A Day At The Flea IV

The P and I hit our local monthly flea market today, and I came away with a great haul. The day started with P spotting a guy with a pile of records in the very back of the market (we start at the back and work our way forward). As I approached his booth, I got the sense that there were excellent records to be had. For one thing, he had them in stacks on the ground, not in boxes, and all the records I could see were worthwhile – Bob Marley, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis – and not your average dollar bin junk.

Sure enough, homey had a treasure trove of 70’s funk/soul/R&B. When I asked him how much for the records (always a breathless moment) he said “it depends on the album”. Now, normally I would just get up and walk away – I like to have some idea of what I’m going to be paying before I start wading through piles of dusty albums. But I had to hang in there on this. Finally he said “One dollar to five dollars each.” OK, that’s better, and a lot of what I was seeing was worth that. So me and another guy are plowing through all these records, and at first I’m racing through because I’m paranoid that he’s siphoning off all the good stuff. But then I start talking to him, and I realize he’s only buying ONE album, so I start trying to convince him on some of the stuff – Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, Fats Waller. But he buys his one album (a fine Sam Cooke) and walks away.

The second booth I bought from was run by a woman who appeared to be selling her personal collection of 50 or so records from the 60’s. All in excellent shape, but a bit steep at $5 apiece, so I picked a few winners – Yardbirds, Young Rascals, Moby Grape, and Kinks and went on my merry way.

The last booth I bought from was my regular guy, Mickey, who’s always there. He sells albums 4 for $10, and he’s always got an interesting selection. He recently purchased a huge collection of country albums, so in the last few flea markets, I’ve managed to fill in a few holes in my country vinyl: Ernest Tubb, Louvin Brothers, Stanley Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs, Bill Monroe, and many others. And because P wrote yesterday about T. Texas Tyler’s influence on the late U. Utah Phillips, I had to pick up the TTT album I saw today. Because we couldn’t find this particular album listed anywhere on the Internet, I want to note that the album is called T. Texas Tyler Sings ‘Deck Of Cards’ and it’s on the Sound Record Co. label, date unlisted.

Without further comment, here are some highlights from today’s haul:

*****

And the rest…

The Staples Singers * Be Altitude: Respect Yourself
Joe Williams * A Man Ain’t Supposed To Cry
Arrested Development * 3 Years, 5 Months, and 2 Days In The Life Of…
Johnny Cash * I Walk The Line
The Young Rascals * Groovin’
The Yardbirds * Over Under Sideways Down
The Stanley Brothers & The Clinch Mountain Boys * The Columbia Sessions, 1949-1950
Hank Williams * 40 Greatest Hits
Hank Williams * 24 Greatest Hits, Vol. 2
Hawkshaw Hawkins * The Great Hawkshaw Hawkins
Stanley Brothers * Good Old Camp Meeting Songs
Soundtrack * That Darn Cat
Moby Grape * Moby Grape^
Miles Davis * Bitches Brew†
Curtis Mayfield * Curtis/Live!†
Sly & The Family Stone * There’s A Riot Goin’ On^
Frank Sinatra * Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim†
Johnny Cash * Now There Was A Song!†

^ = bought as replacement for scratched copy in our collection
† = bought as potential gifts/giveaways for those who butter me up

Tags: Bennie Green, Bill Monroe, Bill Withers, Brass Construction, Crazy Horse, Donny Hathaway, Dramatics, flea market, Kinks, Richard 'Groove' Holmes, Roberta Flack, Sly Stone, T Texas Tyler