Reid's Records

Reid's Records was a long-running Black-owned music retailer, gospel promoter, and community institution in Berkeley, California. Melvin "Mel" Reid and Betty Reid Soskin established the business on June 1, 1945, during the wartime population expansion that brought many African American workers and families to the San Francisco Bay Area. The store initially aimed to serve customers seeking so-called race records—jazz, blues, gospel, and other Black musical styles that were poorly represented by white-owned retailers. It began in the garage or ground-floor retail space of the duplex where the founders lived, with Mel earning money at the Kaiser Shipyards to purchase stock and Betty selling records through a window. An early advertising breakthrough came when the Reids promoted Wynonie Harris's recording "Around the Clock" on Berkeley radio station KRE. The resulting customer response helped establish the shop as a viable specialist retailer. Mel subsequently became a radio presenter, launching the KRE program "Gospel Gems" in 1947. His uncle Paul Reid later took over the program and developed a strong broadcasting presence of his own, including the show "Spirituals at 6." Mel and Paul also promoted live gospel performances at the Oakland Auditorium, presenting major and influential acts including the Staple Singers, the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, James Cleveland, the Caravans, the Ward Singers, Reverend C. L. Franklin, and a young Aretha Franklin. A Reid's Records label was also associated with releases by local gospel performers such as the Lathanettes. The business expanded beyond its original domestic retail setting into a storefront and, for a period, a second location in Oakland. During its strongest postwar years, Reid's Records became one of California's leading gospel retailers and an important West Coast outlet for Black religious music. After the Reid family moved to Walnut Creek in 1952, Betty reduced her direct involvement while raising the couple's children, although the family continued to own and develop property around the Berkeley operation. The 1960s brought significant competitive and cultural pressure. Reid's Records broadened its inventory to include funk and soul, but larger and more mainstream retailers increasingly carried Black music. The store retained a distinctive position in gospel, which remained its commercial anchor. An attempt to appeal to Berkeley's counterculture by stocking items such as bongs and blacklight posters did not reverse the decline. The Oakland location eventually closed, and the Berkeley store entered the 1970s under financial strain. After Mel and Betty divorced in 1972, Mel assumed sole control of the Berkeley shop. His declining health, gambling debts, and loss of family property left the business close to foreclosure by the late 1970s. He had also lost both legs to complications from diabetes. Betty returned to the operation, negotiated with creditors, and reoriented the store around gospel and the broader needs of African American churches. In addition to records, Reid's Records sold sheet music, Bibles, Christian literature, church offering envelopes, and choir robes. This repositioning reduced dependence on a shrinking physical-record market while preserving a specialist role in the church community. Jazz and blues remained part of the business but represented a smaller share of its activity. Betty also became involved in Berkeley civic affairs and advocated redevelopment of neglected property across from the store, which had been associated with illegal drug activity. The surrounding neighborhood later experienced major demographic and economic changes. After Mel died in 1987, Betty transferred ownership to their daughter Diara Reid in 1990. Diara attempted to revive the enterprise's live-gospel profile through an anniversary tour featuring performers including Shirley Caesar, Moses Tyson Jr., Emmit Powell, and Lee Williams and the Spiritual QC's. The tour was not financially successful, reflecting the contraction of the Bay Area gospel audience and the store's changing commercial environment. The family attributed the final decline to several overlapping forces: gentrification and the loss of much of the store's historic African American customer base, changing youth tastes, the shift from physical recordings to digital streaming, and competition from internet retailers such as Amazon. Reid's Records closed permanently on October 19, 2019, after nearly 75 years. At the time of closure, it was described as California's oldest record store and one of the oldest Black-owned businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Reid's Records was founded in Berkeley on June 1, 1945, by local sports figure Melvin "Mel" Reid and Betty Reid Soskin. The founders recognized a lack of retail access to Black music in the Bay Area, whose African American population had grown substantially during the wartime industrial boom. The first operation was conducted from the couple's duplex, with Mel working at the Kaiser Shipyards to finance inventory and Betty selling records from the home. The business gained momentum through radio advertising and its association with gospel broadcasting. Promotion of Wynonie Harris's "Around the Clock" on KRE brought immediate attention, while Mel's 1947 program "Gospel Gems" helped connect the store with the region's Black music audience. In 1951, Mel's uncle Paul Reid assumed the radio slot and developed additional gospel programming. The two men expanded into concert promotion, presenting prominent gospel artists at the Oakland Auditorium and staging large annual gospel events. Paul also operated a Reid's Records label that released music by local gospel acts. The Reids moved the retail business from the original residential setting into a neighboring storefront and opened a second shop in Oakland. For a time, Reid's Records became a major California retailer of gospel recordings and one of the most important gospel-promotion operations on the West Coast. Betty moved away from daily management after the family relocated to Walnut Creek in 1952, concentrating on raising the couple's four children. The business faced difficulty after Paul Reid died of tuberculosis and Mel took work managing the Edwin Hawkins Singers. During the 1960s, the store added funk and soul as Black popular music diversified, but competition intensified as larger retailers, including Rasputin Music and Tower Records, began carrying the same genres. Gospel remained Reid's Records' strongest area. Attempts to attract Berkeley's hippie clientele through countercultural merchandise did not produce a durable recovery, and the Oakland branch closed. Mel and Betty divorced in 1972, leaving Mel in charge of the Berkeley shop. By 1978, serious health and financial problems had placed the business near foreclosure. Mel had accumulated gambling debts, lost family property, and undergone amputations related to diabetes. Betty returned to the business, negotiated with creditors, and refocused the shop on gospel music and church life. The product mix expanded to include Bibles, Christian literature, sheet music, offering envelopes, and choir robes, while jazz and blues continued as a smaller part of the assortment. Betty also participated in local civic advocacy concerning the neglected properties opposite the store. Mel died in 1987. Betty transferred ownership to their daughter Diara Reid in 1990. Diara sought to restore the store's live-gospel role through an anniversary tour, but the project did not generate sufficient financial returns. Over subsequent decades, the family faced a shrinking customer base associated with gentrification, changing musical preferences, the migration from physical recordings to streaming, and competition from online retailers. Reid's Records closed on October 19, 2019, ending almost 75 years of operation.

