Spinning My Dad’s Vinyl
by Frank Vaccariello
Extensive and Eclectic and we hear them as is with scratches, crackles and pops.Being a radio and mobile DJ for a decade and a half, I collected several hundred albums. I had nothing on my dad who owned more than 500 (33 1/3) LPs and over 100 78 RPMs at the time of his death in December 2019. I had no idea he had so many. We found them spread all over the house when we prepared for the estate sale. I went through every one and categorized them on an app called Discogs. I thought so many were unique, I decided to start a podcast called Spinning My Dad’s Vinyl. Each episode will feature an album. I’ll tell stories about the family listening to these albums and I’ll give other info about the album and the time it was released.
Episodes
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Volume 254: Into the Wild BLUE Yonder
I’m on the front porch of Cleveland, Mall C, which is across the freeway from Huntington Bank Field where the Cleveland Browns play, The Great Lakes Science Center, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and most importantly down the shoreline a ways is Burke Lakefront Airport. Home to the annual Labor…
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Volume 253: Valentines is for Lovers
Happy Valentine's Day! Of course my dad had plenty of romantic music. So that’s why we are able to do this special episode. There was a popular radio format known as Easy Listening. We listened to one of those stations from Cleveland when we were young. And there was one extremely popular…
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Volume 252: A Champagne Christmas
Merry Christmas! My dad had a couple dozen records meant just for this time of year. So I HAD to come back for a Christmas Day music show. I talked a lot in yesterday's deep dive into the music of the seasonal favorite, The Nutcracker. So we're going to do a lot of listening in this one…and...
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Volume 251: A Cleveland Ballet Christmas Tradition
The Nutcracker: Concert Suite vs. Ballet Welcome back and Merry Christmas Eve. My girlfriend Karen and I partook in a Northcoast Christmas season tradition a week and a half ago for the very first time. And of course, my dad had a record for that. It’s not a vinyl record, but a shellac album set...
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Volume 250: Fading Out My Way
My Dad's Greatest Hits This will be my last regularly scheduled weekly episode. We’ll talk about that as we go along. One of the last songs my dad heard in his hospital bed the day he died and the one we played as we wheeled his casket out of the church was the Frank Sinatra song, My Way. It’s…
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Volume 249: A Pope Visits
Historic Papal Visit We haven't broken away from music for a while, but what have I told you before? My dad has a record for every occasion. 60 years ago yesterday, on October 4, 1965, Pope Paul VI visited the United States for a 14-hour trip that was entirely contained within New York City. The...
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Volume 248: Down Mexico Way
TJB South of the Border OK…I was having Tijuana Brass withdrawals. While I did play plenty of his music in Volume 222: A TJB Concert Rewind earlier this year, that was a special episode shortly after I saw Herb and the gang in concert. It’s been over a year since I’ve pulled out one of the 11...
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Volume 247: A Conniff Concert
Ray Conniff Improvisations My father must have really loved the music of Ray Conniff. This is the sixth of eight albums from this arranger and orchestra leader in my dad’s collection. This one has a bit of a twist to it. No. Not the dance. While the title of the album makes it seem like it will…
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Volume 246: Western Trails
Real Country and Western Music We are pulling out the 6th record of this seven record set that has really grown on me over the four and a half years of this show. Reader’s Digest has compiled 83 classic country and western songs and arranged them in themes…all completely unabridged, unlike…
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Volume 245: Sammy Jumps With Joya
Joy from Sammy and Joya Usually I don’t title the episode exactly the same as the album I’m featuring, but this one was just too good not to use. Yes, we will hear the artist I think is the greatest showman who ever lived, but this record is really about Joya. She is not widely known today…
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Volume 244: Big Band Vocals
Great Big Band Vocalists Most times when the Longines Symphonette Society put out albums, we had no idea who the musicians were. But sometimes they did give us all the information. And it’s even rarer when they cram an album full of star singers. THIS is one of those albums. These Decca recording...
