R&B RECORDS

AND ME

VAL SHIVELY

I was born in West Philadelphia on

January 8, 1944 (Elvis turned 9) and

lived in the Stonehurst section of

Upper Darby, PA. Before we had TV, I

listened to the radio every night. I

especially liked Gene Autry and the

Lone Ranger radio shows---and as a

result---my very first records were

by them. I next got into "novelty"

records---like Stan Freeberg's "St.

George and the Dragonet" and Buchanan

and Goodman's "Flying Saucer". I'm

not sure if "Green Door" by Jim Lowe

or Elvis' "Don't Be Cruel" was my first "pop" record

purchase---but it was "Don't Be Cruel" that really got

to me. I played that record for hours at a time and

drove my parents crazy! For Christmas in 1956, all I

wanted was records. I got "Singing the Blues" by Guy

Mitchell and "Just Walking in the Rain" by Johnny Ray,

"Blueberry Hill" by Fats and "I Feel Good" by Shirley

and Lee. I heard these songs on WIBG----the "pop"

station I listened to. For my birthday two weeks after

Christmas, I got a transistor radio---and was I in

heaven! I took it everywhere.....put it under my pillow

at night and even took it to school by hollowing out a

big book. Once I got that radio, that was it for my

other hobbies...no more collecting comic books, stamps,

coins, and (bubblegum) cards.

To support record buying, I got a daily paper route

delivering the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin from 1957

to 1961. I loved it---and hated to give it up!

I quickly became a regular at all the record shops (and

appliance stores) that sold records in my area. One

such place was Majestic Records in Clifton

Heights. Besides selling records retail, they were in

the vending business. I probably bought more records

there than anywhere else since they were located so

close to my house... by now we had moved to Drexel

Hill. I remember riding my bike in the pouring rain to

buy "Silhouettes" by The Rays after hearing it for the

first time on the radio. I shared that story with Hal

Miller (lead singer of the Rays) a few years ago when I

met him at a party.

Whenever I bought a record by an artist that I liked, I

looked for anything else they made. Majestic was a good

place to search because they had thousands of used

records that came off juke boxes at 5 for a

dollar. Fortunately, juke Boxes don't kill (destroy)

records the way people do.

By the end of 1959, I had over a thousand records. In

late 1959 or early 1960, I bought a Webcor tape

recorder figuring I would tape records off the radio

and save money. It took me a little over a year to

realize it was cheaper to buy the records. But, during

that time I discovered R&B radio stations and heard

records that in most cases never made it to the "pop"

stations...artists like Herb Johnson, The Cruisers,

Bobby Marchan, Etta James, Baby Washington, Jackie and

The Starlites, and Maxine Brown.

Finally, high school was about to end

(thank you, Lord), and my mother

insisted I attend college or a least

a business school. Since bookkeeping

was the only subject in which I did

well, I enrolled at Pierce Business

School in Center City Philadelphia

and majored in accounting. Unlike

high school, I loved Pierce.

At the same time, I was listening to black radio

stations and started buying Alan Freed and other

standard oldies LPs. Some of the students at Pierce

also liked records---especially Bob Bintliff---who was

in a Philadelphia area vocal group called The

Lytations. He told me about Jerry Blavat's

radio show on WCAM in Camden, NJ. It was

only a 1000 watt station---and it didn't

come in especially clear where I lived. BUT

WHAT I HEARD-----CHANGED EVERYTHING! I

became obsessed with the old group records--

-which he played heavily. Most of them were from New

York. I started cutting class in order to go all over

the city looking for records. A high school buddy (Bob

Campbell) and I started to hang out and look for

records together. I remember going over to Campbell's

house after high school

and hearing "Trickle

Trickle" by The Videos for the

first time.

On Saturday's, we would walk

all over West Philadelphia

looking for record stores.

We found a furniture

store that had records and a

shop called Gold Records on 60th street that sold promo

45s for 10 cents each. I found "You Baby You" by The

Excellents several months before the radio stations

decided to flip it over.

By 1962, I was still buying records like "Cry to Me" by

Solomon Burke, "Shout and Shimmy" by James Brown,

"Twist and Shout" by The Isley Brothers, "Twistin'

Matilda" by Jimmy Soul, along with early Motown Records

by Mary Wells and The Marvelettes. One Saturday

afternoon, Bob and I decided to go in town (Center

City) to buy some record sleeves. We searched the phone

book---and found Disc Makers---a South Philadelphia

pressing plant that had sleeves. We took the El

(elevated train) to Center City and started walking

down 13th Street since there were a lot of

stores. While we were walking, I spotted a sign in a

window that said 'Records---3 for a dollar'. I said to

Bob---look at that sign---and he immediately started to

run to the store. By the time I entered the store, he

was already finished looking through about one third of

the records. I took most of the remaining records and

piled them in front of me and told Bob “You may be

quicker than me but you're not going to see more than

me.”

I found "Foot Stompin'" by The Flares on Felsted---a

record I had been looking for. At the time, Bob knew

more about group records than I did. He saw a record at

the end of my pile and said “I'll take that record if

you don't want it.” I was still mad that he ran into

the store ahead of me so I said "No, I'm buying it!"

even though I had no idea what it was. We finished

going through the records---and finally got to the

pressing plant---which had closed. Luckily, a guard

gave us a box of sleeves, plus some promo records for

free.

Now it was time to head home. Since the pressing plant

was near 10th street---we walked back to the train on

10th. When we got to Chestnut Street, we spotted the

Record Museum that sponsored Blavat's radio show. We

had to go in! The store was packed with kids. The walls

were lined with lists of records the store wanted to

buy. Most were $1.00---then prices gradually went up.

Since I had a thousand records in my collection, I

thought that I would have some of the records listed.

I'd never heard of 99% of what was listed---correction-

--make that 100%. The last record on the list was

$12. I almost passed out. It was the record I just

bought for spite because Bob wanted it. I went up to

the counter and said I had the $12 record listed on the

wall. The guy behind the counter didn't believe me so I

pulled it out of the bag and showed it to him. He

looked at me and said he'd give me $6 cash or $12

credit. That made no sense to me. I said "Give me $12

like the sign said." He said "No". I got mad. Then, a

kid standing next to me kicked me and said quietly to

meet him outside and he'd give me $10 for it. I went

outside and sold the record to him! I was so excited I

called my mother to tell her that I bought a record for

3 for $1 and sold it for $10. She said "Dinner has been

on the table for a half hour...get home .... NOW!”

