"Ron Havens Rewind Soundtrack 2012" is now completed. It's in my I-Tunes collections and on my I-Pod. It clocks in at just under 6 1/2 hours. That may seem a bit long but it was a wonderful year to remember.
I still have one other Rewind script ready to go into production and a 2013 script to write and record.
But before I get on with those I've got another music project to work on. I'm going to be transferring some of my "old school" musical treasures to a current format.
I'm going to convert the vinyl recordings of some of my favorite albums into digital files using a special turntable that connects to my computer.
Most of the records are those that I've collected because I had them when I was a kid. Here are a few that mean the most to me.
There's the first record album I ever owned, The Alvin Show; the first Sesame Street original cast album from 1969; a Charles Randolph Grean (rhymes with "neon") album with music from the TV show Dark Shadows; a record from a "Show N Tell" program; and a live concert album featuring the Bill Gaither Trio.
That album is probably the most treasured of all. Let me tell you why.
The Bill Gaither Trio was at their peak of popularity in the early 70's when I was in my early teens. One of my best family memories I have from those years was the night my mom, dad, sister, Shari, and I went to Hershey Arena to to see them in concert.
Shortly after that experience my youth group leader, Bev, loaned me the "Something Beautiful" album to listen to at home. I really liked it a lot. I played it constantly.
The group sang songs during this concert that I'd never heard them sing perform before or since. I memorized everything on the double album set. I can still recite the dialogue and sing those rarely heard songs to this day.
Eventually, I had to give the album back to Bev but not before I recorded it onto cassette tape. Eventually that tape either broke or wore out. I never borrowed the album again or made another copy.
As best as I can remember I believe my interest in pop music and joining the Columbia House record and tape club for the first time took my focus away from gospel music and I forgot about the Gaither album.
Fast forward to a few years ago when I read Bill Gaither's autobiography. It rekindled my interest in his music as well. Of course that brought back to mind the concert album I loved as a teenager.
However, by that time the Gaithers were better known for their Southern Gospel reunion concerts than their earlier ministry as a trio.
All the Bill Gaither Trio music I could find on CD were compilations or "greatest hits" collections. I couldn't find any CD copies of their original albums. Soon I came to the conclusion that I would have to find the original album and convert it to CD or digital format.
But I couldn't even find any evidence that the "Something Beautiful" album ever existed. It didn't even get a mention on after market album websites or Gathier discographies on the internet. But I kept searching. Flea Markets became my last avenue of hope. But even then I felt like I was searching for a needle in a vinyl haystack.
Finally at the end of September 2012 I got lucky. At a local flea market I found the album pictured above. I never thought I'd ever find it. That's why it's so special.
Others that will be included in the digital conversion project are music albums by Eddy Arnold, Loretta Lynn, and Jack Greene, and the debut album of Captain and Tennille. Then there are comedy albums by Soupy Sales and Bill Dana. Finally, there are some LPs with Disney music.
As you can see I have a lot of home recording to do. But I'm glad that after years of sitting on the shelf these albums will soon be part of my digital music collection. I guess I'd better get busy.
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