Pat Blythe: Women of Rock – Part 1

The impetus, for what has now become a series, was my discovery of an old vinyl record by Maggie Bell. I came across it going through one of my many purge cycles. Suicide Sal, released in 1975, was my introduction to the blues….I just didn’t know it then. I wasn’t in the habit of labeling types of music in my younger years, I just knew what I liked. Greg Simpson, who happened to be managing the now defunct Records on Wheels in London, Ontario, recommended the album, thinking I might like it. I loved it and still do. Thank you Greg!

JAIMIE VERNON – SAM THE UBIQUITOUS MAN

This week, the legendary music retailer Sam Sniderman – the ‘Sam’ in Sam The Record Man music stores – passed away at the age of 92. The outpouring of tributes to one of the Yonge Street’s last retail mavens has been endless. He was a hero to Canadian musicians, an ally to record labels and a hard-nosed employer to his staff and franchisees. [see selected quotes from Facebook and the Twitterverse below]. I got the rare opportunity to deal with Sniderman on FOUR levels – media writer, musician, record label rep, and employee.