Campbell and I went all over Philadelphia, Chester and

Camden---going anyplace that had records. We went into

black areas because the records we were looking for

were mostly by black artists. We visited every record

store listed in the phone book. Another good place was

Paramount Records at 15th and South and 18th and

Ridge. They had tables of promos and dead records. I

got "Lucky Me I'm in Love" by The El Domingos there---

it was probably a new record at the time.

One of the best places we found was Ham-mil Trading---

around Broad and Girard. It was a warehouse filled with

radio station library dumps. You had to go through all

the records in green sleeves like Perry Como and

Lawrence Welk---and then records like "I've Searched"

by The Heart Spinners on Xtra would be mixed in. I

started buying records by artists that ended in the

letter 's'--- which usually indicated a group. The

records were 10 cents each.

Many of the department stores and all of the 5 and 10s

had old records on tables from 8 cents each at John's

Bargain Stores to 25 cents or 3 for a $1.00 at H. L.

Greens. I found "Kiss Me My Love" by The Honey Bees for

10 cents at Lit Brothers and quantity of The Nutrends

on Lawn at Sun-Ray Drugs on 69th Street in Upper Darby.

Although Blavat turned me on to group records, after a

while he'd play the same records over and over and over

again. He made records standards in Philadelphia like

"Long Tall Girl" by The Carnations, "Lost Love" by The

Superiors, "While Walking" by The Fabulaires, "Bila" by

The Versatones, "To Make a Long Story Short" by Eddie

and The Starlites, "Please Say You Want Me" by The

Schoolboys, "Let It Please Be You" by The Desires,

"Now" by The Veltones, "I'm So Young/Everyday of the

Week" by The Students, "Wedding Bells" by Tiny

Tim/Hits, "WPLJ" by The Four Deuces, "If You Want To"

by The Carousels, and "God Only Knows" by The Capris.

One of the employees at the Record Museum, Frank Koch,

told us about Times Square Records---so we decided to

branch out and go to New York. Bob and I went by

Greyhound. When we saw some kids with record boxes we

asked them where Times Square Records was located. They

said "Follow us, that's where we're going." When we got

there we were unable to get in. The store was tiny and

it was packed with kids. As we waited outside to get

in, a song played over and over on the speaker located

over the door---and it was great. When we finally got

inside, I asked about the record that was playing

outside and they said it was "I Can't Believe" by Dino

and The Diplomats. That was my first purchase at Times-

-- along with "Dorothy" by The HiFives and "Mary Lee".

by The Rainbows

One of the guys behind the counter (Rick Nelson---not

the singer) looked at me and said I looked familiar. I

said "I doubt it---I'm from Philly." He said

Yes...that's it." Then he yelled over to Slim (the

owner) and said "Here's the kid who sold me "Just a

Lonely Christmas" by The Moonglows on Chance for $10

outside of the Record Museum." I looked on the Times

Square list---and they were offering $26 for it.

The walls were full of records. A lot were $1 each---

but many were $2, $3, $5, $6, $8 and $10---even as much

as $20. I couldn't believe it. I borrowed some paper

and a pencil--- and Bob and I wrote down all the

records as well as the prices. We typed the lists on my

mother's typewriter---and carried the lists everywhere

we went. In my spare time, I tried to memorize them.

When we did find some records that were on Slim's wall

(most were pre 1956) they didn't appeal to us. They

were too bluesy, so we would take them to New York for

credit.

Before Blavat, I never heard of The Harptones,

Channels, Paragons, Jesters, Charts, Nutmegs, or The

Heartbeats. To get money to go after these records, I

sold all my non-group records for 10 cents each to

friends---and to a hoagie shop owner where I ate. He

gave the records to his Kids. The records included all

my Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly and The Crickets, Jerry

Lee Lewis, Fats Domino and Elvis. It wasn't the

brightest thing I ever did. Ironically, I was able to

replace all those records over the years. They were the

records I grew up with and I loved them. Still do!

Besides Times, there was another store we spent a lot

of time in. Arcade Records---at 42nd and 8th Ave---

located in a subway concourse just like Slim's. A guy

named Freddy would take records from us. He usually

offered us more than Slim...so we went to him first.

Arcade had a wall just like Times. Even though I was

still going to Pierce full-time, I got a job at the

Record Museum stapling lists at a dollar an hour. I

would work an hour a day. All the records in the bins

were $1 each, so at the end of an hour, I'd pick out a

record and go back to school.

Before working there, the first record I got at the

Record Museum was "I'm So Young b/w Everyday Of The

Week" by The Students. It wasn't on Note, Checker, or

even Argo. It was on Golden Goodies. I traded them "Gee

b/w I Love You So" by The Crows on Rama (red wax) that

somebody at Pierce gave me...I didn't like it so I

traded it even up!

Another favorite record of mine was "I Remember" by The

Five Discs. One day, I found another record by them at

the Record Museum entitled "Roses b/w My Chinese Girl"

on green Dwain. I took it without hearing it. That's

when I got another lesson in records. They told me it

was $5. I said it was in the bin with the $1

records. They said it wasn't supposed to be. So, I

worked five days to get it!

My mother was originally from Owensboro, Kentucky---so

my family would drive there for a week or two every

summer. I usually sat in the middle of the front seat

and turned the radio dial until I heard something I

liked. I remember hearing records in Ohio and Kentucky

that never got to Philly---or if they did---it wasn't

until a month or two later---like "Music, Music, Music"

by The Sensations, "Lover's Island" by The Bluejays,

"It'll Be Easy" by The Sultans and "The Wizard of Love"

by The Lydells.

When I first heard Blavat and the group records that

were unknown to me, labels didn't mean anything---it

was only the music that mattered. After the record

"Those Oldies But Goodies" by Little Caesar and The

Romans became a big hit, most 5 & 10s and discount

stores sold old records for as little as 8 cents to 3

for $1. It was a new way to market dead records calling

them "Oldies But Goodies".

As we went all over Philly, Chester and Camden, if I

found something I liked, I went back and bought more of

the same record. I thought I would be able to sell them

to friends and/or people that I met at Times. I found

and bought quantity of "Queen of the Angels" by The

Orients on Laurie and "I Want to be the Boy You Love"

by The Four Buddies on Imperial at W. T. Grant's 5 &

10c store in Center City for 10 cents each. I sold them

in New York at Times and Arcade---and to other

collectors for $1 each.

