My first Born in the USA was a domestic LP. It was released on that format first in the US. A week or two later, I saw it as an import at Rose Records in Downtown Chicago (later acquired by Tower) for $30. I wasn't prepared to pay that much. So, I asked my friend Jimmy P. Staggs (aka radio DJ/Program Director Jim Stagg) at Record City how soon they could get it. "It just arrived on a domestic pressing," he told me. So, as with most new releases, I got it the first day it was out. On my next visit, I returned the vinyl for full credit. I've only owned two copies of that title.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Staggs
1966 WCFL (WLS' main compeition) Stagg aircheck:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzaJAfSNk4g
Record City was the largest independent record store around Chicago. Employee pricing and free exchanges on all in-print titles were great perks from being a friend of Jimmy, Valene & their family. Free phono cartridges and hookup/repairs were what they got in return. Reciprocity.
Born to Run was one of my first CD's. It was pressed in Japan and came from Pacific Stereo, where I had previously worked. I had a Sony 19" color TV that State Farm reimbursed me for, since it was hit by lightning. I used that money to buy a Sony CDP-101 CD player, the first (along with a Hitachi) CD player available in the US. I bought the player and a dozen CD's on CBS and Telarc that same day from Pacific.
I also bought Joni Mitchell's Wild Things, Abbey Road, Bowie's Let's Dance & Dark Side on Japan CD's the same day from Stereo Studio, a high end shop that I had previously managed. Wild Things was first released on US CD about 10 years later. Abbey Road went OOP on Toshiba/EMI the next week. It was two or three years until it was released on CD in the US & UK, or repressed by Toshiba/EMI in Japan.
I then visited Record City's original location in Skokie and bought a couple dozen other CD's, all pressed by Sony in Japan or Polygram in Hannover, West Germany. I had perhaps 30 CD's the first day I had my CD player. My LP collection was at 4,000 at that point and I had ALL the CD's I cared to own.
I had previously owned an LP and 1/2 speed LP of Born to Run. I subsequently bought the Born to Run box. A client of mine manufactured the box itself and disc sleeves.
Today, I own over 15,000 CD's and over 5,000 LP's. Perhaps a third of those LP's were among the 4,000 I owned when CD's hit. The rest got traded at Record City 2 LP's for 1 CD, when I replaced titles on LP with CD's. Although Record City has been out of business for 9 years, a sizable portion of my collection, including promos, had come from there.
Born in the USA was the first CD pressed in the US by Digital Audio Disc Corp. (DADC). It was a joint venture of CBS and Sony. A few years later, the plant's CBS share was sold to Sony. After a few more years, the entire record company was sold to Sony.
