The Electric Fetus is a record store in

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said the Electric Fetus is "widely regarded as the pre-eminent indie record store in Minnesota." Owner Keith Covart estimates that the store has an inventory of approximately 50,000 titles. The store was founded in June 1968 by partners Dan Foley and Ron Korsh. Several months after opening Korsh sold his half of the enterprise to Keith Covart, who also obtained Foley's half about ten years later. Operations began in 1968 when Korsh rented a storefront in the

Cedar-Riverside Cedar-Riverside, also referred to as the West Bank, or simply Riverside, is a neighborhood within Minneapolis, Minnesota. Its boundaries are the Mississippi River to the north and east, Interstate 94 to the south, and Hiawatha Avenue and Interst ...

neighborhood, known at that time as the

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of Minneapolis. In 1972 the business moved to its present location on the corner of 4th Avenue and Franklin. Electric Fetus previously had two locations in St. Cloud and

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, which closed permanently in 2014 and 2020 respectively. A definitive history of the store was written in 2006 by Penny Peterson and Charlene Roise: "A History of the Electric Fetus" as prepared for the Greater Twin Cities Blues Music Society. The Electric Fetus Onestop is the wholesale distribution portion of the Electric Fetus. It has "a huge emphasis on local music and aims to provide an outlet for local musicians / bands to consign their CDs or records to be available for distribution through the One Stop. The One Stop's primary focus is local indie record stores and secondly national Independent Record Stores." The Electric Fetus Onestop is located in the basement of The Electric Fetus in Minneapolis and is not open to the public. Musician

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was a long-time customer of the store, and made purchases there for

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

five days before his death in 2016.

Trivia

*'' National Lampoon'', among others, singled out the Electric Fetus as the worst name for a business. * ''Bazaar'' magazine called the Electric Fetus one of the "best places in America to shop." *

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

appears to have worn an Electric Fetus print shirt concealed beneath his jacket to the

2010 Grammy Awards The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares Pe ...

. * The Minneapolis Electric Fetus incurred trivial damage from an EF0 tornado on August 19, 2009.

References

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External links

Electric Fetus HomepageElectric Fetus page on StylusCityMyspace: Electric Fetus OnestopMyspace: Electric Fetus, Saint Cloud
Articles
A History of the Electric FetusForty years of the Electric FetusThe Electric Fetus
at Placeography
"Naked Fetus" promotion: March 25, 1972Interview with Electric Fetus co-founder Ron Korsh 06/10/18
521 Cedar Avenue South
First address of the Electric Fetus
514 Cedar Avenue South
Second address of the Electric FetusElectric Fetus mural
2000 4th Avenue South
Third address of the Electric Fetus
{{Coord, 44, 57, 44.5, N, 93, 16, 13.5, W, type:landmark_region:US-MN, display=title Music retailers of the United States Independent stores Retail companies established in 1968 History of Minneapolis Companies based in Minneapolis 1968 establishments in Minnesota