Once at Lit Brothers Department Store---at 8th and

Market in Center City--- there were boxes as well as

loose records thrown on a big table. I remember seeing

a 100 count box of "While Walking" by The Fabulaires on

Main Line for 10 cents each. That was a big Blavat

record---one that he played almost every night. So how

many do you think I bought?

Answer: NONE! I didn't need to buy any---I had it on

Lost Nite!

The record that finally got me to original labels was

"Darla My Darling" by The Academics on Ancho. It was on

Slim's wall for $5. I really liked the record but would

never-ever pay $5 for a record. I would get Slim or

Harold to get it off the wall every time I went to the

store and have them play it for me. They would always

say "Are you going to buy it?" Yeah...probably....but I

never did.

One time I took about 800 45s up for credit. I must

have gotten better credit than I thought so I finally

bought "Darla My Darling". It became my most important

record since it cost me more than I ever paid for a

record. (It hadn't been reissued on Relic yet). During

my time at Pierce, I got a job working as a bookkeeper

at Rayco Auto Store. I loved working there. When I

wasn't there---I was in New York City or all over

Philly looking for records.

Another place we found to be a gold mine was the Coast

to Coast Hit Record Company at 55th and Baltimore. They

bought record dumps and packaged them for stores

throughout the country. When BF Goodrich bought Rayco,

they wanted the manager to do the books---so I lost my

job. I went to work at Coast to Coast for $1 an hour---

$40 a week--- before taxes. I was in heaven finding all

kinds of stuff. Whatever I didn't keep I sold to people

who I turned on to the sound---or took them to New York

for credit.

Coast to Coast had tons of RCA records. We found both

Fantastics and "Canadian Sunset" by The Impacts---which

Slim at Times and Freddy at Arcade wanted all we could

get. We got a $1 for each record in credit. They cost

us 10 cents each. They had label dumps on Cadence and

Colpix----and we found quantity of the two Metronomes

on Cadence---as well as all The Marcels records---but

the big label they had huge quantity on was Motown---

and all the subsidiaries...including Tamla, Miracle,

Tri-phi, VIP, etc. None of these records meant anything

to us because they were too new sounding and most were

played heavily on the radio. My job involved unloading

40 foot tractor trailers of records on a hand truck.

Once---I unloaded at least 25,000 copies of Motown

1039, "Laughin' Boy" by Mary Wells.

Didn't anybody buy that record?

I may have been in heaven working around all those

records at Coast to Coast, but my mother wasn't very

happy. She didn't send me to Pierce to work in a record

warehouse unloading tractor trailers. When her dad in

Kentucky gave her and her brothers and sisters 40 acres

of land each, she decided she was going to move her

family to Kentucky for a new life. I fought and fought

against the move...but lost. If I had a good job maybe

it would have been different.

I remained at Coast to Coast until Christmas of 1963,

then moved---reluctantly--- to

Owensboro, Kentucky. I got a

job at a fertilizer company

(no comments, please) doing

the books. When I wasn't

working, I was in Indiana, all

over Kentucky, and often in

Tennessee looking for records.

The best place was Randy's

Records in Gallatin,

Tennessee. It was a mail order record operation that I

actually found out about in New York. The women who

worked there let me behind the counter and I went

through the records pulling and playing whatever looked

interesting.

I found and bought records that weren't known in New

York. Some of my favorites included: "I Love You the

Most" by The Ripcords

on ABCO; "Sunday Kind

of Love" by The

Highlanders on Rays;

"Are You Sorry" by The

Whispers on Gotham;

"This is The Night" by

The Kool Gents on

VeeJay and "Everyone

Should Know" by The

Jayhawks on Aladdin.

I spent most of my time in Kentucky playing records and

getting deeper into the pre '56 stuff.

I saved enough money to return to Philadelphia on July

5, 1964. On the way back, I stopped in Cincinnati and

bought The Videls on Early and "Over the Rainbow" by

The Moroccos on United and many others---in a record

store in the Avondale section of Cincinnati--- the

section of the city which was home to The Students on

Note (I found this out years later).

I planned on being an accountant---so I sent my resume

to Scott Paper in Philadelphia. I drew unemployment

while I waited to hear from them (which would have been

never). Bob Campbell was in the service so I went all

over Philadelphia again looking for group records.

Blavat was very hot and other stores were selling group

records in addition to the Record Museum.

One Saturday

afternoon, I got a

phone call from a

friend and fellow

collector, Frank

Torpey---who said

he found a store

that had Chance

records. I told him

he was nuts. He

said he was going

anyway---and if I

wanted---I could join him. The store was Empire Records

at 52nd and Chestnut in Philly. As soon as I walked in,

I knew that I had been there before. The woman behind

the counter overheard me talking about records to

Torpey and asked me if I was interested in a job....and

I said, yes! I called the number she gave me and went

to work on Monday. My job involved going to the airport

every morning, picking up thousands of 45s, bringing

them back to this guys house, breaking them down, going

up stairs to have a bagel and coffee, picking orders

that came in over the phone, and delivering the records

all over the city to mostly black record shops. My pay

was $60 per week. Soon, I was ordering from

distributors---and about a year later---we moved to a

storefront location at 6213 Lebanon Ave. in Philly. I

loved making deliveries because I looked through the

records while I waited to be paid. Sometimes I took

records for myself instead of getting paid that week.

My return to Philly was marked by meeting three people

who would really affect me. I met Glenn Landis, who

dressed like an attorney carrying records in an attache

case. I met him in a record store across the street

from the Record Museum called Penn Records. He invited

me to his house. I went with Jack Strong---another

collector friend and lead singer of The Lytations. The

bureau in his bedroom was filled with rare records

instead of underwear. Jack loved The Flamingos and The

Five Satins---and got a Flamingos on Chance and The

Five Satins on Standord from him. I remember buying

"Heart's Desire" by The Avalons from him for $5.

Original labels began to kick in with me at this time.

Next came Mike Adler---a brash young kid who said he

was the "King of the Old Sounds". He discounted rare

records, bought collections and put out lists. When I

lived in Kentucky, I bought records through the mail

from Times Square. Apparently, Mike bought Slim's

mailing list because my mother forwarded Mike's lists

to me from Kentucky. Many of my collector friends

couldn't stand Mike---but I liked him. He had records--

-most of which I didn't know---and I could give him

post dated checks. One of the first records I bought

from him was "Miss You" by The Crows on Rama (red wax)

for $30.

