Sam the Record Man was a Canadian record store chain that, at one time, was Canada's largest music recording retailer. In 1982, its ads proclaimed that it had "140 locations, coast to coast".

Its iconic flagship store was located at 259 Yonge Street in 1959 and moved to 347 Yonge Street two years later, remaining there from 1961 until it closed in 2007. Located at Yonge just north of Dundas, the store became part of a strip of music stores, nightclubs and taverns featuring live performance that produced the "Toronto Sound" and was the centre of Toronto's music scene in the 1960s.

The Yonge Street store was the best known store in the Sam the Record Man chain of 140 locations across Canada, two blocks away from the Toronto Eaton Centre and Sankofa Square. Sam's became a popular attraction, drawing people into its selection of LP records, and later cassettes and compact discs. It flourished in the Downtown Toronto area, quickly gaining notoriety and outselling the competition. What started as a single storefront had evolved into an entire block completely dedicated to the Sam the Record Man store. For several years, the store went into head-to-head competition with the popular A&A Records flagship store, just up the street, before the latter filed for bankruptcy in 1993. The building was demolished over a period of two years, from 2009 until 2011. It is part of the site on which Toronto Metropolitan University's (then known as Ryerson University) Sheldon & Tracy Levy Student Learning Centre was built. The store's iconic neon sign has been restored and installed in a new location overlooking nearby Sankofa Square.

The Information Age, competition with the HMV chain and other factors, forced Sam the Record Man into bankruptcy in 2001, but its flagship location remained in business until 2007. One independent franchise store, in Belleville, Ontario, continues to bear the Sam the Record Man name.

Founding

Sniderman's Music Hall was launched in 1937 by Sam Sniderman (d. September 23, 2012) and Sidney Sniderman, as the record department in his family's existing store, Sniderman Radio Sales & Service, at 714 College Street (now home to L Squared Salon) in Toronto, which had itself been established in 1929 by Sidney Sniderman. In 1959, Sniderman's Music Hall moved to Yonge Street in order to compete with A&A Records, and was located in the basement of Yolle Furniture Store at 291–295 Yonge Street. On Labour Day 1961, the new store moved north to its location at 347 Yonge Street, two doors down from A&A, where it became a Toronto landmark. The flagship store of the competing A&A Records chain was located nearby at 351 Yonge Street. Steeles Tavern, a popular nightclub and live music venue, was between the two stores at 349 Yonge Street until it closed in 1974.

Iconic neon signs

left|thumb|Sam's famous neon signs at night, the 'record' on the right is the original store, with the record to the left on the former Steele's Tavern.

The Yonge Street location was always noted for its kitschy signage.

thumb|upright=0.5|Store without the sign next to Steeles Tavern

With Sam the Record Man growing rapidly, the business added the first of two spinning records that would later become its trademark. The first record, added at 347 Yonge Street, was designed by the Markle Brothers in 1969–70; it was 7.5 metres (24.6 feet) wide and 8 metres (26.2 feet) tall. The second sign was added in 1987, just north of the original, at 349 Yonge Street (former Steeles Tavern Restaurant). It was designed by Claude Neon Inc. In that same year, the letters spelling out "SAM" were added above the records (it took 550 light bulbs to light up the two SAM signs), as was the lower signage that read "Yes this is SAM the Record Man". The insert in the middle of the records reading "That's Entertainment" was also added at this time. Its first neon signage included the store's address in large neon "347" numbers vertically aligned between two windows. On the left side was a thermometer made from neon. On the far right was a neon multi-sectioned triangle similar to the one on top of the Canada Life Building, which indicated weather conditions depending on how it was blinking.

An additional property was purchased several stores to the north (371 and 375 Yonge?) which became Sam the Tape Man (formats open reel, 4 track, 8 track, and cassette) with Sam the Chinese Food Man upstairs. When Sam found out that his favourite Chinese restaurant was being demolished to make way for the new Toronto City Hall, Sam offered the restaurant the upstairs of his Sam the Tape Man store as a new location. It served as the venue for many flagship store, franchise, and record industry functions over the years. In the early 1970s, Sam the Tape Man was relocated to the 347 Yonge store and the space rented to an adult bookstore. The restaurant was eventually closed and the building sold and fully renovated into two Asian restaurants.

