John Goddard, after 40 years of owning and operating Village Music in Mill Valley California, closed its doors on September 30, 2007.

The store opened in the 1940s and moved around Mill Valley before settling in its location on East Blithedale Avenue.

Goddard has established Village Music as a visual library and institution documenting American music history and has had many well-known musicians and artists pass throughout the years. Mick Jagger, B.B. King, and Cab Calloway -- the icon figure of Village Music on its t-shirts and bags -- have all visited Village Music. Elvis Costello praised Village Music for its collection in the liner notes of his 1995 album, Kojak Variety, saying, “Some of my best discoveries have been made in what may be the greatest record collector store in the world: Village Music in Mill Valley.”

“This is the best kept secret in the country,” said Richie Davis from Marin County. Davis believes that if a person were to make a list of things they were searching for in a record store, Village music would have nine out of 10 of them.

“It is the renowned resource of all things musical -- a virtual library,” said Davis.