All About Records – 396 Rockaway Ave. Suite E, Valley Stream, New York 11581 – Open – the entrance is around the back across from the McDonald’s.
A record store on Long Island I had not heard of?
Located in a warehouse in Valley Stream, All About Records has no windows and limited signage. A sign on a locked door proclaims the store is open, and advises the reader to ring the bell to gain admittance. Doing as I was told, I was greeted by a clerk who gave me a quick tour of the store’s many rooms, pointing out $1, $5 and $10 rooms of records. And other parts of the warehouse that were off limits and contained items not for sale.
Let the Digging Begin.
If you’ve ever been, All About Records is best described as The Thing East. While it offers some organization of its stock – by price and genre – after that, you are on your own. Not for the faint of heart or people who don’t dig often. But for diggers, its a great way to spend your day looking for treasures among its tons of records. And reasonably priced treasures you will indeed find.
You won’t find many collectors’ items here. Or new records. Or newer records. But if you’re looking to get a $25-60 record for $10 you’re in the right place. They also sell 78s, 45s, cassettes, cds and dvds. Vintage hi fi equipment and memorabilia are also for sale. And the records I saw were clean and in good condition.
Try before you buy was available to help you choose your purchases wisely.
Owned by Charlie Larocco, All About Records opened at this location in 2018. This appears mostly to be a warehouse for an online vinyl and music memorabilia venture. I believe it (or an affiliate) sells on Discogs under the handle LotsofRecords, and has long sold records on eBay.
All About Records is the only record store I’ve ever been to that was not playing any music. Really. And it has received no press. Nor are there any video tours of the store. At least none I could find.
Wanna go? You can find All About Records on our Record Stores Map.
Parking is available, but don’t do it in the McDonalds’ lot, or you could be trying to find where they towed your car instead of a good record to bring home.
What the Press is Saying
Nothing. Nada. Zip. No articles. No video tours. We’re it.
Cool Vinyl Bought There
Spent my time digging through the soul, blues and 60s 45 racks. No collectors items, but came away with quite a few good records cheap. A couple of English pressings of Yardbird’s singles on Columbia with the center hole in tact, a few blues records by Freddie King, Albert King and Muddy Waters, and a couple of Percy Sledge records, among others.
Also got Edwin Starr’s 25 Miles, featuring I’m Still A Struggling Man. Famous for his hit War, this is northern soul from 1969. To me, it mixes a smooth Philly soul verse, with a driving Temptations’ style chorus, and horn fade. All carried by Starr’s excellent singing. It wasn’t a big hit on its release, reaching only no. 80 on both Billboard’s Pop and Rnb charts.
The single did however become a big hit on the UK Northern Soul scene, which led Starr to move to England. This scene, at UK clubs such as the Wigan Casino, featured all niters – dance fests lasting all night – and was driven by lesser known deep US soul cuts with a beat. Often the clubs closed at 8 a.m. with three songs that became known as the ‘3 before 8’: “Time Will Pass You By” by Tobi Legend, “Long After Tonight Is All Over” by Jimmy Radcliffe, and “I’m on My Way” by Dean Parrish.
This song was completely unknown to me, and another happy record store discovery.
Here’s a video tribute to the Wigan Casino, with the 3 before 8 playing – I’m on My Way – Dean Parish, Time Will Pass You By – Tobi Legend and Long After Tonight is All Over – Jimmy Radcliffe.
