KEITH POPE, of Village Vinyl Emporium, holds framed rare LP records of Lionel Richie (right) and Jann Arden. Photo by Tom Godfrey.
There was a time when vinyl LP records were king and streaming had to do with a river.
There were several record stores in the community and Keith Pope, the owner of one of the last remaining, Village Vinyl Emporium and Cafe, at 2925 Lake Shore Blvd. W., remember those heady days when top bands were presented with beautifully framed records to recognize their sales of large quantities of records.
The framed discs of superstars Lionel Richie, who had sold 100,000 records; a signed Jann Arden and Michael Crawford still glitter on a shelf. The items bring back a lot of history and nostalgia.
LIONEL RICHIE back in the day around 1984.
“I had an Elvis but that went fast,” Pope says. “These framed records were highly regarded by artists and in the industry at one time.”
“These are a piece of history and nostalgia. They meant a lot back in the day,” he says.
The plaques once belonged to Toronto music philanthropist Kroum Pindoff, who with wife, Eva, founded Music World in 1970. The company in its prime had 110 outlets nationwide and employed 1,000 staffers to sell their records.
Kroum started Pindoff Record Sales in 1960 by selling records on consignment to a variety of stores in Toronto. It was a hit and a decade later they founded Music World, which was popular with young people.
Music World Limited was eventually sold, the buyer suffered the same fate as many record stores and was eventually liquidated. The outlets closed in February 2008.
Philanthropist Kroum Pindoff, with wife, Eva, founded Music World in 1970. Courtesy photo.
Pindoff was a war child who was born in Greece, but raised in Bulgaria. Eva was born in Germany. They vowed when they arrived in Canada in 1955 as immigrants to make enough money to help innocent victims of war. That they did and more.
In 1998 the Toronto Star carried a front page story about the couple giving $5 million to the Canadian Red Cross to help land mine survivors rebuild their lives.
“I have been in war, seen what it can do,’’ the then 82-year-old said then.
“The destruction caused by landmines to innocent people trying to struggle from one day to the next is shocking and heartbreaking,’’ he told the newspaper.
The couple, who were married for 50 years, gave millions of dollars to the Red Cross to help landmine victims, drought and famine victims in Africa and Asia. They contributed more than 20,000 food parcels to seniors in Bulgaria following the implosion of the Eastern Bloc in 1991.
VILLAGE VINYL is one of the few record stores still in business in the area.
While amassing a fortune selling records, it is estimated they donated more than $20 million to the Red Cross and War Child Canada to help young victims of war.
They also built a home for 100 children in Gasinci, Croatia.
After the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in South Asia, the Pindoffs’ gave $5 million toward Canadian Red Cross relief and recovery efforts. It was the largest ever personal contribution to a Canadian Red Cross disaster appeal at the time.