Woolworths -- The place to get your soul LP's !!

[jsmith]

Heard quite a few tales of US collectors picking up loads of fine soul / Motown LP's from their local branch of Woolies back in the day.
Here in the UK, Woolies also used to sell records [[they had their own 'cheap' label here doing covers of hits) and at times they would 'buy in' loads of 'old stock' albums to sell off cheaply.
I remember visiting my local Woolies store back in the early 70's and they had cut-out racks set up full of EMI sourced albums. There were loads & loads of UK issued Motown & Stax albums that were on offer for leass than 50p [[if my memory ain't failing me). I got copies of just about all the Stax LP's on offer but left loads of the Motown ones coz they featured too many [[IMO back then) covers of Motown songs that had been hits for the label's other artists.
I have since come to regret the decision I made back then, but money for records wasn't too plentiful back then as I had a young family & mortgage to support.

Anyone here got any good tales of great record finds in Woolies ??

Here's a ad for the company's New York store ...
5350

[marv2]

There was another discount department store that was a division of Woolworth's that sold even more cut out albums called Woolco in the seventies. They were big in the Midwest. The best places to find the truly rare and classic albums were in smaller independent record stores everywhere from Grand Rapids Michigan to Columbus Ohio, to Lancaster Pa!

[reese]

I bought most of my late 60s classic Motown albums at either Woolworth's or Bradlee's. Back in the 70s, they used to have the $1.99 bin, and it was always a big deal for me to save up and have my parents take me to the store. I can remember holding up the check out line many times because I would have 199 pennies, and the cashier would have to count them. [[One of my folks would usually slip me a dime for the tax.)

Every now and then, the prices would be even lower. I can remember buying WATCHOUT! by the Vandellas for $.69, and SOPHISTICATED SOUL by the Marvelettes for $.99. Once I remember counting out my money wrong, and not having the $1.99 to get Diana's LAST TIME I SAW HIM album. The cashier felt sorry for me, took what I had, told me to "Scram!", and paid the rest herself.

[Kamasu_Jr]

My dad bought a lot of albums from Woolworths when he lived in Ohio. I still have those albums and many have the Woolworths-discount sticker on them. The prices on some were $1.99. Dad calls these records cut-outs because there were saw cuts or cut corners in the jackets. He usually purchased Motown or Invictus albums at a discount.

[soulster]

I never saw anything like that at Woolworth's, but Thrifty Drug Stores used to have boxes and boxes on big tables of cut-out LPs for about $1 each, or less, especially around Christmas time, and there were always some very good finds. Unfortunately, I was a kid back then and was not knowledgeable of a lot of albums or artists at the time. I looked for specific things.

[robb_k]

5351
Woolworths sold LPs for $2.99. $1.99 and $0.99, and, most importantly, they had an annual sale of 45s for 10¢ [[10 for $1.00). That's where I got thousands of 45s.

[jillfoster]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMq4303WnbI

[Doug-Morgan]

Federal's [[or at least the one at 9 Mile and Woodward) used to have a terrific 99 cent cut-out bin in the mid-late 60's. Wide selection of stuff.

As an aside, the oddest cutout bin I ever found was in a little bookstore in Royal Oak, MI. I don't know how they got them, but they had a number of bins full of Riverside jazz lp's, and that helped build my jazz collection. This would have been after Riverside went under. Great stuff for 2 bucks a pop.....

[marv2]

Doug, did Meijer's Thrifty Acres sell records back in the day?

[daviddesper]

Oh my, what memories this thread brings back!!!!!! I have so many stories from my shopping days at Woolworth's, K-Mart, J C Penney, and countless others that I could tell a different one every day and never repeat myself. Here are just a few that come to mind:

1) Walked into my local Penney's store one night and there were Natural Resources and Return of the Marvelettes, apparently both having come out in the same week. I thought I had died and gone to heaven!

