The Analog Kid

Here’s your ticket to some of the best (or, perhaps, most infamous) 7″ singles ever released! No adapter is required, although in my opinion the device pictured below is right up there with baseball cards as one of the best inventions of the 20th century.

I bought the 45 for Blondie’s “The Tide Is High” at the Woolco in Plano in late 1980. Woolco was located at the corner of Parker and Custer, about two miles or so from our house. I used to spend hours in that store during seventh and eighth grade, as it was the closest business to our home and it had a little bit of everything for sale. The record section was the main draw for me, though, and I purchased many 45s there during 1979 and 1980. And then a crazy thing happened…

The Woolco turned into a Home Depot. Oh, how I hate Home Depot. But wait– that didn’t happen until the ’90s, so I am getting a little ahead of myself. The crazy thing that happened in early 1981 was that I stopped buying 45s. <GASP> And you can blame Debbie Harry for it.

It’s not that I didn’t love “The Tide Is High”– I did. I played it hundreds of times, and even listened to the non-LP b-side “Suzy And Jeffrey” on a regular basis. In fact, I liked “The Tide Is High” so much that I rode my bike back to Woolco a few weeks later and bought the Autoamerican album. This event was a major milestone for the Analog Kid: I was growing up, and I had now officially made the transition from 45s to LPs.

Of course, I had purchased albums before in certain circumstances (Rumours, Songs Of Joy, the Grease soundtrack, and Barry Manilow II were a few of my ’70s-era acquisitions), but 45s had always been my preferred method of listening to music. I had giant stacks of 7″ singles all over my room, and I still played them on my crappy little portable record player with the spindle that could hold 15 of them at a time. My purchase of Autoamerican changed all of that: no more 45s, and no more crappy turntable. No, it was time to move on to the big boy record player in the den. I can’t remember the make of the turntable, but the receiver was a Kenwood model TK-55. I know this because I still have it!

From that point forward, it was all about the album for me. I didn’t buy “Fire And Ice” on 45 that summer– I bought Precious Time. “Who’s Crying Now” was all over the radio, but I had to wait for the release of Escape. “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” meant that Bella Donna would soon be a fixture on my turntable. Of course, I still purchased 45s on occasion (usually when a non-LP track like “Suzy And Jeffrey” was on the b-side), but my days as an album collector had arrived. That summer, I even joined Columbia House for the first time and got my ten records for a penny!

Thirty three (and a third?) years later, I own about 6,000 of them– and I still think I owe Columbia House some money. Here’s looking at you, Debbie!

 

Blondie: The Tide Is High [U.S. 7″]

Chrysalis Records, 1980

 

A-side: “The Tide Is High [7″ Version]” (John Holt)

The Tide Is High

B-side: “Suzy And Jeffrey” (Debbie Harry/Nigel Harrison)

Suzy And Jeffrey

___________________________________________________

Bonus Tracks!

The first rule of The Analog Kid blog is that if you write about a song on the Analog Kid blog, you share the song on the Analog Kid blog.

Fleetwood Mac: “You Make Loving Fun” (Christine McVie)

Alternate version from the album Rumours

Warner Brothers Records, 2004

You Make Loving Fun

 

Captain & Tennille: “Lonely Night (Angel Face)” (Neil Sedaka)

From the album Song Of Joy

A&M Records, 1976

Lonely Night (Angel Face)

 

Olivia Newton-John: “Hopelessly Devoted To You” (John Farrar)

From the original soundtrack Grease

RSO Records, 1978

Hopelessly Devoted To You

 

Barry Manilow: “Mandy”

From the album Barry Manilow II (Scott English/Richard Kerr)

Bell Records, 1974

Mandy

 

Pat Benatar: “Fire And Ice” (Tom Kelly/Scott Sheets/Pat Benatar)

From the album Precious Time

Chrysalis Records, 1981

Fire And Ice

 

Journey: “Who’s Crying Now” (Jonathan Cain/Steve Perry)

From the album Escape

Columbia Records, 1981

Who’s Crying Now

 

Stevie Nicks: “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” (Tom Petty/Mike Campbell)

From the album Bella Donna

Modern Records, 1981

Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around

 

Blondie: “Here’s Looking At You” (Debbie Harry/Chris Stein)

From the album Autoamerican

Chrysalis Records, 1980

Here’s Looking At You