I was given a cassette tape of songs from Rolled Gold – the Rolling Stones compilation album by my step father to listen to when I was about seven (about 1979), actually the tape was actually a blank tape which had songs recorded from the compilation onto it. When my mother and step father realised how much I liked the Rolling Stones my mother pointed out that we had a Rolling Stones album which belonged to my father, in our collection – The Rolling Stones, Now!, from 1965 – the Australian version. The funny thing was that the album cover actually held two records inside – Now! and also their second album 12 x 5 from 1964. I don’t think there were any sleeves, just the two records rubbing up against each other in the sleeve – aargh! Anyway, I listened to them quite a bit and liked most of it and for me the songs from both were sort of interchangeable because they came from the same sleeve, but for the purposes of this competition I’ve gone with the sleeve that came with them. Somehow the album had gone to my mother after my parents split up – the album’s ownership by my mother something my father wasn’t too happy about when I told him that I’d been listening to it. He was happy that I liked the music and said I could have it so at that point it was probably my first record/s, and therefore my oldest record/s. Somehow the Rolling Stones EP ‘5 x 5’, also owned by my father had made it into my mother’s record collection but from memory it was badly scratched and my mother threw it out – much to my father’s annoyance when I told him. The Rolling Stones Now! record is in great condition, as is the sleeve – surprisingly considering my father said he used to take his records to parties in the 60s. The 12 x 5 is in not such good nick, with some pretty big scratches and scuffs. It looks like it had been to some parties, and maybe it had been accidentally added to the Now! sleeve at a party, because an owner’s name has been crossed out on the record label, and my father’s initials are on there. I haven’t asked him about this story – don’t know if he would remember really as he’s now 75! Anyway, the music is great and helped fuel my love for the Stones which continues to this day – part of the reason why I have pursued a musical lifestyle.
My step father taped some of my favourite songs from both albums onto a cassette tape and I remember going to see The Jungle Book film at a drive in on a rare outing with my father in about 1980 and me playing the songs from theses albums for him in the car on the way there. For me it was a way to get to know him, connect with him etc and he seemed chuffed that I was into the songs which came from his albums. I particularly liked You Can’t Catch Me, Down the Road Apiece, and Oh Baby (We Got a Good Thing Goin’) from the ‘Now! album, and Around and Around and Empty Heart from 12 x 5. I remember singing bits of Around and Around in my year 4 class in 1981, to the bemusement of my class mates, me knowing they had no idea what it was and feeling privileged to know it and thinking how good it was.
