One of the benefits of being a teen-age boy (girls can chime in too) is the ability to cajole your parents, otherwise known as nag. So being that teen-age boy that wanted a record player, let the lobbying begin. I wont' go through all the things I did but I will get to the result; I got a record player. It was a portable turntable with speakers built in. I was so happy when my father bought this for me.
My father loved music and would play music on the radio all the time. He would sing along with Frank Sinatra,Tony Bennett and other popular singers of the time. He thoroughly enjoyed his time singing with them. His love for music had my sister Jean playing the piano and I played the violin. When I was 8 years old my parents said that I should learn how to play an instrument. They gave me a choice of an accordion or a violin. I was undecided about which instrument to choose. A friend played the accordion and I asked if I could see how it felt to put the instrument on. He helped me put the instrument on and which it fit, it was very heavy. I then chose the violin (much lighter).
With the record player in the house I proceeded to purchase my first album with my allowance. The album I selected was the sound track of Victory At Sea a documentary of World War II navy vessels.
I heard the music on the Howard Barlow Music Hour on ABC TV. I even wrote a letter to Mr. Barlow to say how much I enjoyed the show and the music. He replied with a photo of himself and induction into the Howard Barlow Fan Club.
When I brought the album home I immediately put it on the record player that he bought me. As the music came on, my father entered the living room. He stood there for a moment listening and then said to me that he could not believe that this is what I bought. He bought the record player for me to enjoy music, he said, but I think he meant his music. Since I was in the high school orchestra at this point, classical music was my music of choice.
With that feedback (criticism) in mind, the next album I bought was Frank Sinatra. My father was happy and the mood returned to the family enjoying the records that I bought. Future albums were the singers of the time. Music continued to be played in the house. Over time my father began to enjoy Victory at Sea. There was an occasional smile to indicate the he liked the music or at least tolerated it.