Question of the Week: What’s the best music-related Christmas present you’ve ever received?

Local Spins’ Question of the Week (Dec. 2, 2021)

What’s the best music-related Christmas present you’ve ever received?

This week’s winner: Email subscriber Steve Middendorp, who responded to the Question of the Week and was entered into a drawing for a Local Spins gift pack. Sign up for email updates and the weekly newsletter here: https://localspins.com/subscribe-local-spins-mailing-list/

THE READER RESPONSES:

Michael Tague – My brother Tony gave me America “Homecoming” for my birthday in 8-track. I now have a CD of the album. Love it still.

Steve Middendorp – My Dad bought me my first guitar age 13 or 14. Epiphone sg, red.

Daniel P Hudelson – “Sgt Pepper” and “All Things Must Pass” were both Christmas presents.

Mike Dodge – A cassette player/recorder with a radio. I can probably still dig up tape recordings of “Ed Buchanan’s Comedy Hour” as well as “The King Biscuit Flower Hour.”

Chad Michael Wedeven – My uncle brought me a pair of British Beatles albums, long before they were issued on CD here: “Beatles For Sale” and “Help!” So many songs I had never heard. I wore them out.

Zach Dubay – A Gretsch drum kit.

Gregory Liceraga – My first drum set when I was 10.

Lee Chase – My own mono record player with a steel needle and two 45s: “Big Bad John” and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” Xmas ’62 I think.

Rick Wilson – My cool aunt gave me CCR’s “Willie and the Poor Boys.”

James R. Murphy Jr. – I got “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” for Christmas in ’67, and the “White Album” for Christmas in ’68. To me, that’s Christmas music. Not this crap about the most wonderful time of the year.

Mitch Mileski – My dad had jobbers racks on an end cap in his store. Usually they were perhaps three or so bins at the end of an aisle. Serviced by an independent with the more common albums of the day. Great for the Beatles, Monkees. Mama and Pops, Beach Boys. Not so good for the Stones, Who, Kinks. Always had greatest hits albums. Sweep up or vacuum, I might get an album. Remes Drug Store EGR. Across the street, Muirs Drugs had more. There were three other record stores at different times in EGR but they weren’t around for long.

Wendi Watts Lewis – Bruce bought me a bass guitar and said they needed a bass player. So I taught myself to play.

John Neil – My first keyboard! (Combined with Birthday present).

Kyle Rasche – Definitely my first guitar.

Kevin Murphy – I got an 8-track of Joe Walsh, “The Smoker You Drink,” from my aunt.

Mike Ensing – The first record I got at Christmas was one of those Disney soundtrack/dialogue records – “Treasure Island” at around age 7. Was recently watching the film on Disney+ and was amazed at how many lines I remembered – decent soundtrack music too. The dialogue was straight out of the film but I think there was other music recorded just for the record.

Stephen Aldrich – Not a gift, but finding an original Philles pressing of Phil Spector’s, “A Christmas Gift For You,” at Recordland, Woodland Mall, mid 80’s, hard to believe. The best sonics of any record I’ve ever owned, no compression, wide open soundstage, even in mono.

Eric William-Neil Engblade – “Meloncolly and the Infinite Sadness” by Smashing Pumpkins.
· Reply · 2d
Robin Connell – I found my brother’s copy of ‘Something New’ at my mom’s house last year, along with a bunch of other albums. Wow, it brought back a lot of memories!

Anna Sink – Every gift I ever get!

Susan Park – My brother set up a scavenger hunt on Christmas morning for me. I went through 11 clues and gradually found my way to our hi-fi, opened it, and found my favorite “Christmas Album” on the turntable: “Beatles ‘65”, then he pulled out the cover to complete my gift!

Alex Austin – My first record player, which I still have!

Scott Garrison – Can’t remember if it was Xmas exactly, but the best music present I’ve ever gotten was my first bass, Crush. It’s felt like Xmas many times when I’ve hit the stage with that thing.

Jeff Vantol – “Something New” was my first Beatles album.

Ned Rouse – LP … Johnny Winter And … Live

Shane Tripp – When I was a kid, I asked for “Pablo Honey” by Radiohead, but I got “OK Computer” instead.

Thomas Leonard Saxe- I got some Vic Firth 2 B sticks one year, but when I was a kid, I got “Led Zeppelin II” and Stephen Stills’ first solo effort albums in back-to-back Christmas gifts! Whew.

Steve Quick – James Brown’s “Funky Christmas”

Don Small – Neil Diamond, “50 year Anniversary Edition”

Copyright 2021, Spins on Music LLC