Vinyl Record Lovers Newsletter

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The golden age of vinyl records and all things retro are the highlights of our Newsletter. Writing stories about our vinyl record memories with content from my collection is our way of sharing memories and keeping the oldies alive.  We wish you lots of fun on this journey to the time of Drive-In Movies, Pizza Parlors, Malt Shops, and street cruising in your cool ride on those warm summer nights.

Issue #152, January, 2026

In This Issue...

Memorable Dates in History: The January, 2026, Newsletter is all about the songs we loved, and the entertainers we admired. Join us as we look back on some of those special people we lost, but will always remain a part of our vinyl record memories...Many of you who receive our monthly Newsletter grew up during those great Rock-n-Roll years when many of these artists were at the top of the charts.
 

•  June 11, 2025: Brian Wilson, one of the world's most influential recording artists, dies at age 82. Thanks to you Brian Wilson for a time when it was fun to be a teenager, and The Beach Boys lit up the summers of the 1960s and beyond.

• July 16, 2025: When we were young there were always some women we dreamed about. They excited our imaginations, inspired us and certainly entertained us. For me, Connie Francis was that lady.

• January 10, 2023: Jeff Beck, the blues-rock innovator and two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee who revolutionized how the guitar is played, died on this date. We remember Jeff with our favorite guitar play on this "Sleepwalk" classic.

• January 12, 2023: Singer-songwriter, Lisa Marie Presley, went into cardiac arrest at her Calabasas, Calif., home.  A special Elvis tribute to his daughter with one of our favorite live performances by Elvis.

• January 12, 2022:  Ronnie Spector, the cat-eyed, bee-hived rock ‘n’ roll siren, and the leader of the girl group, The Ronettes, died on this day in 2022. She was 78.

• January 1st, 1986: Greatest Rockabilly Night of All Time was recorded in October, 1985 and released on this date in 1986. Enjoy Carl Perkins and his friends with a live performance of this 70 year old song, "Blue Suede Shoes."

• What's Next?

• Ned Ward's Oldies Show - The Best In Original Oldies Classics.

• Pat's Country Classics - Country Music Oldies We Grew Up With.

Let's Get Started...

Brian Wilson Left Us With Some "Good Vibrations."

Brian Wilson, one of the world's most influential recording artists,  died on June, 11, 2025, at age 82. Wilson's genius for melody and arrangements inspired one of our favorite summertime anthems, "Good Vibrations." Brian carved out sweet melodies and classic harmonies surrounded by cars, girls, and beaches that resonated across time and places. Our Brian Wilson special features this classic from 1966. 

The production of "Good Vibrations" is reported to have been completed in seventeen recording sessions at four different recording studios in order to capture the sound Brian heard in his head.  It's impossible to overstate the influence Brian Wilson had on rock' n' roll and the music industry with his music masterpiece, Good Vibrations.

The Beach Boys rank among the most popular groups of the rock era, with worldwide sales of more than 100 million. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. Thanks to you Brian Wilson for a time when it was fun to be a teenager, and when The Beach Boys lit up the summers of the 1960s and beyond.  You were a special man with a special talent and you will be missed.

Remembering Connie Francis With One Of Our Favorites.

When we were young there were always some women we dreamed about. They excited our imaginations, inspired us and certainly entertained us. For me, Connie Francis was that lady.

For many of us, the  Connie Francis songs always bring back those special teen years, a bygone time of innocence where the fun part of life included Friday night sock hops, drive-in movies, cool custom cars and cruising with your friends.  

Her natural talent and beautiful voice have brought joy, not only to me, but to so many others, from teens to your close friends and to the military men and women around the world this wonderful lady has entertained.

Of all the singers that I listened to when I was young, she was the most beautiful singer with the most beautiful voice. Connie's songs were the one's you wanted to hear on the radio. There are few singers who really sing with their heart and mean it. One of our many Connie Francis heart breakers,  "Frankie," is included as a special video for your stroll down memory lane.

Her dignity and musical legacy will always insure her a place in the hearts of those millions that her music has touched. God bless you dear lady for all those wonderful musical moments you shared with me and my friends during our teenage years.  Sadly, Connie Francis died July 16, 2025, at the age of 87.   

Remembering Legendary Rock Guitarist Jeff Beck.

Jeff Beck, the blues-rock innovator and two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee who revolutionized how the guitar is played, died on January 10th, 2023.

Beck, an eight-time Grammy winner, was twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — both as a member of the Yardbirds as well as for his work with his own Jeff Beck Group.

