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So Far Away
Carole King and Rod Stewart duke it out
The very first vinyl record that I ever bought was a 45. On one side of the little record was Carole King’s humongous hit, “It’s Too Late.” On the other side was her hit, “So Far Away.”
I remember walking into the record store. Back then a record store is where you went to buy new reeds, valve oil, sheet music, and, more importantly it was where you went to get the latest music. They had the hottest 45s and the chart-topping LPs.
As a young whippersnapper with nothing but coins in my pocket I tried to visit the record store as often as I could get a ride.
Listening to that hit record in the store’s headphones, you are transported to worlds you are only beginning to discover.
Carole King’s original version of So Far Away, along with It’s Too Late on the other side became the very first thing I would listen to once one of the headphones in the record store was available.
I listened to that little 45 so many times that the music store staff began considering charging me rent.
I already had a fairly sizeable collection of vinyl LP records. I got a new record every birthday and every Christmas. It had been a standard present for several years. There was always that awkward moment when one of my parents would…
