Pittsburgh, Pa. Audio Scene 1970's

It seems like Pittsburgh, Pa is pretty well represented on this forum. I'm curious to know if any of you were around back in the 70's there- I grew up in the 'Burgh and was active there as a young hi-fi enthusiast in the late 60's through the 70's, until I moved away. Have fond memories of Opus One on Smithfield St, and a few other places/ characters who were around at that time.
Anybody else here from that time and place?
Bill Hart

 

I wasn't alive back then, but Opus One is still around. My band has worked with them in the past.

 

Opus One, the hi-fi store on Smithfield St? Not sure we are talking about the same thing. It was run by a crazy passionate guy named Tasso Spanos. BTW, thanks for replying!

 

Opus One is the name of a Pittsburgh concert promoting agency.
I remember Opus One, the hi-fi store too. Used to go in there all the time, bought a Proton D540 amp and tuner that still work (my kids use the amp now). I remember hearing the Spica Tc-50s there.

 

There are no full service hi-end retail stores in Pittsburgh. A touch of home theater, but you aren't going to demo much of anything here. Sadly. NE Ohio has a few shops and then over in SW Ohio there is a huge hi-end store. I guess Columbus might have something too.

 

Exactly! Thanks for the clarification.

 

Too bad. I was also wondering if any of the folks on here were from my era then, and if I knew them.
Thanks JH!

 

Hey Bill -
I'm in the 'burg now, but in the halcyon hifi days of the 70s I was in Columbus, OH. Lotta great things there back in the day.

Anyway I wonder did you ever go up to a place called Butch's Sound Shack in Natrona Heights. Pretty unlikely location but he's a McIntosh dealer and I have bought some nice gear from him over the years. It seems like he has been there a long time, for sure his shop is like a time warp to hifi in the old days and last time I was up there Butch is still manning the place. He's a neat guy and he always treated me well.

Was he around back in the day?

 

Don't remember him, but that doesn't mean he wasn't there- there were a couple of brothers i knew by the name of Curley, who were pretty interesting characters from the North Hills into all kinds of cool gear, vintage cars, etc. But Butch wasn't on my radar. I remember a shop in Shadyside and a few in the South Hills (where I came from originally), in addition to Tassos' store downtown. I'm sure there were more, though
. P- thank you for replying to this. Is 'Iron City' beer still made? (As in 'gimme an Arn?)

 

not too many in NE ohio anymore either.

hoffman's in cleveland closed a couple of years ago, audio arts is still on euclid in cleveland, and there might one store in canton, although i do not know the name of it, nothing in youngstown at all. no idea about columbus.

kids today do not want hi-end stereo, just give them a f**kin pair of earbuds and a download and they are happy. it's sad, very sad.

 

I remember Opus One. Bought a Mo-Fi "Year Of The Cat" from Tasso and I was at the auction after he went out of business and sold what was left. Picked up a couple Sonus cartridges. (Still have 'em) I also went to the audio salon that was in Shadyside. I listened to a pair of Dayton-Wright electrostatics and another pair of speakers I don't remember. I bought a Dual turntable and BIC speakers at a audio store at the Allegheny Center Mall on the northside, and they had a smaller satellite store in Rochester (Pa) that I used to frequent. All that plus the first saturday of each month was a trip to Squirrel Hill to Heads Together underground mall for the all night sale. Any 3 single lps in the store for $6.99....... a side trip to Lew's Virgo Shop on Forward Ave., and the occasional visit to Flo's Records on Bouquet St. in Oakland.

 

Man, a trip down memory lane. Head-shops! Yikes, i guess those are now gonna be legal again, huh? Funny, I remember those places, particularly Heads-Together, did it have a hair salon? along with the black light posters, records, and of course, bongs, rolling papers and all the paraphernalia. I remember it was always dark in there, but maybe i never took the shades off. I think the store in the mall was 'The Appliance Store' wasn't it? Kinda weird, because they literally sold appliances, but also sold real hi-fi gear! Tasso's store was very classy.

 

I know the Appliance Store was there, but there was also an Audio only type store but the name eludes me. I've got a call in to a friend of mine that may remember. Oh, and don't forget the waterbeds at Heads Together. I used to laugh at the commercials........ "King Larry invites you to Heads Together where you can get your pipes, papers, posters, black lights, incense, AND NOW WATERBEDS!" and where the everyday low price is any 3 single lps for just $8.99

 

Your memory is better than mine. Either that, or I actually used the products they sold there more than you.

 

Hey Bill!

I've been here since 1953. I went to college at the University of Pittsburgh 1971 - 1976. I remember Opus One, late night sales at Heads Together, going through the racks of records and tapes at National Record Mart. All of that is gone now. However Jerry's Records in Squirrel Hill is one of the largest record stores in the country. Google Jerry's Records and check out his website. He runs auctions and he great records can be had for a lot less than eBay. He sells most records in the store for $4. People travel here from distant places to go to Jerry's.

Anyone remember that "Dawn of the Dead" was filmed at Monroeville Mall? They have a small museum and business dedicated to "Dawn" and the Zombie movies.

I saw many a great concert in Pittsburgh. I was at the Door's concert in 1970. A live recording of this concert has recently been released. Bob Marley's last concert was in Pittsburgh. The Rolling Stones did a live performance at West View's "Danceland".

Great fun!

