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Thunderstorms - some may contain locally heavy rain, especially this evening. Low 67F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.

Johnstown's George's Song Shop owner John George holds up the Sounds of Summer Album by the  Beach Boys inside  America's oldest record shop on Monday, June 27, 2022.

George's Song Shop, 128 Market Street in Johnstown with a large collection of vinyl records for sale on Monday, June 27, 2022.

Johnstown's George's Song Shop owner John George holds up the Sounds of Summer Album by the  Beach Boys inside  America's oldest record shop on Monday, June 27, 2022.

George's Song Shop, 128 Market Street in Johnstown with a large collection of vinyl records for sale on Monday, June 27, 2022.

At George’s Song Shop, nearly every inch of the walls is covered with racks of records.

There are five floors filled with them – more than a million 7-inch “45s” and 200,000 12-inch full albums, shop owner John George estimates.

Shoppers are limited to the first floor for browsing. The hottest-selling artists are displayed in the front of the store.

There, customers will find the time-tested Beatles as well as newer names including Billie Eilish in the mix.

George has been running the business for 60 years.

“Some people are here today and gone tomorrow,” George said. “You don’t know.”

On a June afternoon, George sat in a chair with an electric fan blowing at him. Saturdays are his busiest days.

“I’m selling a lot of records,” he said. “Record sales are as strong now as they’ve been in the 1970s or ‘80s.”

That’s not only true for his shop but for the records business nationwide.

Record album sales revenue grew 61% in 2021 – and reached $1 billion for the first time since the 1980s – far outpacing growth rates for paid music subscriptions and streaming services such as Spotify and Pandora, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

And there’s been a resurgence of manufacturing records in the United States to match demand.

There are now about 40 plants across the country – most of them smaller operations, according to the Associated Press.

“I find that hard to believe,” George said. “They must be really small operations.”

He picked up a Taylor Swift album within reach and examined it.

“Made in Germany,” he said.

Most records are made in Europe, though George buys them from a distributor in the United States.

He said the lack of domestic manufacturing is one reason why records are more expensive than they were 30 years ago. He could get an LP in the ‘70s for $6, but new albums are $20 to $40.

There’s long been only one pressing plant in the United States, he said.

“When records went out of style, pressing plants closed,” he said.

However, record-makers that launched over the past 10 to 15 years include Toronto-based Precision Record Pressing, Memphis Record Pressing, Cleveland’s Gotta Groove Records and Kansas’ Quality Record Pressing, the Associated Press reported.

Nick Milkovich, 55, of the West End, said he has about 2,500 records and just as many CDs that vary from blues to classical, rock, heavy metal and jazz.

He traced the resurgence of vinyl to around 2005. By then, CD sales had peaked and iPods had become the new method for music listening.

Even during the CD age, he said he noticed “it didn’t sound the same” as a vinyl record.

And digital downloads still left music collectors wanting, he said.

“As Rob Zombie once said in an interview, ‘How are you going to bring a digital download to a concert and have me sign it?’ ” Milkovich said. “True collectors want records.”

George also sells CDs, but says his success is linked directly to vinyl coming back, especially the popularity of records among younger consumers.

“If young kids weren’t into LPs, I’d be out of business,” he said.

George’s father, Eugene, and uncle, Bernie, opened George’s Song Shop in 1932 at 110 Franklin St. on the first floor of the Glosser Brother’s Department Building.

The 1936 flood necessitated a move to Locust Street, then the shop was moved again to 105 Franklin St. in 1938.

John George took over the business in 1962 at age 19, after his father died.

“I was just a small fry,” he said of himself – as well as the business.

In the ‘60s, there were nine places downtown to buy records, George recalled. He outlasted them all.

“I don’t know how I did it,” he said.

In 1965, the Harlem Globetrotters visited the store, even though National Record Mart was on the corner.

George said: “I said, ‘Why are you in my shop?’ ”

The Globetrotters said National Record Mart was going out of business.

George went outside to see moving trucks at his competitor’s door.

“I thought, ‘Hey, I have a chance,’ ” he said. “That was one of the best days of my life.”

In 1970, John moved the shop to 421 Main St., where it stayed until 1977, when the shop again moved to its current location at 128 Market St. – three months before the 1977 flood.

“The flood wiped out the location here, and I was closed for four months to clean out and get restocked,” he said. “That was a million-dollar experience that I won’t give a nickel to repeat.”

George, 79, works six days a week.

“I don’t know how much longer I’ll be doing it,” he said, “but I’m thankful for what I’ve got and what I’ve done.”

Follow Russ O’Reilly on Twitter @RussellOReilly. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Russ O'Reilly is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @RussellOReilly.

Russ O'Reilly is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @RussellOReilly.

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