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Volume 243: Hi-Fi Hawaii
Beautiful Hawaiian Music This is episode eleventeen hundred three thousand and forty-three of Spinning My Dad’s Vinyl. I might as well say anything I want anymore, because according to the liner notes on this album, the featured artist played all 32 instruments and sings like Bing Crosby. While…
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Volume 242: Mancini's Gunn
Peter Gunn TV Music This is the fourth of six Henry Mancini albums we’ve heard from my dad’s collection. This one is a little different, because most of the other records contained tunes that could have been released as singles or were the theme songs of movies. While you’ll hear the theme song…
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Volume 241: Nashville Souvenirs
The Ultimate Nashville Stars Here’s a nice little compilation album with some pretty big names on it. The recordings you are about to hear sold millions of copies combined. And they all came from a town at the heart of country music smack dab in the heart of Tennessee. So get ready to hear...
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Volume 240: A Singing Satchmo
The Voice of Louis Armstrong My dad’s favorite trumpet player also was an extremely popular vocalist. I have documented many trumpet players who have also recorded their singing voices during the course of this show. Rarely do they commit to a full record of it. And none were as famous for it.…
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Volume 239: Unknown Dixieland
Dixieland Veterans My dad loved his Dixieland music. Even when he had no idea who was performing it. This is a perfect album for that mindset, because this budget label doesn’t even get all of the tunes listed correctly on the cover and label, let alone tell us who’s performing on it. And even...
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Volume 238: Maynard's Horn
Maynard Ferguson's Hot Trumpet We now get to feature the second of two albums my dad had of MY favorite trumpet player. In fact, I haven’t seen a rock band more times than I’ve seen Maynard Ferguson and his big band. This musician was known for his energetic charts, youthful big band members,...
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Volume 237: A TV Page
Here’s a voice we’ve heard before. It was during a 78 RPM Sunday when we had plenty of her shellac to fill a show. This singer went on to have her own TV show where she sang many of the pop hits from that time. In fact, the tunes that made it on this album were among the most requested from her...
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Volume 236: Tennessee Tons
We are going to have a ton of fun with this episode. Well 16 tons. Ah. That was too easy. This is the only album my dad has of this great singer. But, it’s obviously the most important one from his releases. This artist was really a radio personality at heart, but when producers discovered that...
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Volume 235: Still Stanley
We’ve already come close to proving that the named orchestra leader on this album probably doesn’t exist. I discussed that mystery in Volume 199: Tea and Trumpets. But the man who wrote all of the tunes on this album most certainly existed. He wrote the scores for more than 30 stage and film...
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Volume 234: Sugar Blues
What? Yet another trumpet player in my dad’s collection I haven’t introduced you to yet? But of course. Clyde McCoy is not nearly as well known as the myriad of other horn players I’ve shown off, but he recorded a lot of music from 1917 through 1985. His 1931 version of a song written nine years...
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Volume 233: Frank's Life for Fathers Day
Well, it’s Fathers Day. For me, that means another trip to the cemetery rather than a trip to visit my dad for dinner. I’m not looking for sympathy. That’s just the way it is. I mean. That’s life! And this episode’s featured artist certainly saw his share of ups and downs during his incredibly...
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Volume 232: Ray on the Road
Time to take a road trip around this great country we call the US of A. And who better to be our tour guide than the incredible Ray Charles. He had over 1,700 listings in discogs, the website I use to catalog my vinyl collections. And it’s not easy to catalog just what genre this genius belongs…
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Volume 231: Simply Belafonte
When I featured this artist the first time on this show, he was still with us. Unfortunately, Harry Belafonte passed away just a few weeks later. This is the second record we will hear of the two my dad had from this singer. This was Harry’s second LP in his illustrious career. While his first…
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Volume 230: Golden Memories of Radio Record 6
We now pull out the final disk of this six record box set filled with memories of radio days past. Back in the days before television when you had to imagine what was being described. To the days of live happenings. Expected and extremely unexpected. This last LP features many news recordings…
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Volume 229: White Album Front Half
It’s a 78 RPM Sunday. These episodes should probably more appropriately be labelled spinning my dad’s dad’s shellac. In the old days of records coming on 10” disks with one song per side, it made collections rather large. So in order to organize them, record stores would sell large books that you...