 

Hey Schwarcw! I was at a Doors concert at the Civic Arena, can't remember if it was 1970 or not. They'd play a song, then the house lights would go out. They'd fiddle or tune or whatever, then come back on, lights up, with the next tune. Then, at some point, which seemed way too early, when they came back on, the stage was empty, concert over!
There were students who got parts as 'extras' in the mall zombie movie. I still love the original and the first scene in the graveyard is, to me, one of the most unsettling of all horror movies (I'm excluding stuff like 'Irreversible' or 'Melancholia' which were disturbing in a different way).
Jerry's- I occasionally find records in my stacks wth Jerry's price stickers on them. They were cheap when I was buying them from him on visits back to the 'Burgh in the 80's. I think I picked up a bunch of Columbia 6 Eyes from him, including a pretty clean copy of Take Five that I found in my 'stacks' and played recently.
The strangest show I saw in Pittsburgh was probably the Talking Heads at a local pizzeria in around 1977, right after they got started. They weren't famous then.
And one of the loudest- I'm sure I already mentioned this in another thread here- Roy Buchanan opening for Lowell George and Little Feat at an auditorium at Pitt- had to be mid-70's.
You and I probably bumped into each other at the Original HotDog in Oakland during that era, I was in school in Oakland in that time frame too!
Thank you for posting. This really is like time travel.

 

Fun stuff for sure Bill! Maybe you were at the "Wooden Keg" which was very close to the "greasy O". Monday nights Porky Chedwick would DJ. That old fart is still kicking around. I saw many a show at the Syrian Mosque including Genesis and others. Remember the Stanley Theater? A lot of concerts there.

I actually saw three Doors shows at the Civic Arena, 1968, 69 and 70. I can't remember which show had the events that you described. I saw the Moody Blues, Black Sabbath, Rolling Stones, Grand Funk Railroad, Led Zepplin and many more at the Arena. The Civic Arena itself was finally demolished just a couple of months ago. I think there is still a lot of rubble on the ground up there. I don't go past there that often.

Don't forget "The Decade" lounge in Oakland. Many a young act started out there. I remember seeing Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seager and others there over the years. Other Oakland landmarks included the Kings Court Theater, Zelda's Greenhouse, the Pitt Tavern, Frankie Gustine's Lounge. How about George Aiken's Deli?? LOL! I walked along the Pitt Campus on Forbes Ave and watched them tear down Forbes Field. They still have home plate inside a glass display in the floor of one of the buildings that was built on the grounds.

The days have gone by fast. It seems like only yesterday. I look into the mirror every morning and wonder "when did I turn into my father" LOL!

Best regards,

Carl

 

Thanks for those memories, Carl. I remember virtually all those places, including the Elbow Room. The Syria Mosque was a wonderful venue, saw a number of shows there. That circuit, with those promoters, brought in all the first tier acts. There was also a very serious local jazz scene that I was not really part of- there was still a strong color divide in Pittsburgh at the time, and though I probably wouldn't have had too many issues as a white kid going up to the Hill District, many famous players came through that I never heard. Some, of course, pre-date both of us.
T-Bone Walker played one of his last shows at the Stanley, if memory serves. I'm pretty sure George Benson was around in those days too. Errol Garner.
George Aiken's is famous to me (yes, I liked the cold macaroni salad there, used to go to the one not far from Market Square, and there was a National Record Mart nearby on the same side of the street) because it was the subject of a pretty big copyright case that went to the US Supreme Court over the right to play background music without a license in a retail establishment. You can look it up- it was ASCAP v. Aiken or vice-versa. The King's Court always seemed to be playing the Rocky Horror Picture show.
One thing about Pittsburgh that's kinda funny- when I first moved to NY, I couldn't get over the fact that nobody served a fried fish sandwich. Those things were good. As was Primantis, if you were prepared not to eat for a couple days afterwards.

 

I purchased a pair of Spica's from Opus One on Smithfield back in the day.

 

Hey Bill! (and everyone else)
Longtime Pittsburgh resident here, and joined this forum to say hello in this thread. Found the board and this thread through a Google search. Looking to sell my KLH Model 20 + and was trying to recall the name of the place I'd gotten it from back in the...60s or 70s. As soon as I saw this thread, there it was! Opus One...Tasso Spanos, great memories. Not only did I buy the KLH set ("the best," he said!) from him but his wife was also a customer of mine.

 

Welcome to the forum, Ron. The classifieds section on this forum is pretty good, but you won't get access for a few weeks.

I do wonder where Pittsburgh audiophiles shop for gear. I'm assuming we have the same # of audiophiles per capita as any other mid-sized city, but yet there are no noteworthy stores remaining.

 

Hi, Ron, thanks for chiming in. Audiogon used to be the place for people to buy/sell gear, but there have been quite a few issues over there, if you run a search you'll see. I don't get back to the 'Burgh much, but actually have some fond memories. I know that's a sign of age.
Best,

 

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That is really a pretty sad commentary about the state of audio.

 

You are so right Jim. When I was a young guy in Cols, OH you could go to Stereo Lab or someplace and check out gear, and go there and spend $$$ when you had some and buy actual hifi. And it was fun, and business was being done. But that was the 70's, and now Cols is the same as Pittsburgh (where I live now), and pickings are slim. You know last weekend I thought "I"ll go out and listen to this OPPO 105 somewhere, maybe I'll pick it up if it sounds as great as they say."

And you know what? There is nowhere around here you can go hear or see the hottest digital component on the market. Can you believe that? I just don't understand it.

Jh901... I've bought some Mc gear up at Butch's in Natrona Heights, he's a really nice guy but I think he misses hi end audio as much as we do.

 

I don't know about that. I feel that we're in a golden age. More great hi-end on the market at all price ranges than ever before I bet. Sadly, many local shops aren't able to survive due to web-commerce.