TOD: My father was a pharmacist and had a pharmacy in a small Ohio town. He was very generous in wanting to help people who couldn't afford it, and would sometimes get paid in food, or not paid at all, but he couldn't deprive someone of needed medication. Needless to say, his business didn't last very long and he had to sell off the inventory, which included goos for the home, and sell the store.
The one thing he kept was something we all coveted: one of those console stereos that looked like a nice piece of furniture. We had it for years. After we left Ohio and he got on his feet again by joining the public health service, it was a long time before we were able to afford records. But we did have three: Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue", Kabalevsky's "The Comedians" and a classical "greatest hits" compilation (probably the Longines Symphonette!).
It didn't lead me to other recordings because I was an infant (and had listened to Gershwin in utero) but the first time I got my hands on a toy piano I could already plunk out melodies and my parents bought a piano a few years later.
Other recordings I loved as a kid were Gllbert and Sullivan, Tchaikovsky, anything exciting and dramatic!
