Single File’s stash of polka 45s

Sometimes I really love the internet. I don’t know where I stumbled across the Instagram account for @SingleFile45, or how he stumbled across mine. But we eventually connected.

I started following his account right around the time he started posting 45s from Waffle House jukeboxes. The quirky, flat-grill themed songs hinted at his eclectic collection. He seemed to love everything from disco boogie to women in country music, but it was the Northern Soul that especially caught my eye. 

After about five months, Dave reached out to me with an offer of polka records. Because the answer to free records is always YES, I agreed to have him mail me a package. 

“In my digging and buying I come across a fair amount of polka on 45, being from Wisconsin,” he wrote. “Some of it is local and knowing there’s someone out there who’s as into it as you are, I’ll set some aside and send them your way.”

I love getting these messages. I think people just want to see records go to a good home. They know it’s better to let go of boxes collecting dust in a basement or taking up room on the record shelf when there is someone who will use them and appreciate them. I’m glad to be that person to knock the dust off a stack of vinyl and give it new life (or keep them circulating if they aren’t a good fit for my collection). 

Visit my recent Instagram post to hear clips from the top ten records from the stack he mailed to me. 

I strongly encourage you to explore @SingleFile45’s music shows on Mixcloud for some prime vintage soul, disco, country, gospel, and quirky oddities (start with “You Are Target Market”).