Antique 78rpm Record Shop

Antique 78rpm Record Shop is one of those rare places where the format itself shapes the whole experience. The interview below covers how a personal collecting obsession turned into a Wichita Falls storefront, why 78s still pull people in, and how the shop thinks about preserving early recorded music.

Interview with Antique 78rpm Record Shop

A shop devoted to 78 rpm records is rare and wonderful. How did your collection of nearly 10,000 78s become a store?

About 10 years ago, I purchased my first 78; Roly Poly by Gene Autry. At the time, my daughter was a few years old and I was really digging into older country and I wanted to hear how it sounded in its original format. It was her favorite song and we played it all the time on an LP or on YouTube. Once I purchased the correct stylus to play the record, I was instantly ripped back in time and was hooked. There was an antique store nearby that had a hoard of them and eventually I purchased all of them; 80 milk crates full of 78s. My wife, god bless her, was understanding and let this transaction happen and I've been traveling down the rabbit hole since learning about older music, the musicians and the history behind each. Following years of acquisitions, it just made sense to open up a space for other fans of this early music. We started out an an appointment only shop and opened up monthly for a local ArtWalk event downtown, then transitioned to opening 5 days a week a year ago. My wife and I run the shop and always welcome newcomers in that haven't been to our space. We stock 78s, LPs and 45s as well as other formats.

You call it a time-travel agency - the quickest way to travel back in time. What draws you to these century-old recordings specifically?

When you hear a 78 played on a phonograph, an Edison diamond disc played, a 78 played on a Califone, or on a modern turntable, you cannot help but imagine what life was like during those years. It does not matter if it is turn-of-the-century ragtime, 20s jazz, 30s blues, swing-era music, hillbilly or old-time music, early R&B, R&R or doo-wop, each of those genres is attached to a time-frame within our collective history. Whether you have heard it in movies, at a relative's home or on the radio, we all are attached somehow to music. Records allow you to be transported backwards anytime you drop the needle on the platter.

You've got a real jukebox set on Free Play in the shop. How do people react to hearing records played on a jukebox?

It's one of the main attractions at the shop for people that are browsing our inventory. My wife bought the jukebox for us to use at the shop as a gift one year knowing that it would be fun to have at our record store. It's a 45rpm jukebox, filled with 200 selections that span the gamut of genres and decades. Everyone LOVES the juke when they see it in the shop and it opens up the door to many conversations. It's fun to have a working one available as most people haven't seen one or haven't seen a working one in years.

You host listening events. Why does teaching this history matter so much to you?

It's a way to celebrate and teach others about American history, as well as the history about each of the musicians that are selected for the listening event. I usually pick a decade or a genre and will choose 78s from the shop or my personal collection to spin. Organizing these intimate events that allows others to listen to music they may have never heard, is personally rewarding. I enjoy sharing my knowledge with others and introducing this historic music to new audiences. I think what drives and motivates me to do these, is the fact that many of these musicians broke through the hardships of life and barriers of society to make it as a musician. It's not easy making a living playing music. You add on top of that the history of our country during the first half of the 20th century, and it seems that it would have been even more difficult. Celebrating the innovations of the roots of American music is something that deserves to be talked about and enjoyed. That's why I host them.

You've said you rescue 78s from ending up broken at thrift stores and estate sales. What's a save you're proudest of?

I enjoy finding local history. I live in a small town of about 100K people; Wichita Falls, TX. My wife and I moved up here about ten years ago from D/FW. Being one of the few people in town that really enjoy 78s and older music, has opened up the door to finding records that some may have passed on and just didn't see the value in bringing back home. I've had the opportunity to save transcription discs, 16-inch transcription record players, early records from a local western swing group (Miller Bros.) and have acquired acetates and lacquer discs that were cut direct in studios around north Texas. Those tidbits of local or radio history have been fulfilling to bring home or to the shop. Over the last 10 years, I've had my hands on tens of thousands of 78s, whether it be through large acquisitions, purchases from other shops, smaller pickups at thrift stores, estate sales or donations through the shop. I think just opening up the space and having the location as a vessel to help preserve this music history is what I'm most proud of. We've had couples as far away as Japan as well as Finland travel to our small town just to visit the shop. That's a bucket-filler.

When someone wants to sell or donate 78s, what is the best way to reach you - and what makes a collection an easy yes?

Feel free to call, send us a text or email us (940.276.1410 / antique78rpm@gmail.com). Also, if you're local to our area, make arrangements for us to visit you or come to the shop with your collection if it's not too cumbersome (we know how heavy they are). Collections that have been well taken care of, that aren't inundated with records we see all the time (40s and 50s pop) are more enticing for us to take in or purchase. We're really looking to pull in more historic discs that are worthy of our time to save, preserve and hold onto until the next collector rolls through. We wish we could save everything but that's unrealistic of course. We've had to narrow our focus. Within the past year we've said yes to collections worthy of purchasing and others simply to help families clear space as a loved-one has passed on. We really want to help others as well as help preserve this music history for future generations. It's important to us.

First visit to the shop - what should someone expect?

We have something for everyone. Our shop is partitioned into two sections, the 78 room and we have our vinyl room with LPs and 45s. Each are well stocked with thousands of records. If you're wanting to travel into town on a weekend, please reach out to us, as our store is a Mom & Pop shop and we are normally closed weekends to spend time with our family. However, we will open up for anyone traveling in on a weekend, so do not hesitate to reach out and schedule a time to do so. We LOVE having fellow 78 collectors come through as well as others that are just curious about the format and the music.

Last updated: 2026-07-24