It's Bizarre To Think That Illinois Is Home To The World's Largest Collection Of 8-Track Tapes, But It's True
By Chris Muras|Published November 18, 2022
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Chris Muras
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Illinois is home to a number of strange world record items. You may have heard about the town in Illinois that has 12 of the world’s biggest things like golf tees, rocking chairs, and mailboxes. But there is one other collection that isn’t as well known – 8-track cassettes. That’s right, there is a man in Illinois that has quite possibly the world’s largest 8-track tape collection.
If you were just a glimmer in your parents' eyes in the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, you may not have ever seen one of these.
Eight-tracks are magnetic music tapes that were surpassed in popularity by the cassette tape. ("What's a cassette tape?" We hear you, younger readers!)
Bob Hiemenz, also known as Tracker Bob by fellow collectors, has amassed over 100,000 8-track tapes since 1985 on a fateful day in which a couple of 8-tracks crossed his path.
Coincidentally, the last 8-track tape was also produced in 1985. Certainly a sign of some sort.
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The story goes he was shopping for a used stereo speaker at a shop in North Dakota. He ended up buying a whole system with a radio, turntable, and an 8-track player.
Friends and neighbors started giving Bob their old unwanted 8-track tapes. He also began hunting them down at used music stores, garage sales, and flea markets. In 2007, his already massive collection doubled overnight. He found a woman in Arizona who was trying to sell her late husband's 8-track collection. An astounding 30,000 8-track tapes and 200 players made their way into Bob's collection!
That's right, not only does Bob have the largest 8-track tape collection but he may also have the largest 8-track player collection as well, with over 700 players.
For years, Bob has collected a diverse selection of music genres, from rock and roll to polka, and even the odd instructional tape for John Deere Tractors - go figure. It is quite likely the world's biggest collection.
Up until recently, he has not been interested in selling any, either, despite a "little bit" of pressure from his wife. However, thoughts of starting an eight-track museum often cross his mind. While we don't know the current state of his collection, there are rumors he was looking to sell some of them off sometime in late 2021.
Watch the featured news story from KSDK News below. (Bob’s collection has grown even larger since then!)
How is your 8-track tape collection coming along? If you have any special ones in your collection, tell us all about them with a comment. There are plenty of fun and unusual things people collect in our fine state of Illinois, but this deadly plant collection is certainly an interesting one.
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