Record Store Day at Beverly Records TODAY Goes Round & Round

Beverly Records loves it when the phone rings, and the pace has picked up considerably since the "Live at Mr. Kelly's" documentary ran last month on WTTW-Ch 11. Beverly Records played a prominent role in helping the advance team piece together its facts with resources.

For years the store with the tagline "Where Vinyl Lives" has been the subject of video documentation and oral history for the record industry. A few keystrokes through YouTube will unveils years of play for Beverly Records, which comes full circle again after the pandemic.

"The love affair with vinyl records has intensified over this past year of seclusion and reflection," said Jack Dreznes, Beverly Arts Center owner.

According to Dreznes, people have returned to their own collection of records and found theme-driven artistic achievements tucked away, a stark contrast to a singular song played on the radio or those randomly chosen by the likes of Alexa.

Records - as if waiting to be rediscovered in its original analog creation – are the artists’ studio recordings projecting freshness, or nostalgia, within the context of is full offerings on both sides, as the artist intended.

“People are buying records they’ve owned before or exploring other music by the same artist or just exploring,” said Dreznes of his buyers at Beverly Records, 11612 South Western Avenue in Chicago. "We're experiencing another cycle of incredible growth in vinyl sales."

No local business has rolled with change over the decades like Beverly Records, surviving 8 tracks, the Compact Disc craze, homemade cassettes, Karaoke fads, the Walkman, pods and more.

"Beverly Records was carried for a time by our costume shop," said Dreznes, who was so proud to host producers creating the sound track for a documentary on famed Chicago nightclub Mr. Kelly's on Rush Street.

With the scouting work and background created at Beverly Records, Dreznes and his staff were a treasure trove of resources and information. Much of the "Live at Mr. Kelly's" narrative and transition from video segment to segment was filmed in the aisles of Beverly Records, where "vinyl lives" and each of the artists featured could be found in some bin or tucked away for the right person making the right response. Beverly Records stands alone and qualified to help documentarian seeking one location to find studio and live recording of Mr. Kelly's most celebrated artists, who call credit Mr. Kelly's as a launch pad: Ella Fitzgerald, Sara Vaughn, Barbara Streisand, Richard Pryor, Steve Martin, the Smothers Brothers and so many more.

The community is lucky to have two torchbearers such as Beverly Records and and also Nicky’s of Beverly because the industry is improving but still dragging due to continued “unprecedented global situations”, where production and shipping are in flux. To address the issues, the industry has created two “drop” dates – June 12 and July 17 to celebrate Record Store Day and get precious vinyl into customers hands. Beverly Records has a kind of "Chicago Clout" that helps them meet requests.

When Nicky's of Beverly celebrated its new location opening January 2nd, Beverly Records was on site playing rare cuts and requests. Vinyl Thursdays kicked off last week with DJ John Dreznes, son of Jack, playing the patio to vinyl enthusiasts of all ages, who complemented their dinners on the patios with a new selection of craft beers introduced by Nicky's of Beverly. Some waiting for their carry outs peered over the top of the fencing to take in an oldie. One dad brought his son to the DJ stand to show him what a record player looked like. Dreznes illustrated how to hold precious vinyl.

The partnership down the street at Nicky’s of Beverly has been nurtured by owner Paul Kostopanagiotou, who features rare vinyl selections for diners and carryout customers, especially evident at lunch on Thursday when the themes are carried through the day. The sound of the needle settling into the groove cues up his most hip customers. This Thursday the theme is "Electric Blues" which enjoyed its growth in Chicago.

“Some of our customers coming into Nicky’s are curious to hear what records we’re featuring on any given day,” said Kostopanagiotou, who expects to team with Beverly Records as he has with the Beverly Arts Alliance to promote music and art in his new space behind the restaurant and location at 105th and Western Ave.

“The pandemic even reminded us how essential we are to the community,” said Dreznes. “There’s nothing like getting that record home and playing it immediately.”