Digitizing History

Charlottesville, Virginia

July 4, 2020

Over the years, my friend Tom has assembled an amazing record collection of soul music. Labels such as Star, Volt, Atlantic and Invictus. A total of almost 300 albums.

We were talking recently, and he said it was nearing time for him to sell his collection. What?! There maybe larger collections out there but this one is special as Tom and I share a love for this kind of music.

I asked Tom if I could digitize the records before he sells them. After a trip to Purcellville to get about half the collection, I sit with the records, a turntable and my computer and convert the songs to mp3s A few hours most days. It is definitely a labor of love as the music touches my soul. Carla Thomas singing, “B-a-b-y,” the Tams singing, “Dancing Mood,” and Mel & Tim belting out “Backfield In Motion.” It really doesn’t get much better than this.