[ARSCLIST] Fwd: [ARSCLIST] George Jellinek

[Don Tait <Dontaitchicago@xxxxxxx>]

  These are great stories. They remind me of one or two, perhaps a bit 
different but nevertheless concerning clerking in older record stores.

  I met my late friend Fred Heft when he was a clerk at Discount Records in 
Chicago from 1960 to 1961. He told me later that one of the worst things about 
the job was customers whom Fred considered to be moronic pests, who wouldn't 
stop jabbering what he thought was imbecility and following him around the 
store, whom he couldn't stand but couldn't dare offend. Because most LPs weren't 
factory-sealed then, Discount Records had a turntable/sound system on which 
records could be played in the store. Fred hit upon a solution to the nuisance 
problem: Jonathan and Darlene Edwards.

  I'm sure everyone knows about those records by, in fact, Jo Stafford and 
her husband Paul Weston. Hilariously but subtly out-of-tune singing by her and 
messy piano-playing by him. All intentional of course, because they were both 
superb. Anyway, when Fred couldn't endure one of the pests anymore he would put 
a Darlene Edwards LP on the turntable without saying anything. After some of 
her sour singing the customer would demand "who's singing this?" Fred would 
answer. Response: "she's terrible!" Fred would say "do you think so? She's one 
of my favorite singers. I think she's marvellous." With which the nuisance 
would back away and, convinced that Fred was a musical idiot, never speak to (i.e. 
bother) him again. He and I were still laughing about his strategy more than 
forty years later.

  Sorry for the long story and long post.

  Don Tait

 


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In a message dated 3/10/08 7:42:20 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
aaron.levinson@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:

> But in fairness what good record store 
> did not have (at least) one employee that looked at your pile
> and said in a withering tone "you're buying that?". Somehow their barely 
> veiled disdain made the whole transaction that much more
> enjoyable! Viva la difference!
> 

A local record store in Brooklyn boasted, during the 1960s, that they could 
provide any record a customer might want.  (Actually, what they had was mostly 
the remaining stock of discs discontinued in the 1940s, when they gave up the 
record business and started selling odd pieces of hardware, small auto 
supplies, etc.)  So one day I went in and asked if they could indeed provide whatever 
I asked for.  The owner said yes.  So I asked for Olive Kline.  His face 
froze and he stared at me.  I recall his answer:  "Olive Kline.  (pause)   She's 
not Joe Blow."

Paul Charosh


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