For a ten year period, starting in 2006, Lorne VanSinclair wrote a bi-weekly column for the Orillia Packet & Times newspaper. Most of the articles were about music and record collecting with some about other antiques and collectables. Some of them, presented here, have been edited or updated from their original form but may contain dated references.
- Written by: Lorne VanSinclair
It’s funny how our tastes in music change as we get older. Those of us who grew up in white, middle-class homes rejected the music of our parents. We hated Mitch Miller and Percy Faith; they were so white and middle-class. Elvis got us shakin’, folk music had a message, blues spoke to us, country was more real, and everything else was schmaltz. We searched and found a whole lot out there. Now, while I still love Howlin’ Wolf and Hank Williams, I’m sometimes inclined to listen to Dean Martin or Patti Page.
- Written by: Lorne VanSinclair
Some time ago I was listening to a CBC Radio show hosted by Colin James, a great blues-based musician, who flatly declared that Stardust was the best song ever written. There are many who would agree with him, unless you come from the generation that can’t see past Stairway to Heaven, Stardust is the hands-down best song ever.
- Written by: Lorne VanSinclair
Pity the poor parlour piano. If you have one that you want to sell, you know what I mean; you literally can’t give them away. Once the pride of every middle-class home, a staple in church basements and bars everywhere, most upright pianos are now worth more as scrap than as functioning music machines. However it's almost impossible to imagine what classical or popular music would be like if the piano had not been invented.
- Written by: Lorne VanSinclair
Thomas Edison made the first sound recording? No, it had been done 20 years earlier. Digital recording is relatively recent. Try 1883. Vinyl records sound better than CDs. Well let's have a look at that one.
- Written by: Lorne VanSinclair
An old neon sign from a now-defunct record store in Toronto was in the news recently (2016). It’s been reported that what is described as the “iconic” sign from Sam the Record Man’s flagship store on Yonge Street has been restored and will be erected a few blocks away from its original location. The excitement over the sign underscores just how important record stores were to our economy and culture just a couple of generations ago.
- Written by: Lorne VanSinclair
There is nothing more delightful than watching a child dance and sing.
Almost every youngster does both naturally, it’s only later in life that we learn to hold back. Maybe that is why children’s songs are so appealing to us as adults; they take us back to that place. If you look at a list of what are considered classic nursery rhymes, it’s hard to find one that isn’t at least part of a hit song.
- Written by: Lorne VanSinclair
Record labels come and go, of the thousands that started up in the post-war boom of indie labels, only a few survive today and many of them in name only. Atlantic Records, founded in New York City in 1947 was spectacularly successful in pretty well every area. It evolved from a shoestring operation working out of a seedy hotel room to a major corporation and even when it merged with an even larger corporation it never lost its identity; it continues today as a force in popular music.
- Written by: Lorne VanSinclair
In his song “I Want to Be a Sideman” Dave Frishberg takes on the persona of a musician who wants a career in jazz, but doesn’t want the responsibility of being a leader. However in the pop/rock world, everything revolves around the star, backup musicians often long for the fame and fortune they are helping others achieve. Guitarist James Burton is probably the ultimate sideman.
- Written by: Lorne VanSinclair
The whole world is wonderin’, what’s wrong with the United States. Those words were sung by The Staple Singers on Freedom Highway, a recording made in Chicago’s New Nazareth Church in April of 1965. It was a pivotal time for the country and the group.
- Written by: Lorne VanSinclair
We’re now well into the Christmas music season, you can hear music in stores and on radio from artists you don’t hear at all during the rest of the year, including a lot of vintage material. Besides Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters, you might be lucky enough to hear Mahalia Jackson as you stroll the aisles in Wal-Mart.