Robert Plant on Record Stores

I also recall listening to records while in the shop. We lived near Cambridge, England at the time and the shop I really liked had both headsets to use and a couple of booths, sorta like a phone booth, that you could sit in. Give the record to the person behind the counter and they would play it for you. On a busy day you only got to hear a few tracks but on a slow day they would let you listen for as long as you wanted. Of course, it would help matters if you actually bought something too!

The Melrose store was open for a long time (way over 10 years).

It started out on the South side of the street and moved once (or twice) to the North side within a 2-3 block area 

I only looked @ it a few times in the 80’s as I wasn’t into super duper rare recordings.

The last time I noticed it was around 2000, or so.

DeKay

@dekay:

You’re speaking of Bleeker Bob’s shop on Melrose? Wow, I didn’t realize it was open for that long.

Here’s a funny story from his NYC shop (Bleeker Street is of course in Greenwich Village):

One Saturday in the Summer of 1983 the girlfriend and I rode the No.7 subway from Flushing (in the Queens borough, last stop on the 7 line) into Manhattan to go to Bobs. I was looking for a copy of a new various artists collection that had been evading me (pre-internet  days of course). In the shop I asked Bob if he had a copy, and he said no, but suggested i ask Peter Holsapple if he had seen one.

Peter at that time was a member of The dB’s (and later the fantastic L.A. based Supergroup The Continenetal Drifters, whose other members included Susan Cowsill, Vicki Peterson of The Bangles, Mark Walton of The Dream Syndicate, and a fantastic studio drummer/singer named Carlo Nuccio. I saw them live in L.A. in the 90’s a buncha times), and just happened to be perusing the record bins in Bob’s that day.

Peter looked up, and I asked him if he knew where I could find Wild, Wild Young Women, the title of the album. Without missing a beat, he replied "Um, St. Marks Street." Those familiar with the Village are already laughing. 

Yes, Bleeker Bob's on Melrose.

The only thing I really remember about the shop are the neon clocks (I didn't wear a watch;-).

DeKay

Back in the 60s the music store on 8th St in the villiage.was Great.I lived in Sunnyside then and would take the 7 train ,change over at Queens Plazaz and take the  BMT.