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Volume 228: A Bobby Happy Mothers Day
Happy mothers day. This one’s for my mother who we lost ten years ago this month. As we go through this large record collection, I can tell which records my mom might have picked out. This is one of them. It’s a self-titled debut album from a singer who already had a hit single and a starring…
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Volume 227: Beethoven's 4th & 5th
We now pull out the third record from this seven disk box set. A record that features a relatively unknown work AND probably one of the most famous works in music history. Talk about a dichotomy. This is music from the immortal Ludwig Van Beethoven. His symphonies live on in performances to this...
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Volume 226: Hirt's Dixieland Horn
Here’s a trumpet player we’ve heard from before. He was a favorite of my dad’s. He’s also a favorite of mine. He’s loud and powerful. He plays at just below a blatting level, but keeps in control with some of the most intricate music. He performed at halftime of the first Super Bowl and owned his...
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Volume 225: The Standard Stoner
We’re going to have a little extra fun with this episode. In fact, you might say I have high hopes for it. One of my dad’s, and my, favorite artists is Willie Nelson. One of my favorite holidays is the day this episode drops, and I’m not talking about Easter. Some of the most favorite...
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Volume 224: Big Band Bards Record 2
We haven’t reached into the great Franklin Mint section of my dad’s collection for a while. Most of the episodes featuring the Greatest Jazz Recordings of All Time often get blocked by YouTube. But I’ve really grown attached to this specific box set lately. It’s filled with some great and…
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Volume 223: Mancini Movie Magic
We now pull out yet another one of the seven Henry Mancini albums my dad had. He’s one of my favorites too. This one is a follow up to Mancini Plays The Great Academy Award Songs, the album you heard in Volume 43: Mancini and the Oscar Winners. There’s just something about his music. You just...
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Volume 222: A TJB Concert Rewind
I attended the Wednesday, March 26, 2025 Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass concert at the Goodyear Theater in Akron, Ohio. Yes, Herb is still touring at 89 years old. Yes, I was excited to see him again. Obviously, I can’t can’t record the show. That’s why I’m going to do something the FM radio...
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Volume 221: Every Twist You Take
This is going to be an extra fun episode. Many of the tunes have melodies you already know. Some tunes were created for this album. The trumpet player leading the band was part of some great music history in the form of some famous big bands, including some history he claimed on his own. So get...
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Volume 220: Red Hot Pennies
Gee, imagine that! Another album featuring a trumpet player from my dad's collection. And a trumpet player we've heard from before. This time, we get to hear some great ragtime. This artist not only fronted his own band, but got his pedigree through some of the best big bands in history. So, get...
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Volume 219: Bite Sized Bach Record 1
There’s an old business saying that goes, how do you eat a whale? One bite at a time. In this episode we take several small bites and a couple of big ones from the incredible output of the composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Ahhhh Bach. And to continue that M*A*S*H connection right now in the…
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Volume 218: Rock and Roll Connie
Episode dedicated to Dino Baskovic (1974-2025) This is the third of four records from Connie Francis that my dad has in his collection. She WAS the top charting female US artist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Her popularity was due to her voice and being able to sing in multiple languages.…
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Volume 217: Gerry and Chet
Here’s an album I thought was going to be unplayable when I saw the condition of the cover. I have no idea why the back and front are completely separated. And the bigger surprise is that my dad didn’t put it back together with his usual black electrical tape patchwork. But I’m glad I didn’t...