• 2019

  Store closes permanently

  [1]Reid's Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Reid's Records shuts on October 19 after operating for nearly 75 years.

• 1990

  Diara Reid assumes ownership

  [1]Reid's Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Betty transfers ownership of the business to her daughter Diara Reid.

• 1987

  Mel Reid dies

  [1]Reid's Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Mel Reid's death ends the founding proprietor's direct role in the store.

• 1978

  Betty Reid rescues the Berkeley store

  [1]Reid's Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  After returning to the business, Betty negotiates with creditors and pivots the shop toward gospel music and church supplies.

• 1970

  Oakland location closes

  [1]Reid's Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  The Oakland branch is closed as competition and changing market conditions weaken the broader business.

• 1952

  Family relocates to Walnut Creek

  [1]Reid's Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  The Reid family moves to Walnut Creek; a second store is opened in Oakland and the family continues investing in Berkeley property.

• 1951

  Paul Reid expands gospel broadcasting

  [1]Reid's Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Paul Reid takes over Mel's KRE slot and later adds Spirituals at 6, while the family expands into gospel promotion and recording releases.

• 1947

  Mel Reid launches Gospel Gems

  [1]Reid's Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Mel begins a gospel radio program on KRE, strengthening the store's connection with the Bay Area gospel audience.

• 1945

  Reid's Records is established

  [1]Reid's Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Melvin Reid and Betty Reid Soskin open the business in Berkeley on June 1, initially selling Black music from their residential property.

A community-rooted specialist retailer centered on gospel music, Black musical culture, and the practical needs of African American churches.

• Music retail · 1945

  Gospel recordings

  Gospel was the store's defining commercial specialty and remained its most durable product category as competition increased in jazz, blues, funk, and soul. Reid's Records served church musicians, gospel listeners, and the wider African American religious community, carrying recordings by established and local performers.

• Music retail · 1945

  Jazz, blues, funk, and soul recordings

  The store began with jazz and blues and later expanded its music selection as funk and soul became important Black popular genres. These categories helped maintain a broad specialist identity, although mainstream retailers increasingly competed for the same customers.

• Religious retail · 1978

  Church supplies and Christian literature

  During its late-1970s restructuring, Reid's Records added Bibles, Christian literature, sheet music, offering envelopes, and choir robes. The expanded assortment repositioned the store as a one-stop resource for aspects of African American church life rather than relying solely on recorded music.

• Record label

  Reid's Records gospel releases

  Paul Reid operated a Reid's Records label associated with singles by local gospel performers, including the Lathanettes. The label complemented the family's retail, radio, and concert-promotion activities.

• 2010Reid's Records 65th Anniversary Tour

  San Francisco Bay Area

  Diara Reid organized a live gospel tour featuring Shirley Caesar, Moses Tyson Jr., Emmit Powell, and Lee Williams and the Spiritual QC's.

  Outcome. The tour dates were not financially successful, reflecting the reduced size of the local gospel market.

  Source
• 1947Gospel Gems radio promotion

  San Francisco Bay Area

  Mel Reid used a KRE gospel program to promote gospel music and reinforce Reid's Records' role in the regional Black music community.

  Outcome. The program increased the store's visibility and supported its gospel specialization.

  Source
• 1945Race-record retail launch

  San Francisco Bay Area

  The founders launched a specialist retail business to supply Black customers with jazz, blues, gospel, and related recordings that were largely absent from white-owned stores.

  Outcome. The focused assortment gave the young business a strong initial market position.

  Source

• 1990

  Transfer ownership to Diara ReidStrategy

  Background

  Following Mel Reid's death in 1987, the family transitioned management of the long-running store to the next generation.

  Action taken

  Betty Reid transferred ownership to her daughter Diara Reid.

  Aftermath

  Diara pursued live gospel promotion, including an anniversary tour, but the business ultimately closed in 2019.

  Source

• 1978

  Refocus on gospel and church suppliesStrategy

  Background

  The Berkeley store was close to foreclosure amid debt, declining sales, and Mel Reid's health problems.

  Action taken

  Betty Reid negotiated with creditors, removed drug-related merchandise, concentrated on gospel, and added church-oriented products such as Bibles, sheet music, offering envelopes, and choir robes.

  Aftermath

  The repositioning helped the store remain open and modestly recover by serving a more defined church-centered customer base.

  Source

1. 1Reid's Recordsen.wikipedia.org