Love That Vintage Vinyl!

Hooked on K-tel’s greatest hits as a kid in the 1970s, all the platters that matter are still spinning

- Maria Powell

Music was my first passion. I remember sitting on the floor with my ear pressed against the fabric speaker of our stereo, singing along to records at the tender age of two. My parents had quite an assortment of records by artists such as Anne Murray, Doris Day and Burl Ives, and soundtracks like “Dr. Dolittle” and ‘The Sound of Music.” It made me so happy when the turntable in that vintage stereo was spinning.

By the age of eight, my obsession with vinyl morphed into something new when I discovered K-tel records while watching TV and their commercials came on. I was completely transfixed by song titles scrolling down my television screen, a very charismatic announcer selling the records, and snippets of the songs playing throughout in the background. I simply couldn’t live without any of these advertised albums!

In case you’re unfamiliar with them, K-tel records were compilation albums released primarily in the 1970s by a Winnipeg-based record label, featuring the top hits (for the most part) of the day. In some cases, songs were shortened to allow for as many songs as possible on each side.