Now that I had my job working for Norman Cooper's

Record One Stop, I usually had $10-$20 left after

expenses each week to spend on records. I remember in

1965 or maybe 1966 giving Mike one hundred $10 dollar

checks for $1000 worth of original label vocal group

records. Mike's mother would call me every Saturday to

see if she could deposit one of the checks.

Then there was Barry Rich. Somehow, he heard I had a

lot of records and he wanted to see them. I wasn't

interested---but he said he had Chance records for

trade. I really didn't know anything about Chance

records at the time---it's just that everyone in New

York was always talking about them. I had not yet fully

acquired a taste for them or anything else recorded

prior to 1956. Barry got me to trade all the records

that I got in Kentucky for New York uptempo records---

which was still a priority sound wise. Later I found

out that they were new records which anyone could get

for $1.

In those days, there were no rules---no record books---

and no price guides. At the time, I knew what I liked--

-and I was rapidly getting deeper into the pre-1956

sound.

About a month after I returned from Kentucky, Barry

suggested we go on a record trip together. I agreed---

borrowed about $100 from my friends---and off we went.

We went all over Ohio and into Kentucky and found a lot

of group records---including a 25-count box of The

Students on Note for 10 cents each. Unfortunately, I

ran out of money---early!

I continued to go to New York every couple of weeks---

always on a Saturday.

There was a store in Upper Darby, Pa., near the steps

of the 69th Street Terminal called Record City. They

had a "Rare Wall" and sold mostly group records. I met

two collectors in the store from 49th Street in Philly-

--Louie Tavani and Frank "Tank" DeSantis. Jack Strong

and Frank Torpey (from The Lytations) also frequent the

store. We sold our doubles in there and split the money

with the owner, Herb Simpson, after hours. We didn't

tell anybody they were our records. We told everyone

how great they were---and---they were a lot cheaper

than in New York City.

Frequently, I would take all

four of them to Slim's. On one

trip, Jack said he had an idea

for a group song. In the two

hours it took to drive to New

York, he made up the lyrics

and taught each one their

harmony parts. When we got to

Slim's, they sang the song

'live' on the radio since Slim

was broadcasting from the

store that day. When the

phones lit up, Slim announced

he was going to put the record

out on Times. He had already

put out a Lytations record on

Times and we got nothing for it...so Jack and I decided

to put it out ourselves. The song was called "The

Clock", and we put it out on the JAVA label (short for

Jack and Val). I called the group The Contenders---an

idea I got by looking through my record collection and

naming them after The Saxons on Contender.

By this time, the only thing I was interested in was

group records. Many of the early groups that I liked

were "white" like The Quotations, Imaginations,

Lydells, Earls, Capris, Passions, Visuals, Caslons,

etc. As time went by, my interests started to shift and

I really began to appreciate the black groups---much

more than the white group sound. An example would be

"Take Me As I Am" by The Duprees. It was my favorite

Duprees song until the day I heard it by The Demons and

learned The Duprees stole it from them.

When Slim went out of business in 1965, I continued to

buy from Mike Adler. I decided to try my hand at

selling records by mail like Slim and Mike did---with

my first list of 40 records being issued in January or

February of 1966. I was still working for Norman

Cooper, and I kept my records in the back of his store

in a 200 count box. I had the names and addresses of

people I met at Times

and Arcade. I also had

the little magazines--

-like KBBA (Keep the

Big Beat Alive) that

were sold in New York

containing want lists

from other

collectors. In late

1967, Mike Adler

decided to get out of

group records and go

into the cut-out LP business (Soon to be Scorpio

Music). He called to tell me he was going to sell his

inventory to Sam Wood in New York City. He suggested I

buy his mailing list for $100 which didn't make sense

to me---but he said I would not regret it. I decided to

borrow the money against my salary from Norman.

When I bought the mailing list from Mike Adler, I put

out a list of my best group records .... probably

within a month...hoping to hit before Sam Wood did

one. The response was amazing. Adler was right---I sold

a lot of records to new people---from all over...mostly

the eastern corridor from Boston to Washington D.C.--

over to Pittsburgh. I put out lists every 6 months

till around 1970. I bought collections from people who

lost interest or had money problems. (Some things never

change). I kept what I needed and sold the rest.

I worked 8 hours a day, 6

days a week running Norman

Cooper's One Stop---breaking

for dinner---usually a

cheesesteak or cheeseburgers-

--or something else

nourishing---then back to the

store working late into the

night filing orders. Sunday

was my day! I either traveled

to buy records or worked all

day and night. To sum up my

life --I HAD NO LIFE! Just

work...work...work! The

problem was---I loved what I was doing. I was selling

records to make money to buy more records---mostly for

my collection and I enjoyed my work at the One Stop.

My boss, Norman, was always interested in a deal

(mostly shady). One of our accounts---Stan Watson---

from Stan's Record Nest, came to him and asked if he

wanted to invest in a group that had just recorded a

song that could be a hit. He put up $10,000 and became

a 50-50 partner on the record and the group. They put

it out on their own label, then Norman, through his

friend Al Melnick (the local Amy/Mala distributor)

placed it with them. The result was a #5 record

nationally---"La La (Means I Love You)" by The

Delfonics. But even more interesting---was---after the

record slowed down---Stan said he was going to kill

Norman. He came to the store with a gorilla---threw a

chair, broke a window and got Norman out of his life by

giving him his $10,000 investment back. Nice deal, huh!

It's not over. About a year later, a guy named Bill

Perry, who had just finished painting a house and had

more paint on him, came into the store with a dub

(record demo) of a group he wanted Norman to hear. I

told him he was in Vegas---but I would listen. I did---

and told him it sounded so bad that I could get $10 for

it as an oldie! He stormed out. Coming back a week

later when Norman was there---Norman (who had lead ears

and still does) made a deal and gave him money. Al

Melnick and Cooper put out the record on their own

label, Sebring, and prepared to give it to Amy/Mala,

when they got a phone call that Bill Perry took the

master to New York and peddled it to a finance company

that wanted to get in the record business. He sold them

the group and their name---the group was The Stylistics

now on AVCO!

After their first record, "You're a Big Girl Now", Avco

commissioned Tommy Bell, who was having success with

The Delfonics, to produce them (since the group was

also from Philly). Tommy had recently met a girl who

wanted to be a singer. She also wrote her own material.