2) Was in my local Woolworth's one day and overheard these two teenage girls talking about Gladys' "Heard it Through the Grapevine." One of them said to the other "I hate that song." But don't worry, I didn't slap her too hard!

3) My local K-Mart in the late 60s or early 70s would feature these packages that contained about 15 45's for maybe $1.99 or something. You could only see the two that were featured on the outside and could only speculate on what might be inside, so it was a grab bag type thing. But I got some good stuff, including some picture sleeves.

4) The JJ Newberry store had the best record department of all the so-called "dime stores." They especially had a great selection of 45's and that is where I bought "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You."

5) I have probably 50 or more early Motown albums in my collection that I can distinctly remember where I was the first time I saw them. [[If you remember I am the one on here who has been talking about planning a trip soon to Detroit to see the Motown Museum. Now you know why!)

[jsmith]

..... Loving that 'Woolworths 71' video !!!
Can't say the same for the live parakeets in the opening ad though ....
... guess Woolworths were left with quite a few 'dead parrots' [[cue Monty Python).

[Doug-Morgan]

Marv....
....don't know. I didn't run into a Meijer's until they opened a store in A2 in '71, and it was way across town [[I lived in Ypsi), but it's a safe bet that they did.

[marv2]

Marv....
....don't know. I didn't run into a Meijer's until they opened a store in A2 in '71, and it was way across town [[I lived in Ypsi), but it's a safe bet that they did.

Thanks Doug. I still shop at Meijer's when I am back home. I just can't remember if they sold records in the seventies. I do remember S.S.Kresge's[[sp?).

[timmyfunk]

Got a lot of P-Funk from the local Woolworth's in Laurelton, NY. Only 8 blocks from where I lived. The first LP being "Stretching Out In Bootsy's Rubber Band for the low price of $2.99. Man do I miss Woolworth's.

[daddyacey]

Yes in NY ,Woolworths is where I got a lot of my albums. I had a 45's geared allowance ,but when I got extra money for BD or Xmas it was straight to the "5&10" , Hearns on 3rd ave , Alexanders ,E.J. Korvettes ,Mays and S. Kleins on 14th Street. That was from 67-74.

[jillfoster]

Oh my, what memories this thread brings back!!!!!! I have so many stories from my shopping days at Woolworth's, K-Mart, J C Penney, and countless others that I could tell a different one every day and never repeat myself. Here are just a few that come to mind:

1) Walked into my local Penney's store one night and there were Natural Resources and Return of the Marvelettes, apparently both having come out in the same week. I thought I had died and gone to heaven!

2) Was in my local Woolworth's one day and overheard these two teenage girls talking about Gladys' "Heard it Through the Grapevine." One of them said to the other "I hate that song." But don't worry, I didn't slap her too hard!

3) My local K-Mart in the late 60s or early 70s would feature these packages that contained about 15 45's for maybe $1.99 or something. You could only see the two that were featured on the outside and could only speculate on what might be inside, so it was a grab bag type thing. But I got some good stuff, including some picture sleeves.

4) The JJ Newberry store had the best record department of all the so-called "dime stores." They especially had a great selection of 45's and that is where I bought "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You."

5) I have probably 50 or more early Motown albums in my collection that I can distinctly remember where I was the first time I saw them. [[If you remember I am the one on here who has been talking about planning a trip soon to Detroit to see the Motown Museum. Now you know why!)

Newberry's.... yes, they did have a great record depatment, as did my local sears store.

[R. Mark Desjardins]

Reading the previous posts on this thread brought back a flood of memories of seeing piles of deleted Tamla/Motown albums for near give away prices in the late 60's in a k-Mart in Montreal. Didn't have a lot of money, so only could only look longingly at the treasure trove.

