Top Ten Records, established in the current location in 1956 by J.W. "Dub" Stark, is the longest-running record store in Dallas, TX. In 1963 Officer J.D. Tippit made a mysterious phone call using the store phone shortly before he was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald, making Top Ten the last public place he was seen. The phone survives, and is on display near the cash register. The shop has been a staple for the Oak Cliff neighborhood since its inception, and has a strong history of supporting local and DIY music. Mike Polk (owner since 1978) planned to retire from daily operations of the shop in late 2017. Community members and Oak Cliff stakeholders created a new non-profit to sustain the shop as a combination music & film store, media archiving center, and membership library. Top Ten Records also hosts a diverse calendar of small cultural events, and a physical media archive of local music.
Top Ten Records & Library is seeking to raise $5,000 to continue providing creative services to the Oak Cliff community.
As a small nonprofit, we rely on community support to keep our programs and space thriving. Your gift on North Texas Giving Day helps us:
Preserve and share our growing archives of music, art, and cultural history
Support free and low-cost public programs for all ages
Provide resources and creative space for local artists, musicians, and community members
Maintain our historic building and ensure it remains open to everyone
Every donation, no matter the size, makes a direct impact. Together, we can keep this cultural hub alive, accessible, and inspiring for our community.
Top Ten Records is dedicated to developing and sustaining a piece of Oak Cliff history as a resource for media literacy and cultural study, while preserving, restoring, and making available to the public an archive of music and film through the retail shop, the Texas Music Archive project, and small cultural events like concerts, film screenings, workshops, art exhibits, and classes.
Top Ten needs volunteers who are interested in local culture and are willing to be hands-on in helping with the day-to-day continuity of the record shop; archivists and people interested in music and/or Texas history, who are also interested in working on and building up the music archive at Top Ten; general funding assistance to help keep the historic space open and fulfilling its mission.
Oak Cliff Records Library/DBA Top Ten Records continues to be committed to fostering and exploring the cultural legacy inherent in the diverse neighborhood that surrounds the legacy record shop, as well as currently, and in perpetuity, working with the arts and cultural community to value every person's engagement in the arts, regardless of race, status, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
Organization name
OAK CLIFF RECORDS & LIBRARY
Tax id (EIN)
81-4937427
Causes
Arts & Humanities
Operating Budget
Less than $100,000
Counties Served
Dallas
BIPOC Serving
Hispanic or Latinx
BIPOC Leadership
Board Chair
Address
338 W. Jefferson Blvd.