He didn't want to record her but was impressed with her

writing ability. They became partners and used her

songs with The Stylistics---most of which were huge

hits. That's how Tommy and Linda Creed hooked up.

We had another customer who owned a record shop at

Broad and South who was producing records locally---

selling 25,000 between New York and Washington D.C.---

until two records exploded nationally and changed his

life forever---"Cowboys to Girls" by The Intruders and

"Expressway to Your Heart" by The Soul Survivors. If

you haven't figured it out yet...... it was Kenny

Gamble!

Another account of ours, King James, had two record

shops and a combo that played locally, came in and

asked us if we would hire a new member of his band who

needed a day gig---to make more money. We hired him---

and instead of eating lunch with everybody, he'd play

his instrument. We were always supportive saying things

like "We're having trouble keeping our food down"---or-

--"How about playing that crap at home." About a year

later, he got an opportunity to go to New York and play

on an LP by Hank Crawford for a new label, CTI. He went

and came back talking about who he met and how much fun

he had. The LP---"It's Too Late"--- was a hit (Carole

King put to jazz) --- so a few months later---the same

players went to New York to cut a follow up LP---

including our worker. Timing is everything! Hank

Crawford failed to make the session, so Creed Taylor,

who owned the label, was about to send everybody home,

but first asked if anybody had anything of interest.

Our guy said he did and they ended up recording him

with the others. He came back on cloud 9 ----

thrilled! When the LP came out, it wasn't long before

Grover Washington, Jr. was traveling all over the

world---selling tons of LPs!

Norman let me use the back room of the One Stop to

store my records. My friend Louie, from The Contenders,

built racks---which eventually collapsed from the

weight! I used Norman's phone number on my lists for

daytime orders. Before I moved into an apartment, I

lived with Jack Strong's family in Bala Cynwyd, Pa. The

phone in the bedroom where I (occasionally) slept was

my night number and my ads said call anytime---and I

meant it!

One night---around midnight---I was lying in bed,

probably watching TV, when the phone rang. It was a guy

who said he had something from my want list. I asked

him where he was...he said New York City...and that I

had to come up to get them. I said OK, how about

Sunday? He said no---it had to be right now! He said to

meet him in the Bowery section of the city at 3 a.m. I

got up and started to get dressed...and Jack...who was

in the bed next to me said “where are you going?” I

answered---New York---somebody has something I need. I

got to the destination 15 minutes early and sat in the

car watching hookers and drunks--- thinking maybe I was

set up. This could be a joke---and I fell for it! After

about a half hour, I saw a guy coming out of a bar---

going to the corner---and looking around. I yelled

"Paul"---and he called out "Val"---so we connected. He

went back into the bar and came out with a big duffle

bag---got in my car---I said "Let me see the records."

He said they're at my parent's house---in

Queens. "You’re kidding, right---I've got to go to work

this morning---how long is it gonna take?" He gave me

directions and we drove to his house. He said he was

into Hare Krishna and was going to England later that

day. He hadn't been home for a few years. When we

arrived, it was almost 4 a.m., dark, and quiet. He said

he didn't have a key so we have to go through the

window. I said "No way! You go in, open the front door

and let me in" --- which he did. We tiptoed up to his

room and under his bed were boxes of 45s with inches of

dust. I found some records that I didn't know and asked

if I could play them. He said "Yes"---but play them low

so I don't wake anybody up. As I was playing them---

somebody walked by to go to the bathroom and saw the

light on and yelled "Paul"---probably his sister. She

started yelling "Paulie's home." Now, here comes

everybody in for the reunion. His mother and dad saw me

and said "Who's he?" I answered I'm just providing the

music. When he said he was leaving for England, they

had a big fight. I don't remember if I took him to the

airport or back to the city---but I do remember I got

The Calendars on Cyclone and The Sparrows on Davis---

among others. Many years later I got a letter from

Florence, Alabama, saying perhaps you remember me---I'm

Paul Auerbach and I sold you some records back in the

60s! He was a teacher down there---and 10 years later,

I met him at UGHA. It was fun!

It didn't seem to bother Norman that I was getting a

lot of mail. (I got checks---he got bills). I wasn't

making a lot of money at the One Stop, but I didn't

care because my business, R&B Records, was growing. I

was buying so many records that my lists grew into a

catalog. Mike Adler told me to use his printer Joe

Adamo in Philly. I did---and he was great. One of the

best things I ever did was putting my want list at the

end of the catalog--- I offered as much as $100 each

for a lot of them. The rarest records were no more than

$100 at the time---so I ended up getting a lot of what

I listed---with most of them coming by mail---so I

didn't have to travel as much.

In the summer of

1970, I met Patty

on a blind date.

(Not so soon to be

my wife). It took

me a little while

to get it together.

(20 years). She

traveled with me

sometimes to buy

collections

spending most of

her time trying to

get customer's

wives and

girlfriends to join the club "WAC" (Women Against

Collecting). Now you see why it was 20 years!

Around '70 or '71, a disc jockey named Gus Gossert went

on the air in New York City playing standard oldies.

Some of the Times Square collectors like Wayne Stierle,

Stan Krause and Chris Markou met with and told him if

he played the group records that were hot in the early

60s he would be even more popular. He didn't know the

music but decided to go with it. The city went crazy---

like it did when Alan Frederick's played them on his

Night Train Show, that Slim benefited from.

When Bob Campbell was in the Navy, he was stationed in

California. On weekends, he traveled by bus up and down

the coast looking for old group records. On one of

those trips, he met two brothers in San Leandro in a

shop that had great records. Bob told them about the

group record scene on the east coast---Times Square,

etc. Since the west coast was fertile with few

collectors at the time, the two brothers started stock

piling group records. They loaded up their car and

traveled east in the mid to late 60s and sold a lot of

records in New York. When they returned to California,

they started doing lists. If you haven't figured it out

yet---they were Henry and Art Mariano. Henry (Rare

Records Unlimited) was my biggest competitor in the

early to mid- 70s. We attacked each other in ads and on

our lists and catalogs---but actually got along well

together.

Meanwhile---back in the states---New York to be exact,

all of a sudden---group records were hot again---real

hot! Collector record stores were popping up due to the

demand. Relic, Journal Square and a few others were

there throughout the 60s.

Magazines came out featuring the old groups. New York

had Bim Bam Boom and Big Town Review (later Time

Barrier Express and Yesterday's Memories). The west

coast (California) had the Record Exchanger, R & B

Magazine and Quartette. I advertised in the ones that

took ads.

