I really don't know what took me this long to purchase the newly re-released vinyl "WHITE ALBUM". Guessing it was the cost. At a few cent shy of 100 smackers for the vinyl,I hesitated. Getting a gift card to a local record store for Christmas pushed me closer to the sale, that and the 10% off coupon found in the local newspaper. So here I am with the prized package in my house. First question was, "Don't you already have that on vinyl and CD?". Yes, is the answer, yes...But I needed it.
Here's my story:
September of 68 I was working after school and weekends at Dubbings Electronics, a factory making cassette and 8 track tapes. Cassettes were new to the music business at this time and Dubbings had the market pretty well covered. Their major clients included Vanguard, Elektra, Capitol Records and all those companies minor labels. Needless to say my music collection grew substantially each and every afternoon by at least one or two cassettes. Blues, folk, rock, jazz, whatever I could fit in my boot I took home; Country Joe, Dave Van Ronk, Quicksilver, Butterfield, Frank Sinatra, Doc Watson, Buffy St. Marie, Ian & Slyvia, Skip James, Steve Miller and others all found their way into my room.
On afternoon Ruthie who worked in the “Mastering Lab” called me over to hear something she thought was unique, that is, something strange to her 50 year old ears. The“lab”she worked in was a climate controlled, sound proofed room with thick glass windowed partitions. Basically it was an air tight room, with a red light blazing DO NOT ENTER over the door. One had to wear white gloves and coveralls to enter the room. In the outer office was a bank of cassette players. Ruthie slipped a cassette into one of the machines and placed her very expensive headphones over my ears. Upon hearing the sounds, I was at first perplexed but knew instantly what it must be. “They say it’s your birthday.” It sounded like The Beatles. Then, “Number nine, number nine” over and over with a cacophony of sounds, screams, horns, etc. Smiling I answered with more of a question, THE BEATLES?, I proposed. She then with her white gloves on, removed the cassette from the apparatus and put in another cassette.... HELTER SKELTER....THE BEATLES ,YES IT'S THE BEATLES. She informed me it was a company hush hush job, no one was to know what we were putting together, not even her she proclaimed but she had her suspicions and needed “verification” which was ME. No labels, no inserts, just a number 4XWL stamped on the cassettes, which was to be a double cassette set. One million cassettes (half a million packages to market) was to be produced and stored until November 15 shipping. The entire factory, two shifts, was working on one project and I guessed who and what it was. Needless to say Ruthie slipped me a few early finished cassettes during week one, no labels just 4XWL which I knew meant The Beatles (The WHITE ALBUM), to share with my friends, friends who were skeptical at first but after a little while....yea man, The Beatles.
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