When I was 13, when I first came to know about The Supremes, my family was camping in upstate New York. Art a local store, I saw many of those "grab bags of 45's and the one I remember the most featured the long title "A Breath Taking, First sight Soul Shaking, One Night Love Making, Next Day Heart Breaking Guy." I didn't have the $2.99 to purchase that at the time, but decades later happily paid $75 bucks to obtain a copy. Oh, to be able to time travel back in time to relive those precious moments and have the knowledge of today to act on it!

[marv2]

I can remember my sister joining the Columbia House Record Club just to get the 8-10 free albums and then using neighbors address to get more......hehehehehehe.....

[kenneth]

Wow, what a fun topic.

That Woolworth's ad is great, except limit is 3 albums??? Forget that!

Marv2 and I both shopped at Arlan's for record bargains in Detroit. That's where I bought the bulk of the early Motown titles. When I bought them, they were 88 cents each, and at some point 3 for a dollar. I got all the early Marvelettes, Gaye, Wonder, even some of the Workshop Jazz LPs at that time.

Federal's as Davidesper says, was also a great source. I actually worked at a Federal's in high school, at 6 Mile and Schaefer, in the shoe department which luckily for me was in the basement adjacent to the record department. I could usually be found browsing the bins there when it wasn't busy. At that time Mono LPs were about $2.65 and Stereo LPs were about $3.65 [[I think $3.67 to be exact). I used to always try to get an employee's 15% discount, and they'd always say "You don't get the discount on records because they're already discounted." But I would try every time, anyway. When they had bargain LPs, I think they were $1.67 [[must have been something about the 67 cents which made it seem really a bargain, I guess).

I too remember the 45 grab bags. They were fun to buy. I don't remember how much they were. I think it was about 10 records...maybe for a dollar or two? Just can't recall for sure. Would you believe there's a company, Oldies.Com which still sells 45 grab bags? I'm tempted to send for one just for fun.

And yes, like Marv's sister, I used to also sign up neighbors to the record club, but not the Columbia one. There was a club called Record Club of America where you got some free LPs but didn't have to buy any so that's the one I would use to sign up friends at other addresses. I don't remember how many you got free; I think it was 3 [[with postage and handling natch).

[juicefree20]

Man, talk about a blast from the past!

Here in N.Y., in the late 60-mid-70s, we had so many great places to get records...Mays, McCrory's, Korvettes, TSS, Discomat, Rock & Soul, Soul Shack, Greenline Records & let's not forget the local mom & pop convenience stores & the local drug stores as well.

Back then just about everyone was selling records & indeed, Woolworths was one of the stops as well.

What was cool about buying records at Woolworths was not just the price [[I remember $3.98 per LP_, but also the fact that while in the process of doing so, we would sit at the counter to eat & when it was time for desert, we'd get the banana split & they had those balloons with that folded piece of paper inside. They'd pop the balloon & whatever price was on that paper, that was the price that our banana split cost.

Woolworths had a way of making things fun & here in Downtown Brooklyn on Fulton St. & in Jamaica, Queens on Jamaica & 163rd St, they hit you with it all, that food counter, music playing & the smell of all of those different candies hitting you all upside the head before you even walked through the door.

It seems to me that they just don't make them like that anymore & it's a damn shame that they don't.

Woolworths knew how to make shopping fun, so much so that the toys & records almost seemed secondary! To quote Stevie...

"I wish those days could come back once more...why did those days ever have to go..."

I'm sure that just about all of us can finish the rest of that one :)

[marv2]

Oh yeah! Good ole Arlan's was the place to be for bargains as well as Rink's Bargain City , hehehehehehe.....

Remember Kresge's?

[kenneth]

Oh yeah! Good ole Arlan's was the place to be for bargains as well as Rink's Bargain City , hehehehehehe.....

Remember Kresge's?

Of course. I lived in the neighborhood near 7 Mile-Evergreen, but they were pretty much all over. That Kresge's only had a few records though, and I think you had to ask at the counter to buy a 45.