In the middle of all the action was a very aggressive

guy named Mike Rascio (for business purposes Charlie

Greenberg). He started bootlegging rare records on the

original labels in the mid-60s---short runs of 25---

since there wasn't much action then. But as time went

on, he went to 50---then a hundred---even 200, etc. You

could only get the boots from Collector's stores or him

direct. Henry and Art Mariano started doing the same

thing as did Art Turco (Record Exchanger) on the west

coast. Rascio dropped his retail prices from $5 each to

$3. When others did the same, he bought a pressing

plant in Deer Park, Long Island, and pressed for $1---

50c wholesale. They were just like new 45s! He later

got in trouble when he graduated to current LPs like

"Saturday Night Fever"!

Back to Gus Gossert. He started doing live stage shows

fueled by his radio show at the Academy of Music in the

city. Lines went around the block. He brought back

groups like The Harptones, Channels, Nutmegs, 5 Discs,

Orioles and Moonglows. People came from out of state to

see these shows.

Radio shows (mostly on college stations) --- made

themselves known. Shows like the Time Capsule---which

aired in New York (Fordham University) and Philly

(Temple University) --- featuring group records got

more and more people interested. Reissue labels like

Lost Nite also kept churning out more and more

records. The hobby was very much alive and

well.

I'm pretty sure it was July or early August of 1972,

when John Stainze (from Moondog's Records in London)

and I went to visit my parents in Kentucky---coupled

with a road trip to Nashville and Atlanta. For some

reason...we ended up back in Nashville on a

Saturday...specifically at Buckley's on Broadway. John

was looking at 78's and I was getting very impatient. I

had to go back to Kentucky and be back in Philly for

work on Monday morning---and besides---I didn't like

78's...and still don't!

While waiting for John to finish---someone walked into

the store and asked for a current 45. The woman behind

the counter didn't know it---but I did---so I told her

what label it was on. She had the record in a shipment

and made the sale. We started to talk. Her name was

Larue---she was friends with Skeeter Davis and Faron

Young. She asked how I knew about the record and I told

her what I did in Philly. Then she wanted to know why

we were in Nashville. I said "Looking for old 45s ...

not 78s ... like that idiot over there is looking at".

She said they had two upper floors loaded with 45s (and

78s) ---and that no one had ever been up there...but we

could..." Just be careful you don't fall through the

ceiling...stay on the wood." We went up and started

finding outrageous records...things I'd never heard of

at that time...like The Eagleaires on JOB red wax, The

Carousels on Spry, and hundreds of others that I've

long forgotten. John found Rockabilly and Blues

including Elvis on Sun---45s and 78s. When Larue came

up to tell us the store was closing, we convinced her

to stay late and we'd buy her dinner and take her

home. She agreed. I remember her being on top of the

records as we took her home. We left that night for my

mother’s very, very happy! It was the first time I

didn't want to go back to work. If I didn't have to be

back in Philly we could've stayed in Nashville...

"cause we only scratched the surface". We found out

later two guys from England came in after us and

cleaned the place out. (Chalmers and Eggleston).

When I got home, I was welcomed with a lot of mail and

a big pile of returns by my desk (current

records). When I looked at them---I saw most were NOT

returnable. So I asked who took these records

back? Norman said he did! We got into a battle over who

cared more about his business...me or him! Then he said

"Why don't you just quit?" That shocked me... I worked

my ass off for 8 years watching his business grow and

grow---and he tells me I should quit!! Up until that

time I never considered leaving--- even though my mail

order business was doing really good. The reason I left

was because I didn't feel appreciated.

I'd recently bought a duplex apartment---which is where

I moved my record stock. Since I did mail order, I

thought I could work out of my home and not miss a

beat. I got a P.O. Box in Havertown. I worked two

months out of my apartment. Despite what you may have

heard, I enjoy people...and I wasn't seeing any working

from home.

I decided to look for a store. I found one near 69th

Street in Upper Darby--- a very big shopping area....

(Malls were about to change that) --- I was a street

away from the high rent area close to the 69th Street

Terminal---where all transportation came to. Rent was

$150 a month. I opened November 22, 1972 at 146 Garrett

Road in Upper Darby.

I always had trouble getting up in the morning.(Still

do!) My store hours were 3 p.m. in the afternoon 'til I

got tired...usually about 3 a.m. My neighboring stores

thought I was a drug dealer...actually...there's not

much difference...just that records are legal. They

couldn't figure how I could be in business with those

hours. They didn't know I did mail order.

My first customer was a young girl with long black hair

down to her waist. When she asked what's this store all

about....I realized it was a boy... (whose barber must

have died!). I told him we sell shoes...what size are

you? I had about a hundred LPs in a browser. He asked

how much they were --- I said a $1 each (I was used to

wholesale prices from Norman's). After spending an hour

looking, he picked out a sealed McCoys LP on Bang. I

told him it was $2 and he said “You told me everything

was a $1”. I said "Everything but The McCoys." He

bought it and became a regular customer. (Remember The

5 Discs on Dwain and me at the Record Museum). Anyway,

that kid was Mike Hoffman. He currently owns a very

successful retail store in Downtown Philly (AKA Music)

selling CDs and Import LPs. If that McCoys LP was a $1,

he'd probably be pumping gas today.

One Sunday, I was at a local flea market when Bob

Campbell's wife, Patty, came up to me saying she saw

the prefect sign for my store. I said..."Where?" She

took me to some low life who was selling junk including

a big "DO NOT ENTER" street sign. She was right...I

bought it for a $1 and nailed it to my front door. It's

been with me ever since. My Trademark!

When I opened the store, I planned to only sell

original vocal group records. I had some local

collectors as well as a lot from New York City coming.

However, it didn't take long for me to realize most

people wanted records they grew up with ... hits! ...

and I would have to sell things I didn't like if I

wanted to pay the rent!

When I was about 14 or 15, I always wanted a pin ball

machine---but my mother wouldn't let me have one. I

called an operator in Philly and bought one---and put

it in the store on free play. Also, I bought a

refrigerator and stocked it with beer-----the more

beer----the more records I sold!

My first employee was Bonnie Gustin. She worked with me

at Norman's...and insisted on coming with me. I said it

was okay as long as I didn't have to pay her! (Just

kidding). I used her a lot in my ads in Magazines----

"Spend $200 and take Bonnie in the backroom for 15

minutes". She stayed through most of the 70s.