The 1989 album Jeff Beck’s Guitar Shop was his last solo album for a decade, but he remained active through the 90s. In the 2000s and 2010s, Beck only released a handful of albums, but began to settle into his role as an elder statesman, highly praised and admired by all who knew him. This video is a perfect cover of the song "Sleepwalk," a display of the immense talent of this gifted individual.

Jeff Beck died after “suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis." He was 78. He was one of the most inventive guitar players of all time, and set a very high bar for all who followed. His legend will live on.

Lisa Marie - "I'll Remember You" - Elvis

Lisa Marie Presley died at the young age of 54. Like most people's lives in the entertainment world, hers was not entirely pretty. Just because one has been blessed with a comfortable financial heritage, it doesn't necessarily mean everything else is easy. In fact, just the opposite - as most any child living in the shadow of their famous parent can probably tell you.

The singer-songwriter went into cardiac arrest at her Calabasas, Calif., home before being rushed to West Hills Hospital and Medical Center where she died. She was the only child of legendary Rock & Roll icon Elvis Presley, who died in 1977 from heart disease at age 42, and Priscilla Presley. Lisa Marie died on January 12, 2023, just a few days after attending the Golden Globes to support a film about her late father.

A public memorial service honored Lisa Marie Presley at the Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 22, 2023, her final resting place, a garden on the property where her son and father are buried. 

I believe this favorite live performance by Elvis is a fitting tribute to the memory of his only child, his daughter, Lisa Marie. Elvis was born on January 8th and his daughter would die on January 12th within a few days of her father's birthday. Had he lived, Elvis would have turned 90 this month. 

From his rise to fame in the 1950's, to his death at the age of 42 in 1977, through to the present-day; the world is still fascinated by everything that is Elvis.

Our "Be My Baby" Tribute To Ronnie Spector.

The Ronettes were an American girl group from New York City. They began as a family act at neighborhood performances and dances in the late 1950s. The lead singer of the 1963 smash, “Be My Baby,” was born Veronica Bennett in New York City on August 10, 1943. In her teens, she formed the Ronettes with her older sister, Estelle, and her cousin, Nedra Talley.

The Ronettes’ sexy look and powerful voices — plus songwriting and producing help from Phil Spector — turned them into one of the premier acts of the girl-group era. They began singing and dancing in clubs as Ronnie and the Relatives, becoming noteworthy for their liberal use of eyeliner and mascara. "The louder they applauded, the more mascara we put on the next time," she wrote in her memoir.

Ronnie Spector, the cat-eyed, bee-hived rock ‘n’ roll siren who sang such 1960s hits as “Be My Baby,” “Baby I Love You” and “Walking in the Rain” as the leader of the girl group the Ronettes, died on January 12, 2022. She was 78.

Carl Perkins - Blue Suede Shoes, A Rockabilly Session!

"Carl Perkins songs personified the rockabilly era, and Carl Perkins' sound personifies the rockabilly sound more so than anybody involved in it, because he never changed." - Charlie Daniels...

He was Beatle George Harrison's hero - which tells you something about how good he was. Despite the fact that The Beatles, along with Elvis Presley, recorded his songs, he never quite got the recognition that his peers achieved; it might have been because Carl never pushed himself as hard as he could.

In 1985, Carl would share the stage with his Rockabilly friends including George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Dave Edmunds, Lee Rocker, Eric Clapton and Rosanne Cash on a television special taped in London called Blue Suede Shoes: A Rockabilly Session.

It was simply Carl Perkins and Friends. 

"Blue Suede Shoes" sold 2 million copies before Elvis Presley even got his hands on it.

It became the first record ever to hit the pop, country, and rhythm and blues charts at the same time - a song Perkins said he wrote after playing "a gut-bucket barroom" called the Roadside Inn. 

"One night I heard this boy tell the girl he was dancing with, "Watch out, don't step on my suedes". "It kind of stuck to me," said Perkins, who pulled out a paper sack the next morning and wrote on it....

"Well, it's one for the money, two for the show... "  

Blue Suede Shoes released 70 years ago on January 1, 1956 by Carl Perkins remains to this day, a rockabilly classic.

Sadly, Carl Perkins died on January 19, 1998, at the age of 65 at Jackson-Madison County Hospital in Jackson, Tennessee. 

Here is that memorable "Blue Suede Shoes" clip from 1985, with Carl Perkins and Friends.

What's Next?

Another original Framed Album Cover Art and story from our collection.

I hope you find time to visit more great stories about growing up in the 50s, 60s and 70s. You can start here.... 

Golden Oldies - Follow These Links For A Fun Trip Down Memory Lane.

Fifties Doo-Wop page -  More Links To Your Classic Street Corner Symphonies.

Check Out Our Favorite Remakes Of Original Songs. 

How About those Cars of Dreams We Grew Up With.

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