There was one record store in Detroit on Grand River near Lahser that stocked old 45s, and I used to buy all the out of print stuff there. LPs didn't yet dominate the charts and were too expensive so for a few years I just bought singles. I think LPs finally came into their own in the late 60s.

[Kamasu_Jr]

Man, talk about a blast from the past!

Here in N.Y., in the late 60-mid-70s, we had so many great places to get records...Mays, McCrory's, Korvettes, TSS, Discomat, Rock & Soul, Soul Shack, Greenline Records & let's not forget the local mom & pop convenience stores & the local drug stores as well.

Back then just about everyone was selling records & indeed, Woolworths was one of the stops as well.

What was cool about buying records at Woolworths was not just the price [[I remember $3.98 per LP_, but also the fact that while in the process of doing so, we would sit at the counter to eat & when it was time for desert, we'd get the banana split & they had those balloons with that folded piece of paper inside. They'd pop the balloon & whatever price was on that paper, that was the price that our banana split cost.

Woolworths had a way of making things fun & here in Downtown Brooklyn on Fulton St. & in Jamaica, Queens on Jamaica & 163rd St, they hit you with it all, that food counter, music playing & the smell of all of those different candies hitting you all upside the head before you even walked through the door.

It seems to me that they just don't make them like that anymore & it's a damn shame that they don't.

Woolworths knew how to make shopping fun, so much so that the toys & records almost seemed secondary! To quote Stevie...

"I wish those days could come back once more...why did those days ever have to go..."

I'm sure that just about all of us can finish the rest of that one :)

The Woolworth's In Youngstown, Ohio sold the best fried chicken and orange drink. I remember pulling tasty pieces of chicken from greasy white paper bag and carrying bags of discounted albums home.

[tamla617]

american woolies were something else.i went into the waikiki beach branch.the had pump shotguns and sports rifles mounted on the wall.at first i thought they were just for display but they were for sale.the record dept was [[for a brit) brilliant,i'd never seen so much motown in a shop.the other bit i remember was a tall blonde in the queue wearing a crocheted bikini,didnt get many of them in walton on thames either!

[marv2]

I can remember riding my bike out to Woolco on Alexis Road and riding back with one hand on the handlebar and the other holding a bag full of cut-out albums. I made that trip about once a month back in the early to mid 70's

[juicefree20]

Kamasu,

I liked their fries, cheeseburger deluxe & subs.

I only know how they were here in N.Y. With that being the case I wonder if Woolworths were the same in all states?

[marv2]

Kamasu,

I liked their fries, cheeseburger deluxe & subs.

I only know how they were here in N.Y. With that being the case I wonder if Woolworths were the same in all states?

Yes they were pretty much the same everywhere. The main one in Toledo was downtown. The further out from Downtown, you had Woolco, the very large dept stores that carried more than Woolworth Stores.

[smark21]

Down South in the early 60’s, wasn’t Woolworth’s the site of some of the lunch counter civil rights protests led by SNCC activists?

[kenneth]

Down South in the early 60’s, wasn’t Woolworth’s the site of some of the lunch counter civil rights protests led by SNCC activists?

Oh yes. There's a very famous photo of some whites dumping sodas or food on some black students sitting at a counter that was taken at a Woolworth's, perhaps in Alabama or Mississippi.

[marv2]

Yes I've seen that photo. We even met one of the black students that participated in that demonstration when I was in college; he was a guest speaker.

I personally remember as a kid in the sixties that whenever we traveled South to visit relatives that we carried food in from home in the car each way. As kids we did not understand why and thought that everyone did that. As I grew older I learned that it was because as Black people we were not allowed to stop at certain restaurants to eat during our trips. This custom of carrying food is well known among African Americans. If fact we continued to do this all the way up to early 70's when traveling South. The artists on the Motortown Revue had to do the same thing.

[arrr&bee]

Haaaaaaaaa,i loved woolworth's as well as g.c.murphey's back in the day[those dollar albums were the best bargain around]and the ones i have are in mint condition!