Sights & Sounds, Talk
John Denver to the rescue
In the summer of 1975, I finally got what appeared to be a really great job in the record business. It was a simple work-a-day clerk routine but it was at Peaches Records and Tapes at 2282 Peachtree Road, just south of the smaller Buckhead community of the time. Peaches was the hottest and coolest destination in Atlanta at the time. It wasn’t simply a matter of being able to purchase any LP or tape that was available then. It was the place to see and be seen.
Relationships and marriages were born, as well as divorces, at Peaches. The late night crowd gathered on the weekends, before or after an evening at Harrison’s. Our customers included Lester Maddox, Cicely Tyson, Lou Reed and Maynard Jackson. To paraphrase The Beatles, a splendid time was had by all.
Then there was the collection of handprints and footprints, ala Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. The prints were placed alongside our building. People lingered over the collection that included Paul McCartney, Willie Nelson, James Brown, The Beach Boys, The Allman Brothers Band, Robert Shaw, Dolly Parton, The Isley Brothers and some two dozen more. It was a great place to be and a fun place to work, but not always.
It became clear that the joy of getting a job in the record business was negated somewhat by the music that was dominant at the time. As the great Atlanta musician and humorist, Darryl Rhoades declared, it was a time of Olivia Elton John Denver. Elton had given us a lot of great music but he would soon be releasing a single with Kiki Dee (“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”). That was pretty bad. Then there was the disco insurgency.
But John Denver. Supposedly he had been a true folkie who scored a few hits yet still made decent albums. But then he got big. Real big. He received acclamation and love from millions of record buying Americans who adored his melodious messages that celebrated being one with nature. His anthems to the natural environment were accompanied by mammoth string arrangements. It was too much. But he was selling a lot of records. Lots, as in millions. We were retailers and we played a part in the movement of Denver’s work.
It was decided to build a mountain in the store in which to display Denver’s latest album. The store’s talented artist, John Campbell, constructed a mountain of plaster and chicken wire or similar materials. It dominated prime display space. Denver’s record label, RCA, was pleased with the mountain. So were the employees since it provided another place to lean against when we should have been waiting on customers.
On a pleasant Autumn evening, things were proceeding smoothly enough. Business was good. For the most part, the store was running itself. No worries until a cashier called me and a manager to the front. A gentleman making some purchases was trying to take his his LPs home via a stolen credit card. The man bolted and ran up Peachtree. For some reason a few of us chased him although he had nothing in his possession. Situations like these now give pause to those of us who have sons in their early twenties.
We chased the guy down and brought him back to the store. Our security guard, no more imposing than Deputy Dawg, accompanied us and the perp back to the office area where he would be locked in until the police arrived. The drama would soon be over.
But then as the guard struggled to find the right key, the perp grabbed Deputy Dawg’s gun and pulled it on me and the manager. He’s going to shoot us over the credit card? Let’s give it back to him. Don’t leave here without it. But all of a sudden he became distracted with something near the warehouse door. At that moment, the manager and I ran back into the store. Where would we hide? Oh, take us home country roads. Take us to the John Denver Mountain where we belong. Immediately afterward, the guy looked around for us but did not think about us hiding behind a silly mountain of plaster and chicken wire. So with his pistol, holding it as calmly as he would a cassette tape by John Denver, he walked out of the store.
The perp was caught less than two hours later. Even then, the APD was serving and protecting, but offering no protection as secure as that mountain.
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Terri Evans says: What great fun! Of course, I remember Peaches. You’re right. It was HOT! Wonderful, funny story. My favorite line: “Don’t leave here without it.” Glad it was a mountain that you could hide in as opposed to a mole hill, and glad you’re still with us today!
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Kerfeld says: Atlanta — the city too busy to police.
Nice article, Jeff. The Peaches on Stewart Avenue never had the same cachet.
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Alice Murray says: What a great memory. I hadn’t thought of Peaches in years. And I’m really glad the story had a happy ending. Keep posting! Your talent wasn’t served in all those years of selling ads down on Marietta Street.
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Tracey Paul says: Ah, Peaches. Great story, Jeff. One of the other store clerks at the time remembers a customer looking for a specific record: “Uh, s’cuse me: You got any bad rock shit that you can jam off of late at night?” And I quote.
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Tim Oliver says: Man, I remember, EXACTLY, that musical time ! Elton John negated his melodious, sensitive songs by dressing like Donald Duck. The Bee Gees went from mending broken hearts to telling us we should all be dancing, in really high falsetto. John Denver wasn’t singing about the Rocky Mountains making him high. No wonder quintessential nice guy, Lou Reed, said “Can you imagine some kid thinking he’d love to grow up to play on a Donna Summer album?”