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Volume 216: The Classical 216
Talk about your complete coincidences. The numbers 2-1-6 come up three times in regards to this episode. It’s the episode number. It’s the date this episode drops. The US version of dating things. And it’s the area code of where this music was performed and recorded. Yes, I bought a lottery…
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Special Volume: Nat's Very Thoughtful Valentine
It's special Valentine’s Day episode of Spinning My Dad’s Vinyl. That means, of course, my girlfriend Karen gets to join me as we once again grab some music from one of the most romantic voices ever recorded. We featured this voice two years ago in our Valentines special and it’s the third of…
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Volume 215: Single-Sided 78s
Welcome to a 78 RPM Sunday! As I was flipping through my dad’s shellac collection looking for patterns to create a few 78 RPM episodes for this season, I found these 7 disks. What they had in common was their one-sidedness. Yup. In the early days of records, they only pressed one side. And I’ll...
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Volume 214: Badlands
How are we only on record five of this great seven record set? Because I continue to find gold in this box set filled with legendary songs about the old west. Each record, or in this case each side of this collection had its own theme. Even with those guides, I might take a little poetic license...
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Volume 213: Ray's Marvelous
We once again pull out the most popular orchestra leader in my dad’s collection. This is a follow-up album to a popular record my dad does not have. Both titles reference the Ira and George Gershwin tune S’Wonderful from the 1927 Broadway musical Funny Face. Of course Conniff arranged all of…
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Special Volume: History of a Champion O-H-I-O
Congratulations to the Ohio State Buckeye football team for winning their ninth national championship. If you grew up in Ohio, especially in the 1960s and 70s, you were probably an OSU fan no matter where you ended up going to college in the state. My parents certainly were and they instilled the...
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Volume 212: Inauguration Italian Style
My dad seemed to have an album for every occasion. I can’t tell you how appropriate the timing is to play this record for you. Oh wait…yes I can…and will. This is truly in the vein of “the more things change the more they stay the same.” And it’s all portrayed using some of the main characters of...
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Volume 211: Percy's Cuba
I’ve mentioned this a few times on this show. The Latin beat was extremely popular when my dad was a teenager and beyond. This record is a combination of taking that Latin beat, this time from a specific country, and arranging it with a plush orchestra. The orchestra conductor who arranged this...
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Volume 210: Jonah Style
Welcome to season five. We start out 2025 with a trumpet player you’ve heard twice before. This is the last of his records in my dad’s collection. When I first came across him, 165 episodes ago, I realized quickly that I had been missing out on listening to another great trumpet player in my…
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Volume 209: Dixie Dorsey
Welcome to the last episode of season 4. You know you can get close to new years eve and NOT have to listen to Guy Lombardo. WE are going to finish out 2024 on a really upbeat note. In fact, there’s nothing like that two-beat music to send us out dancing. Our featured artist has a slightly more...
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Volume 208: A 78RPM Christmas
'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, well, except for my dad who was putting together the air hockey game, or large electronic toy crane, or other present that would be one of ours the next morning. I have two younger brothers and a sister.…
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Volume 207: Good Country Record 1
Here’s a fun find from this collection. My father really loved his country music too besides all that jazz, pop and classical. This is the kind of country and western music that was kind of between the fiddle-led twang of early country and the days of outlaw country, although you will hear one of...
About this show
Extensive and Eclectic and we hear them as is with scratches, crackles and pops.Being a radio and mobile DJ for a decade and a half, I collected several hundred albums. I had nothing on my dad who owned more than 500 (33 1/3) LPs and over 100 78 RPMs at the time of his death in December 2019. I had no idea he had so many. We found them spread all over the house when we prepared for the estate sale. I went through every one and categorized them on an app called Discogs. I thought so many were unique, I decided to start a podcast called Spinning My Dad’s Vinyl. Each episode will feature an album. I’ll tell stories about the family listening to these albums and I’ll give other info about the album and the time it was released.
Hosted by
Frank Vaccariello
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