ASHEBORO, N.C. - Nearly 50 years ago, Archie Burkhead figured he might make a few extra bucks at his used furniture store in downtown Asheboro by selling some records.

He'd gotten the records for cleaning out a basement office under his store. He stacked the little 45s — left behind by a tenant who serviced juke boxes — onto a table with a sign: 5 for $1.00.

To Burkhead's surprise, the platters sold like hotcakes.

He is still selling musical recordings at The Record Shop, a retail enterprise on Church Street in Asheboro born from that sale.

"I think I'm the oldest businessman left downtown," Burkhead said in a recent interview. "If there's someone out there that wants to claim it, I'll concede."

When Burkhead launched the record venture, he was managing a store called Bargain Warehouse, selling used furniture his father, Arthur, took in trade at his new furniture store on Fayetteville Street. The used furniture business was not booming.

"We were going broke," Burkhead said. "I had to find something else to make some money."

Record distributors discouraged him from launching the enterprise. They told Burkhead that people in Asheboro did not buy records, that other entrepreneurs had tried, and failed, over the years. Never a record buyer himself and hardly knowing the difference between a 45 rpm and a 78, or a 78 and a long-playing 33 — Burkhead forged ahead anyway, his confidence bolstered by sales of the juke box records. He borrowed $6,000 to stock the shop.

The decision proved to be a sound one; the Asheboro store thrived, and he eventually opened record stores in High Point and Siler City, too.

"It's been a pretty interesting trip, coming up through the different styles of music," he said.

In the old days, he made a weekly buying trip to Charlotte, where he visited seven different distributors, including big names such as RCA, Capitol and Columbia, as well as smaller labels. He could place an order by phone and pick it up at the bus station in downtown Asheboro the next day, but he preferred going in person.

He remembers when rock 'n' roll was king and says that the best single business day he ever had was after Elvis died in 1977 and he found himself in the fortunate position of having a large inventory of records by The King.

During his years in business, cassette tapes supplanted vinyl records, only to be replaced by CDs, or compact discs, and, most recently, by digital media. But Burkhead still has records aplenty.

"It comes from having three stores and never selling them all," Burkhead said. "The average man off the street won't buy them. I think my place is mostly a conversation piece maybe."

The vinyl discs, thousands of recordings, both 7-inch singles and 12-inch LPs, occupy a number of display cases and shelves in his store.

Artists represented in the singles case range from Eydie Gorme to The Bee Gees, Ferrante & Teicher to Frankie Valli. In the LP section, one can find albums spanning decades. A smattering of examples include "Fancy Meeting You Here," by Rosemary Clooney and Bing Crosby, from the 1950s; "Buffalo Springfield Again" (1960s); "Mud Slide Slim" by James Taylor (1970s); and "Duran Duran" by Duran Duran (1980s).

The singles sell for $2 to $4.99, the albums generally from $5 to $10.98, more for a multi-record set, such as the 1970 album "Woodstock," which is $24.98. Some of the albums have never been opened; others are secondhand.

There's no telling what gems are hidden in the stacks. Burkhead does not even know himself, though he tries to keep them arranged alphabetically, by genre.

A quick perusal of the inventory uncovered three interesting and diverse discs: the cover of one LP simply reads "General of the Army, Douglas A. MacArthur, Speech to Congress, April 19, 1951"; another is an undated recording of the Asheboro High School mixed chorus and concert chorus, directed by Mary Tate Blake with Ellen Bunch as accompanist; and there is "Down Home in Randolph," a 1980 recording of songs written and performed by Randolph County musicians.

"The nostalgic part is the records, but I'm not really a record shop anymore," Burkhead said.

Today, his business is known for its gospel offerings on tape and CD, as well as gospel music books (as well as books featuring musicians of other genres). He also carries a little bluegrass music. In the past year or so, "oldies but goodies" have emerged as a niche market he gets a number of calls from customers who want him to find, say, a Fats Domino Greatest Hits album, or an album with a specific song on it.

Karaoke, musical tracks to sing by, constitutes a large part of Burkhead"s business. He also sells a lot of cassette tapes "because there are not many out there anymore."

He has probably sold more phonograph needles in the past six months than in the past three or four years combined. He does not know why, but does know that some companies have started making record players again, including units that offer a tape deck, CD player and turntable combined.

Burkhead never listened to much music outside of work and does not have a large collection at home, either albums, cassettes or CDs.

"I don't listen to the radio and I don't listen to half of what people come in here to buy," he said. "I'll bet you there's not many records in here I've heard all the way through."

He learned about music, its trends, its hot artists and its rising stars, so he would know what to keep in stock and so he could help customers when they came calling.

He remembers a fellow who came in looking for a record he'd heard on the radio "the greatest record I've ever heard,' the fellow exclaimed. The song was performed, the man said, by a trio named Oliver, Newsome and Jones or something like that.

Burkhead nodded knowingly, pulled a record off the shelf, placed it onto a turntable and set the record spinning.

"Is that it?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's it," the satisfied customer replied.

The record was by a new young singer named Olivia Newton-John.

As it has for decades, the telephone rings regularly at The Record Shop, with callers wanting to know if Burkhead has this or that song, this or that album.

"Oooh, that's an old one," he told a caller recently. "I've got to look for something." And, moments later, "Yes, I have it. It's only made on cassette, never made on CD."

And a few minutes later: "I don't know it off the top of my head — it might be on something we have."

And still later: "Everybody's wanting that one — it's coming out this month."

Burkhead bought the building that houses his store in 1971. A few years back, he developed the property, with six basement offices facing Sunset Avenue and four storefronts, including his own, facing Church Street.

He still has plans for his own store, talking about changes he'd like to make, if and when he finds the time, and the energy.

"It sounds like I don't have any plans to retire — and I don't," he said, smiling. "It gives me an outlet and something to do."

Online music stores and competition from chain stores has forced most mom-and-pop operations such as his out of business.

"Seems like there'll eventually be no retail (stores)," he said. "If I was young and going in business, or wanting to go in business, I don't know what I'd choose."

"I'm just here as long as I can perform a service and have a little bit of what people want."

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