Turntable of The Mind

In recognition of my sister Peggy's birthday today I'm going write about one of the things my mind does on a regular basis that is really makes me smile. 

Back in the late 1960's before she got married in June 1971, my sister still lived at home with my parents, my younger sister and me. I was 10 when she moved out. 

This was during the golden age of Top 40 pop music being played on the radio. Peg, like most teenage girls her age, was an avid fan of the music she heard on her favorite local radio stations, WEEX and WAEB.

With the money she earned from babysitting she would buy the 45RPM records of her favorite songs. She had quite a collection. She had two carrying cases full. Here's a picture of what her cases looked like. 

As a preschooler, I knew that my sister's bedroom where she kept her record player was "off limits". 

But when I got my ShowNTell for my 5th birthday and finally had my own record player; I somehow came to the conclusion that it would be perfectly fine to "borrow" her records listen to on my record player. 

I still have memories from those times I spent playing my sister's records. I remember vividly the labels that adorned those 45s. Every time I hear "Going To The Chapel" by the Dixie Cups I see the yellow label with the logo of the recording company that produced it: a red bird playing a guitar. 

Both the Beatles and the Beach Boys were on Capitol Records which featured the cool swirling design. 

The others that I can picture in my head as I'm writing this are: 

Jimmy Soul's If You Wanna Be Happy

"I've Been Hurt" by Billy Dean & The Rhondells 

And any Lovin Spoonful single

I've gone out on the internet and gotten these pictures for this post. But I seen them in my mind's eye for years now; every time I hear the songs.

I can't help it. My brain has just always linked the two things that made the hours I spent enjoying my sister's records unique: the music and the labels. 

There are a bunch more labels I remember from 45 records and albums that were mine as I was growing up.(read my June 22, 2013 post) But it is the ones that belonged to Peggy that I think of most often. Recollection of those happy care free days of childhood are fun to remember. 

Earlier this week I wrote about listening to my dad's music when I was young and it's influence on what I listen to today. The same thing can be said for my sister's music collection as well. 

It may seem like a lot of looking back when I write posts like this. But it's these good memories that help me appreciate the blessings I've had in my life. 

It also helps me to always be aware of the influences I may be having on other's lives. Even though I may not realize who sees me as an example; I want to "pay it forward" and be a good one.