What initially looked like a disaster turned into an attractive cover thanks to a little can of Goof Off. I sent Ms. Page this cover back in January along with a note mentioning, among other things, my father’s memory of escorting her to the stage in the early 1950s at a University of Detroit carnival. I received it back yesterday with two(!) inscriptions on it: one for me and one for “Ms. Griffin,” whoever that is--certainly no relation to me. It appears that Ms. Page got her mail mixed up and inscribed my record to someone else and then corrected her mistake by adding a second inscription. Maybe it took her eight months to decide if she should mail it back to me or not. Fortunately, this being one of those Mercury records with the thin glossy laminate coating, I was able to wipe off the accidental inscription with a rag and a dab of Goof Off. That would not have worked with any non-laminated record and very few are laminated--Mercury, Elektra, and CTI are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head. The fact that this trick worked at all lets you know how vulnerable some autographs can be. I’m just glad the “2010” was on the incorrect inscription and not the one meant for me. This way I don’t feel guilty wiping it off. Who wants to see “2010” on a 1959 record?
