Record Store Day on April 21 celebrates the culture of independent record stores; it’s a day for people of all ages to hang out and listen to records new and old. Though the holiday has grown to include major labels with wide-scale promotions and large events, it’s more significant to the country’s smaller, original record shops. America’s oldest vinyl store is preserving the past—and inspiring the future.

In 1932, when the Great Depression was at its peak and Bing Crosby ruled the charts, George’s Song Shop opened in Johnstown, Pennsylvania Today, the 86-year-old record store is a town legacy—and an unexpected audience is giving it a new lease on life.

John George, 75, is the second generation to run the ﬁve-ﬂoor store, opened by his father Eugene and uncle Bernie. He was just 19 when he took over in 1962, after his father tragically died of a stroke while heading into work one morning.

The store has “been in my blood all my life,” says George, now a father of three and grandfather of two.

Working six days a week for the past 56 years (parking his car in the same space every morning), George has watched the town, about 60 miles east of Pittsburgh, change around him. But his business, which houses more than 1 million 45s (7-inch vinyl records) as well as full-size 12-inch records—plus 20,000 CDs—has mostly stayed the same. Now more than ever, George is seeing an increased popularity in record sales, and not with whom you’d expect.

“It started with the young people,” George says. “Anybody that walks in here under 35 years old, they’re looking for records. If they’re older than 35, they’re usually looking for CDs.”

George says it’s the variety that keeps people coming back to his shop, which carries everything from his personal favorites, doo-wop and soul, to rock ‘n’ roll. His motto, which at one time was printed on all the store’s bags: If we don’t have it, nobody does.

Some customers travel from across the country in search of one-of-a-kind records. For George, that’s what makes each day a joy—getting to talk to and serve diverse people traveling through his piece of small-town America.

“I could retire today and not have to worry about anything, but I don’t want to,” he says. “I just love coming to work. I don’t want to give it up even though I’m get-ting up there in age, so to speak. I feel pretty young, and I’ll go as long as I can.”

The treasured shop will stay in the family, George insists. While his three grown children have no plans of returning to their Johnstown roots, George has some shop “regulars” that have become as close as kin. As far as he’s concerned, it’ll always be a family business.

Record Store Day is April 21. Go to recordstoreday.com to ﬁnd an independent store near you.