Record Store Day Announces 2019 Ambassador: Pearl Jam | Record Store Day Is Saturday, April 13, 2019: To say, “we’ve been waiting a long time for this,” would be an understatement, but today, we at Record Store Day are proud announce our Record Store Day 2019 Ambassador: Pearl Jam. We couldn’t be more pleased. Not just because, like easily two generations of fans, we love Pearl Jam. Or because Pearl Jam have ten studio albums, hundreds of unique live performance releases and official live concert bootleg releases under their belts. Or because 2017 saw them inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. We love Pearl Jam, who continue to be critically acclaimed and commercially successful with over 85 million albums sold worldwide, because they are, at their core, music fans… just like us. And because of this, Record Store Day and Pearl Jam are a match made in music heaven.
Bloomfield, PA | Juke Records in Bloomfield to close: The little vinyl haven at 4526 Liberty Ave. in Bloomfield is going to need another savior. Juke Records posted on its Facebook page Sunday a sign showing that the store will be closing before its lease is up in the summer. It promised a massive liquidation sale. “Fortunately, Pittsburgh has a lot of record stores. Unfortunately, our time is up,” the store posted. The site has been a record store since 1974 when Jim’s Records moved in. When Jim Spitznagel moved on, it became Paul’s CDs, under Paul Olszewski, from 1993 to 2012. Then it was Sound Cat, owned by Karl Hendricks, before the beloved Pittsburgh indie-rock musician died of cancer. Jeff Gallagher, a longtime customer from Butler dating back to Jim’s, opened Juke Records in August 2016, keeping the space stocked with new and used vinyl. “There’s nothing we could do about it,” he said of the closing. “It’s never been a viable entity. My approach was that I wanted it to be the best store for new vinyl, and I think it was, but it was very difficult…”
Bloomfield, PA | One Of Pittsburgh’s Oldest Record Stores To Close. It’s a sad day for vinyl lovers around town. For more than 40 years, the tiny storefront at 4526 Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield has housed a record shop under various names and owners – Jim’s, Paul’s, Sound Cat and Juke. But it looks as though the store that was around long before music streaming and even the compact disc finally will shut its doors. Juke announced via a Facebook post that the store will be permanently closing before its lease is up this summer. While the loss of the store would be a blow to veteran record collectors and the Bloomfield business district, a number of places around Pittsburgh still sell vinyl – among them Jerry’s in Squirrel Hill, Eide’s in the Strip District, the Attic in Millvale, Dave’s Music Mine on the South Side, Get Hip on the North Side and Rather Ripped in Brookline.
UK | HMV Peterborough staff who lost their jobs hopeful store will re-open: Former staff at HMV in Peterborough who lost their jobs after the store suddenly closed are hopeful it will reopen. It was announced last Tuesday that the Queensgate branch was one of 27 to shut despite the well-known chain being rescued from administration by the Canadian company Sunrise Records. Among the 14 people to lose their jobs in Peterborough were staff who had been there for 20 years, some of whom are now struggling financially due to the sudden loss of income. However, there is renewed hope that the store will reopen after an interview in The Guardian with Doug Putman, the boss of Sunrise Records, who said he is in talks with landlords of the 27 outlets which closed down. In addition, the former staff at the Queensgate store have been inspired after a branch of the Fopp record shop chain in Glasgow was saved from closure after an outcry from customers and musicians.
British Columbia, CA | Vinyl night at the library: As a die hard vinyl enthusiast, my album collection is slowly growing. Rumours that the resurgence in popularity of vinyl records is a short lived fad are thankfully not true. As a die hard vinyl enthusiast, my album collection is slowly growing. With more stores selling brand new LPs and local charity shops offering them for a bargain, it’s like living in the 80s again. It’s so much fun to browse through dusty covers and find a treasure that brings joy. Some of my musical purchases have definitely been based on that nostalgia. For instance, why did I feel it necessary to buy another copy of Amii Stewart’s Knock on Wood album? I have owned the original since 1979 and it has been played hundreds of times. This album will last forever, unless I scratch it (gulp) or chip it (gasp!)
Universally hailed as the Queen of Soul, the late Aretha Franklin is one of music’s most beloved icons. In celebration of Franklin’s timeless, brilliant legacy, Geffen/UMe has restored her earliest recordings, collectively known as the album ‘Songs Of Faith: Aretha Gospel,’ for worldwide black vinyl LP, limited edition white vinyl LP, and digital reissue on March 22, just ahead of her 77th birthday on March 25. Recorded live in 1956 at Detroit’s New Bethel Baptist Church when Franklin was 14.
