Inner Sanctum Records - History

History

In 1970, college student/entrepreneur Joe Bryson bought Phil's Record Store, which sat in a shotgun location at W. 24th and Rio Grande Streets, and re-christened it Inner Sanctum Records, named after the 1940s radio show. The store would soon relocate to a large, old house at 504 W. 24th Street, just off "The Drag" (Guadalupe St.), near the University of Texas at Austin. This building also housed Aunt Sally's Bookstore, The Leather Bench and other businesses, as well as the offices of the political magazine The Texas Observer (when not running the store, Bryson would often visit the Observer offices in the presence of the late Molly Ivins and Kaye Northcott).

Bryson increasingly relied on fellow music aficionados to keep the business running. James "Cowboy" Cooper, Gary Barnes, "Big Al" Ragle, Richard Dorsett, Rick Moore, Kirby McDaniel, Stephen Goodwin, and Linda Nozik all worked at the store.

Between Cooper's knowledge and Bryson's enthusiasm, the store created a synergy that helped spawn progressive country. Inner Sanctum became one of most influential record shops in the United States and the most popular independent store in Austin during the 1970s, coinciding with the emergence of the Southern California sound that influenced many Texas-based artists. The store became a source for recordings by Doug Sahm, Willie Nelson, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, The Lost Gonzo Band, Joe Ely, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Willis Alan Ramsey, Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Jerry Jeff Walker, Michael Murphey (later known as Michael Martin Murphey), B. W. Stevenson, Billy Joe Shaver, Kinky Friedman, The Byrds and many others.

The store became more successful and Bryson decided to move into a larger space in the building, but ended up having to keep the current space, as well. Thus, Inner Sanctum Too, was established as an auxiliary shop featuring classical music, and was managed by Kirby McDaniel and David Sobey. Meanwhile, the main store's inventory grew to include the entire spectrum of recorded music, featuring extensive catalog offerings of popular and progressive rock, R&B, soul, blues, disco, jazz and what came to be known as world music. The store was also one of the first in the country to offer second-hand records for purchase. It also started a notorious practice of "renting" records for about $1 a day, a practice quashed by the major record labels when they became aware of it by the latter part of the decade.