trip, or just spin you around the dance floor again.
Mighty John parlayed his career as
a radio personality and record collector into a thriving appraisal and
collecting business. At MoneyMusic.com you can learn the value of your record
and how to sell it, starting at only $2.00 per record. According to Mighty John’s July 14 newsletter, “The most collectible
years are the 1950s and 1960s. It’s also important to realize that a mono copy
of a record may be worth more than the stereo version.”
“R-E-S-P-E-C-T … Find out what it means to
me.”
A sampling of Mighty John’s
appraisals on a few notable records: Twist
with Chubby Checker (1960) is an easy start in collecting at only $30; you
could be $100 richer if you sell your copy of the Rolling Stones’ December’s Children, and top off your
surf collection with the Beach Boys’ Heroes
and Villains for $500.
Jeff Figler, another prolific
keeper of Boomer vinyl memories in San Diego, briefly retells a story of one of
the most valuable records in rock-n-roll history, about a 1962 UK pop idol who
needed a backup band for his US debut “… just for that one 45 (r.p.m.) on Decca
Records. It was called ‘My Bonnie,’ by Tony Sheridan and ‘The Beat Brothers.’ The
record didn’t go over well at all. But if you happen to have one of those five
or six copies still in existence … or you see one in an auction, barring a
bidding war, you’re probably looking at $20,000.” Why? Little more than a year
later the forgettable Beat Brothers became unforgettable as The Beatles.
If your favorite vinyl didn’t make
the trip to present day, no worries. Start again with a dozen fond memories in
traditional black vinyl for a mere pittance at Lou’s Records in Encinitas,
California Well-used vinyl waits for new owners, priced at 99 cents and up. If
you’re lucky, you’ll find a ‘60s Jefferson Airplane, but you may have to settle
for Jefferson Starship’s Nuclear
Furniture (1984, $3.99). “We sell a lot of record players,” says Lou. Vinyl
is making a big comeback.
Radio-inspired collectibles
include promotional items from the stations themselves. Popular Phoenix DJ,
Bill Gardner, offers another collecting idea. “One thing I have that’s kind of
interesting—the radio station I grew up listening to in Philadelphia was called
WIPG, and I have their issue #1, Top 99 Survey from 1958! Somebody recently
told me I may have the last surviving copy.
Most of us have at least a few 45s and 33
1/3 records tucked away in a corner of the garage. Maybe it’s time to haul them
out and give them the “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” they deserve. But what other stops we can
make on Memory Lane?
“I can’t get no sat-is-fac-tion …”
“I can’t get no sat-is-fac-tion …”
Young Katie stared reverently at
the images of the rather irreverent Keith Richards and Ron
Throughout the gallery tour, we heard
the amazing histories behind the scenes from sales director Chantel Paul. Featured
photographers captured a young and vulnerable Janis Joplin, a sporty Bruce
Springsteen, and elated success of Led Zeppelin. “With each photographer we
brought in (as the galleries developed) we learned more and more stories behind
the photographs,” explained gallery co-owner, Rich Horowitz.
Hanging on to a
collection of more than 18,000 vinyl records from his former life as original
owner of San Diego’s Off The Record stores, Horowitz presents intimate prints, many
in expressive black-and-white, from the photographers of our era that allows us
in to the musicians’ private lives. Bob Gruen captured the ethereal essence of
John Lennon and the triumph of Led Zeppelin. Henry Diltz, a co-owner of the
gallery, contributed the gallery’s logo, his celebrated cover image for The
Doors’ legendary Morrison Hotel album.
Diltz continues to provide glimpses of astonishing moments in the lives of The
Rolling Stones, the Eagles, Crosby, Stills & Nash, and other pioneering
rockers, through the gallery.
“Purple Haze all in my brain, lately things just don’t seem the same.”
So far, we’ve collected guitars,
lyrics, clothing, amplifiers, records, radio surveys, and fine art photos … but
nothing is more vivid and retrospect for escaping into rock-n-roll’s twisted
and elaborate past than those wild-n-crazy posters from our Psychedelic Sixties
and Seventies. Now they’re highly prized works of art! If you didn’t save your
Hendrix or Beatles posters, let me turn you on to a couple places to buy back
your swirling memories of youth.
ParkersPosters.com offers a modest inventory
of rock-n-roll posters, but the San Diego-based company is recommended for authenticity
and fair prices. Owners George and Arlene Parker recently acquired a 1981
offset lithograph of John Lennon by Alan Aldridge ($500). Number 302 of 1,000,
it’s pure existential art from the cover of the October 24, 1969 Daily Telegraph magazine. At the other
end of the poster collecting spectrum is a ‘67 litho of The Byrds that will
have you focusing on its intricate eddies of color like it was yesterday, for
only $75.
Online is a great place to shop,
but the Internet can be daunting when searching for rock-n-roll memorabilia. Need
a nudge? You can trip through the formative years of your exuberant youth for
hours, in WolfgangsVault.com. The entire Bill Graham Archives, King Biscuit
Flower Hour inventory and the Record Plant collectibles, will keep us in
authentic rock-n-roll memorabilia ‘til the last Baby Boomer meets Elvis in rock-n-roll
heaven. Celebrity apparel, backstage props, vintage concert tickets, more
poster art, and photography are just a smattering of their offerings, in single
to four digit prices.
If you don’t want to trip over
your hippie days in the living room and prefer to vicariously drift dreamily
back in time, we have a couple of ideas for you! There’s no need to book a room
at the Hard Rock Hotel to enjoy their growing collection of rock-n-roll memorabilia—but
you might want to so you have plenty of time to reminisce and chat with
memorabilia procurer and “Vibe Manager,” John Resnick. He escorted me through
the years as we talked about the pieces he purchased for the San Diego
location.
“This is my favorite display.
They’re so personal,” said Resnick, pointing to a collection of handwritten
letters to fans by various artists. A special source of pride is the gold vinyl
record that commemorates the Rolling Stones’ 1,000,000 copies of Beggars Banquet, displayed with a
poignant photo of Brian Jones. The 1968 release was the ill-fated guitarist’s
last full recording with the band. The Hard Rock Hotel is fast becoming a
destination for rock-n-roll fans of all ages, with more than 70,000 objects of
Rock history in their international collections.
“I’m just talkin’ ‘bout my g-g-generation.”
In many conversations over the
past few weeks, the general consensus, regardless of age and music preference,
is that rock-n-roll is still the foundation of new music and those of us “there
when it exploded” are indeed, fortunate.
It doesn’t matter what you collect
or how much you spend. And do you know that just three of anything constitutes
a “collection”? Add personal vignettes of your favorite moments in your rock-n-roll
reverent or irreverent past … and pass it on to your kids. Be proud you were
part of a “good vibrations” revolution that will be told, sold, retold and
resold for another millennium.
So
what should we advise our young Katie to collect? As with all vintage purchases—whatever
she likes and enjoys. But even if I could swing the price of those groovy
Hendrix trousers, this great-aunt would rather see her indulge her artistic
flair with Sixties’ psychedelic posters and pair them with stunning black and
white photo prints.
“Life goes on
long after the thrill of
livin’
is gone …”
That’s the whole
point—if you “rock on,” the thrill of livin’ will always linger, on “Blueberry
Hill.”