Audiokio Productions

VINYL RECORDS — HOW TO CRATE DIG (PT 6)

Crate digging refers to finding music by literally digging through crates of vinyl. For me, crate digging is what vinyl is all about – by rediscovering old music, you are reconnecting with history. To be a good crate digger, you have to be a musical detective – following leads and doing research. Digging is about wading through stacks of unsorted records and snatching up the gold.
I found a coveted 45 release while digging through the stacks at a small, dusty record store in Park Slope, Brooklyn. There are no record players at the store. I paid $0.25 for the original 7 inch – on eBay it’s $20 and up.
What was the record? It was by Lyn Collins – “Think (About It)” (A-side) and “Ain’t No Sunshine” (B side).
I was flipping through a random assortment of 45s when I saw the title of the B-side “Ain’t No Sunshine.” I thought wow, great song. Bill Withers, the writer of the song, was listed right below the title. Then I saw the name of the artist – Lyn Collins. I knew Lyn Collins. She was a singer in James Brown’s band, along with Marva Whitney.
Then I looked at the year of the release – 1972. I happen to love music from the late 1960s till the mid 1970s. If you pick something from that era, you’re likely to get soul and funk. It’s also important to think about the artist – around what years was the height of the artist’s career? I don’t know Lyn Collins very well but I knew James Brown was putting out some great music at that time. Now consider a James Brown record from the 1980s. He had a big hit with “Living in America” but that wasn’t the Godfather of Soul at his best. I won’t buy a James Brown record from the 80s but I definitely will buy one from the 1970s.
The label on the record is also very important for crate diggers. Bands on the same label tend to have a similar sound. I wasn’t familiar with the imprint (People) but I also saw “Polydor” listed under the copyright and also as the distributor. I knew Polydor – they were James Brown’s label. On the left side, just in case you missed all the James Brown clues, it was spelled out –

“James Brown – The Creator
Produced by James Brown
Arranged by James Brown”

That pretty much says it all. I flipped the record over and saw the A-side – “Think (About It)”. The writer of the song? James Brown.

I bought a number of other records that day but the only thing I was thinking about was this 45. At the same time, I played it cool with the record store owner – the last thing I wanted was a huge grin on my face to tip him off to the fact that I might be wiling to pay a lot more than a quarter for Lyn Collins.

What are some other ways to find out about Lyn Collins or these songs? “Think (About It) was sampled by dozens of artists including Afrika Bambaataa, Eric B and Rakim, Public Enemy, and Slick Rick. You might have also found out about Lyn Collins through a compilation, such as RZA’s “Shaolin Soul.”

Next time I’ll discuss a subject I’ve been asked about by a number of people recently – how to digitize vinyl.