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Lindy Lou says: Jeff, I laughed out loud at this many times, especially the vision of you guys trying to hide behind John Denver’s mountain and exclaiming “oh take me home country roads.” I did not live in Atlanta to experience Peaches, but I know where it was and have heard other tales. And I certainly lived through this time musically for the good and bad. Speaking of bad, you forgot to mention the monotonous droning of Anne Murray and Helen Reddy and that unforgettable favorite, “Disco Duck.” Although a big Lou Reed fan (in my pseudo-hippie crowd his “Take a Walk on the Wild Side” and the whole Transformer album was an ancedote to the drizzly tunes on the radio of the time ) but at least you can dance to Donna Summer (which I did like crazy in platform shoes in my subsequent, yet brief, disco days!). I was in Atlanta in time for the Limelight, whose legacy remains by the shopping center still dubbed “the disco Kroger.”
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Dallas says: Great story. Wish I’d seen that mountain in the store.
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Mary Lee (aka Bootsie Lucas) says: what a great story!!!!!! had no idea that the peaches store saw so much drama. i lived 90 miles away at the time, and when we came to atlanta, peaches was the place to go. i think i even had a fruit crate (for records?) with the peaches logo on it. or am i making that up?
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Rachel says: This also brought back fun memories of spending the night on the sidewalk at Peaches waiting in line for concert tickets before computers. It’s easier now but not as much fun!
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Damn, I miss Peaches. That’s where you and I met many decades ago, Jeff.
Nice piece.
The most insane thing ever was when the store was sold and a dispute over ownership of the handprints resulted in them being busted apart by jackhammer. A friend got a piece of the McCartney/Wings set.
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My first bookcase in my apt on Buford Hwy was made from Peaches crates, balanced on brown shag carpeting). What a great place that was. Loved reading your story and am glad that it had a happy ending!
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Suzanne Murphy says: I loved Peaches, too. It was always fun to go there. What a great little story. I can’t wait to read more of your stories.
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Cliff Green says: I thought I was the oldest guy around, but everybody remembers Peaches! Jeff, thanks for the memories. I want to combine something you mentioned with one of Linday Lou’s recollections.
Darryl Rhoades and his Ha-Ha Vishnu Orchestra was one of the great Atlanta musical acts of all time. Lindy brought up Helen Reddy. Do any of you remember Darryls’s version of “I Am Woman”?
One of the guys in the band, he had a black mustache, would come out in a blonde wig and a pink prom dress while carrying a broom and would do the Ha-Ha’s version. The refrain went:
I am inane.
I am an imbecile.
I’m commercial.
OK. You had to be at the Great Southeast Music Hall to appreciate the effect.
I do want to complain about another of Lindy’s statements: “the monotonous droning of Anne Murray.” I, for one, have always enjoyed a woman with a baritone voice. I’m sure I’m not alone in this.
Seriously, everyone, thanks for the memories. -
E. Evatt says: Sorry to jump into this discussion a little late, but I wanted to say Hi to you, Jeff….missed you at the family reunion this year. In fact, we missed all the Cochrans! I am new here – Googled Darryl Rhoades and was led to this site. It is great and I just realized it was you who wrote this article.
To answer Cliff’s post above:
I am Woman, hear me b**ch
Buy my Records, Make me Rich! -
lee says: tons of memories , I was the first (original) manager of the store. Built from ground zero and initiated the footprints, a time I will never forget, complete with the most talented , knowledgeable , friendly staff in the entire world. of an era now gone..
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Kip Burke says: As Gawd is my witness, I thought Peaches existed to give me a place to meet girls. You could tell so much by which albums a girl was looking at, thereby saving yourself from the horror of waking up with a Slim Whitman fan…
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Kip, I could hear you now after the hypothetical one night stand from the Peaches pick up: Vaaaayaa Condioooos, my darling, complete with the quivering adam’s apple. She’s digging for Slim – run awsayyyy!!!
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Tom says: Peaches was quite the institution. Somewhat across the street was the competitor Oz records offering their version of music retailing. When visiting Atlanta it was mandatory to stop in at Peaches to see the cutdown cartons filled with the best sellers of the times. Also the cut-out bins of past sellers and losers were always great to look through. It’s hard to believe this all went the way of the horse & buggy. It just not the same browsing through ITunes or Amazon to find some music. Picking up an album, checking out the artwork and reading them was a way to spend some time in a unique atmosphere amongst some truly one of a kind individuals.
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