I started getting "press" around 1970. I went to

Detroit and bought two 45s, "You Did Me Wrong", The

Buccaneers on Rama and "Baby It's You", The Spaniels on

VeeJay (red wax) from a dealer for $800---which was lot

at that time. Somehow the story made it to Newsweek

Magazine in an article about 50s collectables.

I continued to issue catalogs with my want list in the

back. The last catalog I ever did was in 1974. It took

at least 6 months to do it. It had over 15,000 records

listed with my prices. It was free like all previous

catalogs--- even though it cost a $1 each to print.

Somewhere around this time, a guy from Detroit called

me saying he was doing an article on old records that

were valuable. He interviewed me and asked me to bring

in my two rarest records---he'd have a local

photographer come to my store. I said OK---and brought

The Hide-A-Ways on Ronni and The Encores on Checker

into the store for a picture. He promised to send me a

copy of the article when it came out, but I never heard

from him again...and forgot all about it.

In the summer of 1975, Patty and I, along with Henry

and Art Mariano and their wives, went on a cruise. We

had a good time...probably because Art did not come out

of his cabin until we were almost home. I went to the

Post Office the Monday after we returned.

I usually got between 15 and 20 letters a day. When I

opened my P.O. Box it was empty!

I went to the counter to ask why, when someone yelled

out "He's here". When I asked where my mail was, they

opened a door ... told me to come in...and said...

"There's your mail"...pointing to a stack of 3 foot

long plastic mail trays... stacked at least 6 or 7 feet

high... (with more coming for months). I had no idea

why! When I got to the store, the phone was ringing off

the wall. It was a lady who said she lived in Philly

and wanted to meet me. I asked her why? She said she

saw the article and was I really a millionaire? I asked

her "What are you talking about---what article?". She

said it was in the National Enquirer and that if I got

with her, we wouldn't be talking about records!!. So I

ran out and bought one. In it was that missing article

with my photo from months before. The article implied

that everyone had records in their attic or garage that

were worth a fortune...and that I made millions selling

them! The last line of the article was "If you want to

know what your records are worth, write for Shively's

latest catalog!". The guy who interviewed me sold it to

the National Enquirer---and they put their spin on it.

I called my printer and told him what was going on. He

said he could handle it. I hired a lot of people part-

time to open the mail. I decided to sell the catalog

for $3 (refundable with your first purchase). I had a

rubber stamp made and bought the post office out of

post cards.

Patty was my first casualty. She gave me an ultimatum--

-catalogs or me! I said goodbye! I had to ride this

out. It was the craziest thing that ever happened to

me---and it didn't cost a dime. When it was all over, I

sold over 100,000 catalogs. I got most of the records

on my want list...and a ton of new customers. I was

having trouble keeping up with everything...always

looking for people I could trust to open and answer the

mail.

There was a young kid who came into my store on

weekends for pop records like Paul Anka and Fabian. He

was still in high school--- (one of his teachers told

him about me). When all this was going on with the

National Enquirer, I asked him how his handwriting was.

He said good----that was his opinion. I couldn't read

anything he wrote, but I was desperate----so I hired

him to do postcards. That's how Chuck started with me.

He was quiet and

shy when he

started, but not

for long.

One of my favorite

stories: A couple

came in late one

night---they had

been drinking---

and were pretty

wasted. The woman

asked for a record

that I probably

said we didn't

have---but

Chuck jumped in

and said he saw a

copy in the

back... "Wait here I'll get it." After ten minutes,

the lady asked "Where's the guy with my record?". I

said he's looking for it. She said come here...and then

got in my face and said "When that a--hole comes back,

tell him to stick the record between his cheeks!".

Then, they stormed out. About 15 minutes later, here

comes Chuck covered in dirt with the record in his

hand. He looked around and asked "Where's the lady?". I

said she left---but before she went---she told me to

tell you something. I said come here---he came face to

face with me and I told him to "Stick the record

between your cheeks!!".

Chuck is unlike anybody I've ever met when it comes to

dealing with people. He'll go out of his way to find

something for somebody even if it takes two hours and

only sells for $5. It doesn't make me as happy as it

does the customer! These days---he basically runs my

business. He answers phones, waits on customers, pulls

orders, files records when time permits, and orders

CDs---and does it all with a smile on his face.

After all these

years with me---he's still amazing---very pleasant and

patient. Nobody wants me---they all want the nice guy!

After the National Enquirer incident, I started getting

want lists and calls for all kinds of music. One day, I

got a call from John Lamonte---a friend from my Coast-

to-Coast Records days where I was working in 1963 when

Kennedy was killed. He said he had an interesting load

of 45s (about 500,000) that he wanted $10,000 for--- no

cherry picking. I said I needed to see them. I went

with Chuck and Bonnie after work one night to check

them out--- when I opened the first box---a mint copy

of "Two Loves Have I" by The Diamonds on Atlantic was

on top. I closed the box and said "SOLD."

Unfortunately, that was the best record in the load. He

probably went out and bought it and set me up. After

going through the load (which took months) ---I kept

100,000 45s and dumped the rest. That was the beginning

of me buying loads.

Besides buying from record collectors---most of my

inventory came from Juke Box operators, closed record

shops, radio station libraries (my favorite) and record

distributor dumps (containing promos and stock copies).

I was friendly with a lot of disc jockeys from Philly

and nearby cities. I gave them records and in turn they

plugged my store. In the 80s, I started advertising on

popular shows that played records I stocked---that

continues to this day.

Even though mail order was always the bulk of my

business, off the street retail in the 70s and 80s was

very good. Since the store wasn't very big, there were

usually people waiting outside to get in... especially

on Saturdays. From the 70s through the 90s, the first

thing I did when I came to work---was take the phone

off the hook and throw it on the floor. When I did take

calls, the trash can got a lot of the action, too---

cause if I didn't like the way the conversation was

going---I'd throw the phone in the trash---while the

guy was still talking.

One time, I had this nut calling me with a million

questions. I told him to listen to something and I'd be

right back. I played both sides of a parakeet training

LP that went for 30 minutes---and when it was over---he

was still there! I'd say he represents about 30% of the

type of phone calls we get. On second thought, make

that 50%!

By the early 80s, my duplex was loaded with

records. Instead of renting the upstairs like I did for

the first 10 years, I had racks from floor to ceiling

put in. It wasn't zoned for that so I put drapes on the

windows and timers on the lights to look like it was

lived in.

