What Music Means to Terry Currier

Terry Currier went to work in a record store when he was in high school. More than 50 years later, his love of music keeps him busy with his own iconic shop, Music Millennium, while tirelessly supporting Portland’s music community. His life has been driven by what he calls ‘the wonder of music.”

By Claire Levine

The power of a car radio. When Terry was in fifth grade, he asked his dad if he could play “one  of those long black things.” Several days later, his father woke him up to present him with a clarinet.

And for the rest of his school days, he concentrated on learning to play clarinet, to study theory and composition and learn as much as he could about his instrument and the craft of music. While his peers were listening to Hendrix and The Cream, Terry was practicing his scales to excel in classical music and jazz.

Then he got a car – with a radio.

“It changed my life,” he said. It was his first exposure to the amazing world of popular music available in the 1970s.

Three months later, he went to his first concert – Leon Russell – and two weeks after that he took his first record store job, working 40 hours a week while finishing his high school work.

“Music penetrated my soul. You know, if I heard something and it was good – they were all wow moments for me.”

He estimates he bought 660 records his first year.

A new trajectory. Terry never applied for the scholarships to music school that were waiting for him. His education took a new direction.

He dove deep into the rich universe of music and the ever-changing business of recorded music. “I was like an empty palette, trying to learn as much as I possibly could. I wanted to know about current music, but I wanted to know about the music from the past.

“I listened to all genres, and I learned a lot from fellow employees as well as customers. It was always fascinating to talk to someone who had seen someone like jazz violinist Joe Venuti in the 30s (‘You should have been at that show!’). So, I checked them all out.

“I was buying classical, African witchcraft music, country records, folk, jazz – you name it.”

By the time he was 19, he was managing a store. He moved to stores throughout the Northwest and Hawaii and became a buyer for a chain.

Then in 1984, he went to work for Music Millennium, the store he would eventually buy and that he still owns. He helped the store work its way out of debt and work through the transitions from vinyl to tapes to CD’s – and eventually back to vinyl. And Terry’s love of all music genres helps him keep the inventory up-to-date and compelling for dynamic musical tastes.

A music community center. Music Millennium became a hub for both local musicians and record lovers. In 1989, to celebrate the store’s 20th anniversary, Terry convinced the store’s owner to create a concert space in the Burnside Store’s mezzanine. He arranged 40 straight days of live music, reaching out to Portland’s wide variety of performers.

Terry Currier with Bonnie Raitt and Alejandro Escovedo at Music Millennium 

Terry estimates they hosted 4,500 live performances in Music Millennium stores, providing opportunities for touring as well as Oregon musicians. He also makes a point of carrying products by local musicians.

John Doe!

“Our record store is kind of a community center. In the early days, before the internet, it’s where you found out about what was going on in the city, what concerts were coming up, what new records were coming out.

“Many people met others while in the aisle who would become their best friends through talking about Wishbone Ash or the latest Steve Young record.” Terry said, “People have met their wives, their husbands in the aisle there.”

(Joan Jett!!)

Beyond the store. Terry’s boundless commitment to music plunged him into the network of nonprofits that connect musicians and fans.

He’s been central to the Cascade Blues Association since 1987 and the PDX Jazz Festival, the North by Northwest Festival and the subsequent Music Fest Northwest, and the Youth Music Project.

And when he already knew his time was overcommitted, “in a moment of weakness,” he said, he agreed to start the Oregon Music Hall of Fame.

Terry is also a huge supporter of other music events that support good causes, such as Winterfolk, which has been raising money to help the homeless for more than 35 years. And, of course, all things related to the Jeremy Wilson Foundation.

“The beauty of community is that organizations like The JWF are there for others. People will rally to help fellow musicians. They believe in each other and will step up to the plate,” Terry said.

Through the success of his business and his contributions to the music world, Terry is well-known across the nation, and Music Millennium is a model for independent record stores everywhere.

Universality. Terry believes, “Music speaks to everybody. I went to an Iron Maiden show the other night, and the opening act was a nine-piece band from Mongolia. They played ancient instruments along with heavy rock instruments and threw in some Tuvans throat singing. I couldn’t tell what they were saying, but their music spoke to me, inside me.

“It doesn’t matter your political view, where you live, it doesn’t matter at all. Music speaks to people,” he said.

“That’s the wonder of music.”

Please join Terry and share in celebrating The JWF’s 15th year by letting us know, what does music mean to you? 

Help us kick off our 2024 end-of-year fundraising campaign by telling us what music means to you – fill out the short form on the home page of our website and give us your testimonial!