Top of page

Georgetown University students looking through racks of records at a record store, Washington, D.C. Photo by Thomas O'Halloran, 14 November 1979. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.56629

Vinyl Memories

Share this post:

I miss record stores. I know there are still some out there, but they aren’t as ubiquitous as they were when I was growing up in the 1970s and 80s. The main stores I shopped in were National Record Mart and Camelot Music. I recall getting some good albums in the bargain bin at G.C. Murphy’s as well.

I’m taking this walk down memory lane because my latest Flickr album – Let’s Go Shopping – features two photos of record stores. I think I’ve mentioned before that I enjoy looking closely at the details of images. The high-resolution files made by the Prints & Photographs Division lend themselves to close-up study. In one record store photo, taken in November of 1979 by Thomas O’Halloran for U.S. News and World Report Magazine, I (with a little help from some of my colleagues) was able to identify 33 of the albums for sale!

Here is the photo:

Georgetown University students looking through racks of records at a record store, Washington, D.C. Photo by Thomas O’Halloran, 14 November 1979. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.56629

In no particular order, though I’m listing my favorite first:

  • Saturday Night Fiedler
  • Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Rust Never Sleeps
  • Cheap Trick – Dream Police
  • The Alan Parsons Project – Eve
  • Led Zeppelin – In Through the Out Door
  • Foreigner – Head Games
  • Journey – Evolution
  • Jethro Tull – Stormwatch
  • Barbra Streisand – Wet
  • Barry Manilow – One Voice
  • Cheap Trick – In Color
  • Bob Dylan – Slow Train Coming
  • David Bromberg – Wanted Dead or Alive
  • Jefferson Starship – Freedom at Point Zero
  • Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run
  • Jimmy Buffett – Volcano
  • Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – So Far
  • Emerson, Lake & Palmer – In Concert
  • AKB- Stand Up Sit Down
  • The Main Event
  • The Billie Holiday Story
  • Jean-Luc Ponty – Live
  • Pat Metheny Group – American Garage
  • Christa Ludwig & Leonard Bernstein – An Evening of Brahms Songs
  • Claudja Barry – Boogie Woogie Dancin’ Shoes
  • Taka Boom – Taka Boom
  • Commodores – Midnight Magic
  • Michael Jackson – Off the Wall
  • David Ruffin – So Soon We Change
  • Bobbi Humphrey – Freestyle
  • Angela Bofill – Angie
  • Rufus & Chaka – Masterjam
  • Lou Rawls – When You Hear Lou, You’ve Heard it All

There is one album that I haven’t been able to place. Do you know what it is?

Detail from Georgetown University students looking through racks of records at a record store, Washington, D.C. Photo by Thomas O’Halloran, 14 November 1979. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.56629

Learn more:

Comments (4)

  1. Bob Seger?

  2. Nice post! I always enjoy trying to identify album covers in photos/movies. The mystery cover is Cannonball Adderley’s “Soul Zodiac.”

  3. Thank you Scott!

  4. I thought it was Smokey Robinsons’ Where There’s Smoke. but it doesn’t match the cover. So I’m going with my second pick, Kool and the Gang.

Add a Comment

This blog is governed by the general rules of respectful civil discourse. You are fully responsible for everything that you post. The content of all comments is released into the public domain unless clearly stated otherwise. The Library of Congress does not control the content posted. Nevertheless, the Library of Congress may monitor any user-generated content as it chooses and reserves the right to remove content for any reason whatever, without consent. Gratuitous links to sites are viewed as spam and may result in removed comments. We further reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to remove a user's privilege to post content on the Library site. Read our Comment and Posting Policy.


Required fields are indicated with an * asterisk.