# What was the first single and album that you bought/were given? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 13, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704 "2009-02-13T16:55:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![misling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@misling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misling)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704/21 "2009-02-13T18:13:30Z")
I was given a portable record player (a sort of plastic suitcase containing a turntable and lousy speakers) for my tenth birthday. With it I got 3 LP records, chosen by my mom: Partridge Family (I forget the name of the album) 5th Dimension’s Greatest Hits - this was actually good. Donny Osmond (I forgot the name of this one too, but he was a kid at the time) My mom hadn’t a clue what music to get me, obviously. My best friend had one record, given her by her big brother, which we played on my record player until it wore out: Abbey Road. First 45 My best friend bought: They’re coming to take me away (Ha Ha) - Napoleon XIV First 45 I bought: Somebody to Love - Jefferson Airplane We pooled our allowances and chose 45s together ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704/22 "2009-02-13T18:14:06Z")
First single: Alice Cooper’s _Billion Dollar Babies_, bought in a Goodwill for .25¢ First Album: Boston, _Boston_, first album bought with my own money (from selling roses on the side of the road, my summer job when I was…maybe 13?) ---
**Author:** ![cgg419](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cgg419/32/2847_2.png) [@cgg419](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cgg419)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704/23 "2009-02-13T18:17:27Z")
First album: Big Ones by Aerosmith First Single: Big Me by Foo Fighters I never noticed that “big” coincidence before 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704/24 "2009-02-13T19:11:07Z")
First singles: “I’m A Believer” & “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron”, Dec. 1966 (they hit #1 and #2, respectively, the following week – I had an ear for pop hits even then!) First album: “Wear Your Love Like Heaven” by Donovan, probably late 1967/early 1968. (This was Disc 1 of the double album “A Gift from a Flower to a Garden” – the two discs were released as separate albums in the US.) ---
**Author:** ![Pixilated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aeb1de/32.png) [@Pixilated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixilated)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704/25 "2009-02-13T19:30:24Z")
Given: Star Wars soundtrack 1970-something Bought: Alice Cooper ‘When Zipper Catches Skin’ & ‘Welcome to My Nightmare’ 1982 instead of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. I think my investment paid off =) I dont recall what my first singles were or when. I do remember my cousins passing down some of theirs to me - Kung Fu fighting was one of them. 1979 maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704/26 "2009-02-13T19:39:38Z")
1st album bought: Funky Divas by En Vogue (purchased in 1993) 1st album given to me: I don’t know…it may have been Michael Jackson’s _Thriller_ in 1982 or '83, but that was more for my sister than me ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704/27 "2009-02-13T19:42:17Z")
1st Album - _Destroyer_ - **KISS** Can’ remember the 1st single. ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704/28 "2009-02-13T19:44:34Z")
First Album: _Thriller_, I think. First Single: I can’t really answer this. My Dad knew some guy that worked at a radio station, and one day he gave us a huge box of 45’s that they were throwing out. There were probably a couple of hundred in there. It probably would have been sometime in the early 80’s. The only ones I remember are “Magic Power” by Triumph and “Limelight” by Rush (can you tell I’m Canadian?). ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704/29 "2009-02-13T20:13:25Z")
1st 45 - Steppenwolf, Born to be Wild, 1967. I was five years old. I seem to remember getting some bubble gum crap in grade 4, but the LP I remember that started the collection was Mike Oldfield, Tubular Bells in 1973. I was eleven, and it completely[blew my mind](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=505433). ---
**Author:** ![vertizontal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ad7895/32.png) [@vertizontal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vertizontal)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704/30 "2009-02-13T20:25:02Z")
Both when I was 8 years old: 1st single - **A Boy Named Sue** 1st album - \*\*The Mason Williams Phonograph Album \*\*(a birthday gift from my grandparents, because \*Classical Gas \*was big at the time) ---
**Author:** ![Vox\_Imperatoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Vox\_Imperatoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vox_Imperatoris)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704/31 "2009-02-13T20:36:05Z")
Well, I’ve never actually purchased an actual music CD at a store, only downloaded them from iTunes (I wasn’t really “into” music as a kid, or really until…last year actually, when I got my iPhone). And because of the wonders of both purchasing one song at a time and of downloading songs for free on torrents, I’m not exactly sure. The first complete album I downloaded might have been _Fantastic_ by Toy-Box, though. Valete, Vox Imperatoris ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704/32 "2009-02-13T20:38:32Z")
Single: _Love Me Do_ by the Beatles Album: _Wednesday Morning 3 AM_ by Simon and Garfunkel ---
**Author:** ![I\_Am\_The\_Lorax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19adc/32.png) [@I\_Am\_The\_Lorax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Am_The_Lorax)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704/33 "2009-02-13T20:48:23Z")
First Single-Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me by Elton John First Album- Bad by Michael Jackson ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704/34 "2009-02-13T20:56:59Z")
First Buy, Single: Nancy Sinatra Sugar Town/Summer Wine 1967 First Buy, Album: Dionne Warwick Dionne Warwick in Paris (featuring an incredible arrangement of “Message to Michael”) 1966(but bought in 1967) ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704/35 "2009-02-13T20:59:58Z")
Never bought a single. My first album was Adios Amigos by The Ramones. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704/36 "2009-02-13T21:05:17Z")
First single bought: **The Streak** , by Ray Stevens (“oh yes they call him the Streak (looka that, looka that!) fastest thing on two feet” :rolleyes:) First single I stayed up late at night to hear on the radio: \*\*Fame \*\*by David Bowie; I loved the funk riff and the cool computer-speak Fame riff at the end… First Album: pretty sure it was \*\*Free for All \*\*by Ted Nugent; if not, it was **KISS Alive** I was a boy of discerning, sophisticated tastes…:smack: ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704/37 "2009-02-13T21:22:45Z")
Single: Band on the Run, 1973 (?) My dad bought it for me to prove to me that it was NOT, in fact, “Man on the Run”. It was my first grown-up record. (age 6 or 7) Album: Andy Gibb, Flowing Rivers, 1978. Age 11. Or possibly that Meco Star Wars disco album. Paid for it with my own money, ordered it off TV. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704/38 "2009-02-13T22:05:28Z")
Single: The Kinks - _(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman_, which I bought for the B-side _Father Christmas_ Album: Either the soundtrack for The Rocky Horror Picture Show or _The Beatles 1967-1970_ compilation. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704/39 "2009-02-13T22:07:20Z")
The first single I got was _Crocodile Rock_ in 1973 probably. Because my older brother and sister bought albums I didn’t buy any, I bought singles. The first album I bought was Abba’s _Greatest Hits_, around 1976 I’d say ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704/40 "2009-02-14T00:29:37Z")
I don’t remember the first album, but the first single was REM - Stand. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-single-and-album-that-you-bought-were-given/485704.md?page=3)