This 45-rpm single on Athens-based Star Records was recorded by The Rocking Reactions. Anyone who knows anything about the origins of the record is asked to email paul_sharritt@yahoo.com.

Have you ever heard the song “I Was Wrong” by The Rocking Reactions? What about its flip side, “Wednesday Night”?

If you haven’t, don’t worry; it’s likely not many people have. However, a local record collector would like to know more about it.

Michael Sharritt said he found the record in a local store. It immediately caught his eye because the 45-rpm single originated here.

The red Star Records label also says the song was produced by Athens-based Crown Productions. The only other information it contains are the names of the songwriters — Ray McCafferty wrote “I Was Wrong,” while “Wednesday Night” was penned by McCafferty and Steve Howard.

According to Shoals-based music historian Bill Jarnigan, The Rocking Reactions were comprised of Roger Baily, Rennie Belue, Tommy Burgess, Howard, McCafferty and possibly songwriter Mike Parker.

There seems to be little known about Star Records or Crown Productions, however.

There’s no year on the record, but Sharritt guesses it probably dates from the late 1960s or early 1970s.

“It’s kinda got a garage rock sound to it,” he said.

Sharritt surmises the record could have been a one-off record pressed at a plant in Nashville. Still, if readers know anything about the record, Crown Productions or the musicians involved, Sharritt would love to hear from them via email at paul_sharritt@yahoo.com. Anything he discovers he plans to share with the organizers of the future Scout House music incubator.

Vinyl on the upswing

Back before the days of steaming music apps like Pandora, Spotify and iHeartRadio, listening to music required a certain amount of physicality.

The forms of music were physical properties, whether cassette, vinyl record or CD. Listening to those physical properties required activity of the listener, whether turning over a record or cassette or changing out a CD.

In recent years, vinyl records have waged a fierce comeback. Last year, vinyl sales accounted for 14 percent of all physical album sales; 2017 was the 12th consecutive year of vinyl sales growth. The most-purchased album of 2017 was one recorded 50 years earlier — The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

The vinyl comeback isn’t necessarily surprising to people like Sharritt. He’s what some might refer to as a “crate digger” who is always in search of a rare find. His favorite medium is the 45 rpm, which typically included an “A” side and a “B” side. Those were also the preferred medium of radio DJs in the days of AM radio.

“I buy them in lots because they’re cheaper that way,” he said. “I recently got some Chuck Berry records with the original blue Chess label, and those can be worth quite a bit. Those more than paid for what I spent (on the lot).”