Bankruptcy and change of ownership

When the Sam the Record Man chain was forced into bankruptcy in 2001, Sniderman's sons Jason and Robert ("Bobby") took over the flagship store. The two men kept the store running until announcing on May 29, 2007, that the store would close permanently on June 30 of that same year, citing the impact of technology on record sales as the determining factor of the closure.

The flagship store in film and music

The double-disc neon sign is frequently visible in films shot in Toronto that use Yonge Street as a location. Recent examples include the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk, which features the signs prominently during the final battle sequences, and the CTV/CBS series Flashpoint, which is set in Toronto.

For a brief time in the 1910s, 347 Yonge Street was the location of music publishers Chappell & Co, now Warner/Chappell Music.

Building the chain

thumb|300px|right|Los Lobos at Sam the Record Man

The flagship Sam the Record Man store was famous for its Boxing Day sales and often served as the location for newspaper and television reports on Boxing Day shopping. Shoppers would line up over many city blocks, in the cold, to get one-day-only specially discounted (20%–25%) records, and eventually, as the technology changed, CDs, and videos. Prices for videotapes were discounted as much as 50%.

The chain stores were early promoters of Canadian artists, because they prominently featured their work with in-store displays, and concerts. Well-known Canadian artists like Loreena McKennitt, Barenaked Ladies, k d lang, Cowboy Junkies, and Ron Sexsmith had their first recordings stocked or consigned at the Yonge Street flagship store, then later throughout the chain. Sam Sniderman played a role in getting the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to implement Canadian content (Can-con) regulations for radio stations in the early 1970s. The move to Can-con allowed many Canadian musicians to gain a voice in their own country.

In addition to stocking (and later purchasing) the complete catalogue of the Canadian Talent Library broadcast music (see entries for Chad Allan, Jackie Mittoo, Dr. Music, Peter Appleyard), the flagship store also received copies of every LP record released in Quebec, making it the best source for French Canadian recordings outside of the province of Quebec.

The chain published a free music magazine (Network) in the late 1980s. One of the features in the magazine was a picture of a commissioned work of art (painting, collage, sculpture) by a local artist (among them Mendelson Joe and Kurt Swinghammer) depicting the store or brand. Some of these graphics were displayed in light boxes installed throughout the store or as the graphics for "Sam's Wear".

Yonge Street flagship store closes

On May 29, 2007, Jason and Bobby Sniderman announced that the iconic flagship store, on Toronto's Yonge and Gould Streets, would close permanently on June 30, 2007. They stated that "their decision reflects the increasing impact of technology on the record industry." On June 14, 2007, it was announced that the signage, fixtures, and memorabilia from the store, would be auctioned on June 27. The remaining stock was reduced to sell but was not sold at the auction.

thumb|right|The corner of Yonge & Gould St. as of 2012.

The site at 347 Yonge Street was valuable property and was purchased by Ryerson University in 2008. The site sat vacant for several months before the spinning records were lit again for Nuit Blanche on October 4, 2008.

The removal of the signage commenced shortly thereafter, and the building was demolished in 2010.

In 2014, it was announced that the landmark sign would be placed at Yonge-Dundas Square (now Sankofa Square).

The new Ryerson Student Learning Centre (SLC) opened on February 23, 2015, on the old Sam's site.

The closing of the flagship left two franchise stores in operation, one in Sarnia and one in Belleville. The Sarnia store closed in 2009; the Belleville store remains open.

Sign preservation at Sankofa Square

thumb|The neon spinning records and storefront signage preserved at Yonge-Dundas Square Under a heritage preservation deal with the city, Ryerson University was expected to restore the spinning record signs and incorporate them into the new Student Learning Centre on the former Sam's site. However, the university later stated that the signs were not compatible with their designs for the new building. In July 2014, city council approved a revised agreement with Ryerson, whereby the university would pay to install and maintain the sign atop a city-owned building at 277 Victoria St., two blocks southeast of the original location.

In July 2017, Ryerson announced that restoration of the almost half-century-old neon signs had commenced, and that they would be ready for display in the autumn. The re-installation was completed, and the sign has been relit since 2018.

References

  • Sam The Record Man, Belleville