1990 was a MILESTONE year for me. First and foremost---

I did it---or maybe I should say---WE did it. Patty and

I got married. We bought a house together in 1989 and

we were

finally getting along. With all our differences---

there's hope for everybody.

Also in 1989, I bought

three big loads---the best being from Oklahoma City. It

was all soul from the 60s and 70s. Before we bought the

house together, I even had the basement of Patty's

house loaded with records when I bought out Broadway

Eddie in Camden in the late 80s. (Good stuff).

Here comes the other MILESTONE in 1990. After 18 years

in that small store---I decided to make a move. I was

tired of going to the duplex 3 or 4 times a week for

records. I wanted everything under one roof.

I found and bought a store a block away at 49 Garrett

Road. It had a big external wall on the second floor

that I could paint a sign on...that way anyone who came

to the old store would be able to find me. I had racks

built by Jack Strong (the singing carpenter). Later,

more by Moose (Warren Maurice) ---who put racks on top

of racks---using every inch imaginable. It took a few

months (evenings and Sundays) to move everything

in. Once everything came out of the duplex, I sold

it. Renting is not for me.

Beside the main floor, the new building had a large

basement and a 2nd floor. When we got everything in, we

had a lot of extra room---but not for long.

In 1991, I got a call from a friend in San Francisco

(Kirk Roberts) telling me about a huge Juke Box load in

New Orleans. "TAC" was the biggest operator in the

city. They'd recently gone bankrupt defaulting on a

large bank loan so the bank confiscated the records.

The inventory consisted of at least 750,000 45s---heavy

on soul---which by now was my best seller. I bid

$40,000 with the bank and won the records. I tried to

get the bank to ship them to me but they said no. I had

to fly there with a friend and have it done. We shipped

everything in two 48-foot tractor trailers with the

help of 15 people from manpower. Two days later, they

were being unloaded into the store. That deal killed

all space upstairs and in the basement. It was an

adventure I'll never forget. No way could I do that

today...

Basically, the 90s were just like the 70s and 80s. A

BLUR!

In the late 1990s, I hit a brick wall. I became very

depressed and didn't think I'd ever come out of it. I

told my closest friends I'd be dead in a year. Nothing

to live for...I was miserable! (See my testimony at the

end of this article for the results.)

Usually, we get collectors from overseas or out of town

every week.

It's hard to believe that we've been in this location

for 19 years. Where did the time go?

I've probably bought thousands of record collections

since 1966. I prefer buying to selling. If you don't

believe that, come to the store and see if you can get

in. If you weigh more than 100 pounds, you'll

definitely knock something over.

People always ask me what sells the most other than

soul...and the answer is nothing. We don't sell a lot

of anything...just a little bit of everything.

I still have the passion for collecting group records

that began with Blavat in 1962. I only collect 45s (no

78s or LPs) by male groups or female lead with male

group backing. I also collect Gospel groups...which got

my attention around 1970...when I heard The Harmonizing

Four on VeeJay and Sam Cooke/Soul Stirrers on

Specialty. I go from the early

50s to the early/mid 60s---

stopping when soul starts.

I've gotten 99% of what's

known---fortunately there are

still records being

discovered, today.

Finally, I've really been

blessed. When I was a kid---I

never thought you could make a

living doing something you

love. I've had a lot of fun---

although Patty and Chuck would

question that. I've met and

have a lot of nice friends---

most came through music. But

most of all---I'm thankful and grateful to have Jesus,

Patty, and Chuck in my life.

Without them---I couldn't do what I do.

When I started out---most of my customers were in high

school or college. Now...they're making funeral

arrangements.

"Life is like a roll of toilet paper...the closer you

get to the end...the quicker it goes".

The Potter's House Christian Church Upper Darby, PA

Val Shively's Testimony

I thought I had it all together. I turned a hobby into

a successful business, had a beautiful wife, had money,

had a lot of friends, and was generally liked and

respected. Even though I had all this, I wasn't

happy. I was always negative. My favorite expressions

were, "I never had a good day".

I buried myself in my work. My work was my life.

Then one day...CRASH! I lost my mind and my passion for

everything (work, people, music, and food). Nothing

meant anything. I was on automatic pilot for almost a

year.

When my wife Patty wouldn't take it anymore, she and I

tried "couples counseling" as a last resort. After many

sessions that weren't bringing me out of my funk, the

counselor said, "Maybe it's a spiritual thing...do you

go to church?". I told her no; I live the by the Golden

Rule. "Do unto others..." I told her that I knew too

many people who attended church and live anything but a

Christian life.

But the seed was sown, and I decided to explore

it. Patty and I first went to traditional churches,

then a non-denominational one that I liked better. The

fourth Sunday I decided to try the storefront church

across the street from my store. It was unlike any

church I ever attended, no crosses, no sign of Jesus---

just a room with a lot of chairs. At the end of the

service, the pastor pulled an altar call, which I

answered. I prayed a sinner's prayer with a young

person who assisted me. When I walked outside, the

heavens opened up to me! All the negativity, sin and

stuff that choked my life were lifted off.

I felt completely new...free and happy! A feeling I

never felt before. It was a miracle!

Could accepting Jesus in your life and repenting from

your old life do this? WOW!

A few weeks later, I was baptized.

That was over 10 years ago. Since then, my life has

taken a new turn. I try to put the Lord first, read the

Bible, tithe, and start and end each day in prayer.

Before I received the Lord, I worshipped money and its

power. I did business practices and things in my life

that weren't always "the right thing". I had the

filthiest mouth and like most people, I thought

possessions gave you happiness. That's probably why I

was everything but "happy".

I'm so grateful to God for all his blessings. I'm still

married to Patty (we just celebrated our 32nd

anniversary). I work less and try to spend more time

together. I still love my work, although it's not as

important as it was. God knocked it out of first place,

where I had it in front of Patty, family, and friends.

God works in mysterious ways. His ways aren't our

ways. If my life hadn't taken the nose dive it did, I

wouldn't have God, the joy, and the peace of mind that

comes from serving him today.

So... when things are not good in your life, maybe it's

God's way of getting your attention and preparing you

for a new life or journey. I'm nobody special and He

did it for me, so He can do it for you too. So, if you

want true happiness and joy, and a secure future

(eternity in Heaven), love and serve Jesus beginning

today, if you don't already.

P.S. We're not promised tomorrow. Look at the 3000

people who went to work on 9-11.