EASTPOINTE (WWJ) -- Record Store Day is upon us once again, and for many music lovers, that means the hunt is on!
While thousands descend upon the various record stores spread across Metro Detroit on Saturday, April 22, they will be scouring the shelves for rare finds and hidden treasures that one can only hope to discover in a place as magical as a music shop.
Indeed, there’s plenty of lore that surrounds the community of record collectors -- tales of "Holy Grail" discoveries that often motive music enthusiasts to keep digging.
And a prime example is this story about an extremely rare and valuable pressing that ended up in the hands of the owners of a Macomb County record store — and eventually, found a home with Detroit music legend, Jack White.
On this episode of The Daily J podcast, WWJ’s Zach Clark and Annie Scaramuzzino speak with Denise Zieja from Melodies & Memories in Eastpointe about the piece of Motown history she and her husband Dan discovered, and why they decided to keep it within the Detroit music community.
To say that Denise and Dan Zieja have a vast record collection is an understatement.
With a library that Denise estimates consists of around half a million pieces of music, it’s inevitable that they would also have some incredible and rare finds within their collection — and definitely they do!
But one of their most notable treasures came in the form of a test pressing from an artist-turned-producer named Frank Wilson.
Wilson was working with a Motown subsidiary label called Soul Records when he recorded his 1965 single, “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do).”
But as the story goes, Wilson was later speaking with Berry Gordy about his career with Motown when Gordy asked him if he wanted to pursue a path as an artist, or a different role.
Wilson is said to have told Gordy that he was more interested in being a producer, and so “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)” was scrapped, never to see the light of day…almost.
Around 250 copies of the 7-inch single that had been pressed were destroyed, but a few were quietly salvaged from the archives.
Several decades later, an incredibly rare test pressing of “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)” ended up in the hands of the Zieja family, who then had to decide what to do with it.
“You know, everybody wanted to know about it, but we always knew that it had to stay in Detroit, that it had to stay where it belongs," Denise Zieja said. "I got offers from the UK from Switzerland from Australia and we wanted it to be here."
Enter: Jack White.
When the local music legend and known vinyl enthusiast learned about the existence of the rare Frank Wilson recording -- which has been valued as high as $100,000 -- he expressed interest in purchasing it from the family.
With an existing relationship with White’s nephew and Third Man Records co-founder Ben Blackwell already in place, Denise and Dan decided to meet with them to discuss a possible sale.
In 2018, White officially acquired the infamous 45, and celebrated the changing of hands with the Zieja family on Record Store Day at Third Man Records in Detroit’s Cass Corridor, where they also pressed a limited amount of copies of the single on purple vinyl.
As Denise told WWJ, it was important to them to keep the piece of music history within the Detroit community, despite interest from collectors across the world.
While running Melodies & Memories over the past 35 years, Denise and Dan Zieja have also become preservationists and teachers of Detroit’s incredible music history.
Artists from all over the world have visited the shop on 9 Mile and Gratiot throughout the decades, browsing through their vast music collection and sometimes even leaving their own mark by signing of their colorful walls, which are also adorned with countless pieces of music memorabilia.
Visitors have included Questlove, Eminem, Kanye West and Common, as well as late-great artists like Aretha Franklin and J Dilla.
Walking into Melodies & Memories feels like stepping into a music museum, and there’s no lack of exhibits to see or pieces of history to peruse.
But most importantly, the Zieja family have built a meaningful community through their store, which shows that some of the most powerful connections that people can make come courtesy of music.
So this Record Store Day, as you’re thumbing through the stacks of vinyl and CDs at your favorite local shop, remember it’s the record store owners who continue to make this unique experience possible.
Though things are always changing and evolving, the memories made while hunting for that perfect record or talking music with our friends stay with us forever...and that bears repeating.
Want The Daily J delivered right to you, every Monday-Friday? Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, including on the FREE Audacy App.
Related
