Iconic Boston record shop Skippy White's will play its final tune
An iconic Boston record shop that has been open for 59 years will soon be closing its doors.
Skippy White’s, located in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, is going out of business.
The shop’s owner and namesake, Skippy White, is a walking music history book with the kind of knowledge you can’t get online. He opened his first record store in 1961.
His business survived a fire and decades of new styles of music, and outlasted eight-track tapes, cassettes and CDs. But it could not overcome the rise in streaming.
“The record business is not what it used to be,” White said.
White announced on Facebook that he will be going out of business, which was disappointing news for hundreds of his loyal customers.
“I’ve had people in all day long (Friday), feeling that they love me,” White said. “It’s the rapport I have with people who come into the store.”
Skippy White’s is stocked full of classics and the shop’s inventory overflows into another warehouse. The owner has his own favorites and he is hoping people come in and find their own.
“We hope that with this going-out-of-business sale that we’re going to sell most of them, if not all of them,” White said. “More young people are coming back to vinyl because they realize it has a warmer sound to it.”
White did not announce an exact date for when his record shop will close for good. Customers who cannot make it to the store can make purchases online via eBay.