America’s Oldest Record Shop

If We Don’t Have It Nobody Does

George’s Song Shop opened it’s doors in 1932 at 110 Franklin Street on the first floor of the Glosser Brother’s Department Building; the shop was started by brothers Eugene and Bernie George.    In 1936 there was a flood and the shop moved to Locust Street; it then moved again to 105 Franklin Street in 1938.  In 1941 Eugene purchased his brother Bernie’s share of the business, and became the only owner of the shop; Bernie went on to NY to continue his career as a professional musician.   In 1962 Eugene George passed away and the shop was taken over by his son John George who still owns and works in the shop today.   In 1970 John moved the shop to 421 Main street where it stayed until 1977, when the shop again moved to it’s current location at 128 Market Street.

In 1932, when the Great Depression was at its peak and Bing Crosby ruled the charts, George’s Song Shop opened in Johnstown, Pennsylvania Today, the 86-year-old record store is a town legacy—and an unexpected audience is giving it a new lease on life.

John George, 75, is the second generation to run the five-floor store, opened by his father Eugene and uncle Bernie. He was just 19 when he took over in 1962, after his father tragically died of a stroke while heading into work one morning.

The store has “been in my blood all my life,” says George, now a father of three and grandfather of two.

Working six days a week for the past 56 years (parking his car in the same space every morning), George has watched the town, about 60 miles east of Pittsburgh, change around him. But his business, which houses more than 1 million 45s (7-inch vinyl records) as well as full-size 12-inch records—plus 20,000 CDs—has mostly stayed the same. Now more than ever, George is seeing an increased popularity in record sales, and not with whom you’d expect……… Taken from Article written by Parade Magazine read the whole article HERE