Founded in 1979 by Carl Kuelker and Bob Mumper, the St. Louis Record Collectors Show is still very much a part of St. Louis’ musical heritage, perhaps more so today as vinyl makes its comeback.

The first show was at a Howard Johnson Hotel near St. Louis Community College – Forest Park. It was at the third show where the Show found its permanent home at the American-Czech Educational Center where it continues to have six shows a year.

Carl and Bob began the club to enable music lovers to buy, sell and trade records.

After Mumper retired, Jim and Ruth Ronat became partners with Mr. Kuelker. When they retired (they continue to sell at the show, with lots of great local 45s amongst the finds), John Frese became Carl’s partner.

Carl always had a partner - someone to run the show so he could do what he loved best - hunt for records!

After Carl’s untimely passing in 2022, Linda Kuelker became John’s partner so that the show would continue.

The Show became a place to buy, sell and trade records, memorabilia, t-shirts, posters, anything music related. As the music industry evolved, the Record Collectors Show evolved with it: from eight tracks to cassettes, cassettes to CD’s and now back to vinyl.

Carl probably never dreamed that the record show would grow into what it is today…and will continue to be for many years to come…

The rental cost continues to be $35 per table. There is no desire to change this price in the near future.

A member of the Show's team will visit each table during the show for payment, and to see if the vendor wants to reserve a table for the next show. Payment is cash only.

If you haven't already reserved a table at the previous show, you can e-mail us via Loading Email... or call John Sebben, Treasurer of the St. Louis Classic Rock Preservation Society at 314.441.1235...or use the "Contact Us" section below.

Not currently, but this is something we are looking into both in terms of method and policy.

There are about 80 tables set up for each show. Typically, about 2/3 of these are usually spoken for by vendors from the prior show, and the rest go on a first-request, first-serve basis.

There is no guarantee of availablilty on the day of the event.

As many of our vendors have been coming to the Show consistently over many years, and continue to secure their locations, it is difficult to honor every request. We will of course do our best.

For "Early Bird Entry", which starts at 8:30am, it is $5 per person.

Starting at 10:00am, it is $3 per person.

It's simply being able to look through the vendor's inventory a bit earlier than everyone else. There is no cut-off to the number of people able to use it.

To enter the show, it is cash only.

Some vendors may have credit card, Paypal, and/or Venmo abilities, but not all.

The Hall has a concession stand with water, soft drinks, beer and basic foods (hot dogs, pretzels).

The St. Louis Classic Rock Preservation Society was founded in January, 2016 as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, by Randy Raley, John Sebben and Ron Stevens, but its story began well before that.

Both Randy and John had been operating online radio stations for several years. The annual St. Louis Classic Rock Trivia Night fundraised for local charities since 2014 as well. Upon incorporation, the Society was able to do more for local organizations, musicians and other individuals, including the Keep Live Alive events and grant programs in 2021 and 2022.

Our team members have been part of many of our events and efforts over the past eight years including our Trivia Night and Hall of Fame inductions, archiving history, promoting local artists, documentaries and musical events.

The Society moved its home base to Crestwood, MO on November 7, 2017 and since then we have continued to grow. We now have nine commercial-free internet stations with over 58,000 unique tracks in combined rotation. Last fall, our membership surpassed 570 individuals.

Starting with the January, 2024 show, The Society has begun to curate, organize, and run The. St. Louis Record Collectors Show at the American Czech Hall and with this endeavor, the Society's mission - "to preserve, promote and honor St. Louis' unique classic rock heritage and its place in music and pop culture history" - has never been stronger.

The commitment of our members to that cause, and to our local instiutions and venues, and local musician and others in the entertainment field shows that.