Downtown record store ‘just here trying to get music into people’s hands’

Tucked away on the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Cherry Street Lane is a little hole-in-the-wall record store. From the outside, it does not look much. It’s on the corner of an ancient building with its windows bombarded with stickers and obscure artwork that reminds anyone who is about to walk in what it was like in the 1970s when all music came from the now-forgotten large black discs.

Walk in and you are instantly hit with the smell of decaying paper and cleaning solution. But most importantly, you hear the sound of music. Instantly, you know you are going to spend a long time in there, although your wallet would rather you not.

This is Fresh Produce Records, where about 45,000 records have taken over every wall and inch of space in the store. Everything you see is on sale. But records aren’t the only thing the store sells. Fresh produce offers record players, t-shirts, books, old merchandise and guitar strings.

Fresh Produce has seen growth over the past year and a half, and William Rutledge, the store’s new manager, has spearheaded these efforts. Listen in on how he how he plans to expand further to contribute to Macon’s musical legacy.