An obituary for Anselmo has not yet been published, but as word of his passing spread through Sudbury’s musical community, tributes on social media soon followed.
That first summer was a good one for Anselmo, but summer only lasts so long. It soon became too cold to operate out of a van. Luckily, Anselmo had developed enough of a following to make his record shop a permanent thing. By November 1974, he had a storefront to call his own. “Without Tony, there probably wouldn’t be an Up Here. He was a true staple of downtown and a steadfast lover of music,” the tribute reads. “He instilled in us the love of crate digging, the anxious walk home with a fresh stash of vinyl, and a deep appreciation for that indescribable feeling of discovering new and exciting sounds. That love is at the heart of everything we do and is part of Up Here’s DNA to this day. We are saddened to learn of Tony Anselmo’s passing.
“Records have defined my life … the first one’s I bought MYSELF, with MY MONEY, came from Tony. He was the one that taught me what an independent record store was like. Every shop I’ve ever been to has always, consciously or unconsciously been compared to Records On Wheels — and the guy behind the counter to Tony … he was the Godfather. He was THE MAN.”