Located in a lonely alleyway off Britton sits the hidden gemstone of Oklahoma City’s record buying public, the aptly named Alley Records, 918 ½ Britton Rd.
Run by local roots musician Ronnie Jay Wheeler, behind that metal door is a whole world of vaunted recordings, one where it’s easy to spend more than an afternoon just sifting through the listenable goods, walking out with an armload or two.
I was there last Saturday afternoon, after months of wanting to visit, if I could find it. Once inside, at first glance, it resembles a teenage boy’s bedroom, with a variety of posters on the wall and various memorabilia in the bookshelves mixed around the thrift-store furniture. I wish my parents had been this permissible.
This audio love affair started with the bin in the front, the one marked 12-inch singles. Almost immediately, I found three titles: U2’s “Angel of Harlem,” David Naughton’s “Makin’ It,” and, much to my surprise, Ice-T’s “I’m Your Pusher,” a tune that I used to be obsessed with, as they played it on Saturday nights on KAND Radio in Corsicana, Texas.
I never thought I’d ever hear that song again. ‘Twas a holiday miracle!