Val's Halla Chicago - Record Store Tour - HiFi America Episode 20

Looking for a vinyl record store near you? In HiFi America Season 2 Episode 4 we take a Record Store Documentary style tour of Val's Halla in Chicago!

The Story of Val's Halla...

South Boulevard Location: 1972-2006
Val’s halla was born July 26, 1972 following the demise of a small record chain that was managed by Val Camilletti from the same location since 1968.
One week after the fall of the chain, Val was able to lease the empty location at 723½ South Blvd in Oak Park, which had been her home for the prior five years. With an all-volunteer effort from former employees, a myth was brought to life.
Over the next four decades, Val and her team rode the ups and downs of the music business, from the heyday of CD sales, to the near-collapse of the recorded music industry during the Napster years.
Throughout this time, the store served as a mecca for music lovers of every age. Many OPRF high school alumni look back fondly on memories of walking to the store during lunch or after school.
In the late 1990s, a young Shayne Blakely moved from Michigan to Chicago and landed a job at Val’s straight out of high school. In no time at all, he became Val’s right hand partner and helped the store make an important transition in the early 2000s.

Harrison Street Location: 2006-Present
In the early 2000s, the specter of re-development reared its head. The result was a re-location to our current location in the Arts District of Oak Park at 239 Harrison Street.
From 2006 to 2018, Val continued to run the store with Shayne by her side, buoyed by the welcome home they found among fellow business owners in the arts district.
In 2016, Val was diagnosed with breast cancer and ultimately lost her battle in July 2018.
Since that time, Shayne has carried the torch and kept the store going and Val’s memory alive and well. In Fall of 2019, rumors swirled that the store would close as Shayne feared he could not continue to go it alone. As a result of that news, a local business partner emerged and helped Shayne begin a process of re-structuring the business and revitalizing the store.
As of this writing, Val’s halla is alive and well. The legend lives on.

The Legendary Val

“Val Camilletti started her music career at Capitol Records in 1962, when the company had a branch in Chicago. She often told the story about what it was like to be there in 1964, receive a 45 of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” at her office and put the needle on the turntable to hear the Fab Four’s harmonies for the first time. When no one in the country knew who these lads from Liverpool were, Val recognized that they were special; soon the world would, too. To Val, The Beatles were her band. She even made the decision to skip going to their concert at Comiskey Park because she said no one would be able to hear them play over the screams of thousands of young women. She was right. Yet Val didn’t just love The Beatles, she loved music, and dedicated her life to helping others love it too—helping you finding just the right record, knowing the song you were looking for just by hearing you sing a few of its lyrics, and giving bands the chance to play on the store’s stage.”

Stories on a Slow Day…

“If you caught her on a slow day at the store, she’d tell you stories; she had enough to fill a library. I had the great pleasure of talking to Val about the late, great Shel Silverstein a few years ago. I was working on my master’s thesis about his work and Val had seen him perform live. To this day, I find it lovely that she didn’t know him for his poetry or his plays; she knew him for his music, an aspect of his illustrious career that not many are familiar with.”

Inspiring a Community…

“Val Camilletti was an inspiration. If you stop in her store, you’ll see what all the fuss is about. Chances are you’ll find more than just a record or two. Chances are you’ll find a community of music lovers supporting one remarkable woman’s dream. Through her passion for music, Val inspired others for nearly half a century.”

Val's Halla https://valshallarecords.com/

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Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:34 What's a Halla?
02:45 Shane
03:57 Val's History
06:08 The Elvis Shrine
07:11 The Sounderator
08:37 Trevor
11:26 Surviving
12:38 The Tour
15:00 Where it all Started

We would also like to thank our sponsors for this Season of HiFi America, check them out and their products at the links below!

Kanto Audio - https://www.kantoaudio.com/
MoFi Electronics - https://www.mofielectronics.com/
Audio Technica - https://www.audio-technica.com/

Видео Val's Halla Chicago - Record Store Tour - HiFi America Episode 20 канала Just Audio