Sam the Record Man, like Honest Ed, is a person who helped to bring about a new city of Toronto.
Unlike my cousins and many around me, I am not a musical aficionado. Music is a significant part of my life, but it is not my passion. Nevertheless, Sam Sniderman's store on Yonge St. was an important part of my teenage years.
Going to Sam the Record Mans was an event. We snooped through a warren of rooms, on many levels, connected by various stairs, in various directions and of various lengths. Each room was filled to capacity with vinyl records, mostly LP's. Cool dudes, and not so cool dudes stood by pillars with bulging sets of headphones. They checked out the intended purchase, before they put down the cash at the register. The coolest of all were the sales help, who obviously lived music
I guess I was a Folkie. My odd collection of records was of the Peter, Paul and Mary sort. Hootenanys were bright spots on my unimpressive social calendar.
I would trudge up to the third floor and flip through the records. The third floor at that time had folk music and jazz. Those who had not completely emerged from the Beatnik era, hung over these records in their solid blacks. The Greasers with their fancy hairdos rocked in another room downstairs.
Boxing Day was the big day. Despite the law that stores were to stay closed, Sam's was very much open. SALE.SALE.SALE. Ragged lines formed along the street. Sam stood by the front door welcoming everyone, as he did most days, the store was open. We were crushed by a mass of humanity, mostly young, from all parts of the city and beyond.
It was a sad day, when decades later, a cardboard Sam stood in his place.
The City Fire Marshals must have been aware of the doings and had a hard time sitting on their hands.
Toronto was very waspish in those days; Toronto the Good, Hogtown, City of Churches. Here a dinner of prime rib roast and Yorkshire pudding, at the Royal York Hotel, was the epitome of fine dine dining.
The city has changed. This is a good thing. It is now Toronto the Good, a different kind of good. Characters who lived in brash, new ways opened up doors, meant to stay closed, letting in freshness from all over the world to become a global happening. Sam was one of those characters who opened doors.
Thankyou Sam. Safe journey.
