Harry DeMille, owner of Little Five Points record store Wax ‘n’ Facts, passed away due to complications associated with cancer in the presence of Alice DeMille, his wife of 45 years. Following his death, the Little Five Points community has been in a state of loss and remembrance.

Owning a record store and operating a small business in Little Five Points, DeMille set up Wax ‘n’ Facts in 1976 with his friend and co-owner Danny Beard. He saw the rise of Little Five Points and built decades-long friendships with many neighborhood residents.

DeMille was known in the community by anyone who created music, or simply enjoyed listening to music and collecting vinyl records.

“He was just such a wonderful human being and always kind. I don’t know if I ever saw him angry; he was a ray of sunshine,” Kevin Rainwater, a chef at Candler Park Market and close friend, said. “[Being] a musician, and all of the musicians and all the audiophile people and people [who collect] vinyl and CDs, if you’re a lover of music and you live in this neighborhood, you’re a lover of [DeMille].” 

Wax ‘n’ Facts was not just DeMille’s job, but also his hobby, thanks to his love and knowledge of all things music. Many of his friends believe that made Wax ‘n’ Facts such a cornerstone in the Little Five Points community.

“[DeMille] never tried that whole branding type of thing,” Erik Broussard, a cook at the local Euclid Avenue Yacht Club, a bar that DeMille would frequent, said. “[Wax ‘n’ Facts] is kind of a junk store, and you can come in and look for stuff, and [DeMille] enjoyed that, and if he knew that you were looking for something, he would put that aside.”

Sean Bourne, an employee of Wax ‘n’ Facts, said he thinks the store was heavily influenced by DeMille’s sense of charm and his personability, along with co-owner Beard’s knowledge of Atlanta.

“[Beard and Demille] just hooked up [through their mutual connection to people in the Atlanta scene] and the store sort of grew on its own, the record part just took over,” Bourne said. “When I was hired on, there was growth in that area and the book part grew dead. There were plenty of book-centered stores. It wasn’t long before we bought the whole building, and we had the back space for storage, and it sort of grew sort of word of mouth. We didn’t advertise a lot, it was just a personality-driven thing.”

Rainwater said one of the greatest impacts DeMille had on Little Five Points was providing all types of music to people in an accessible way.

“Music is a soundtrack to our lives, and Harry owned a shop where you could get your soundtrack,” Rainwater said. “Not only could you get that soundtrack, but you could get some information on it. He could tell you about any band; he could name any album. You would mention a band, and he’d be like, ‘Oh, that was on Mercury Records, 1973, second song side two, produced by so-and-so.’”

“I’ve known [DeMille] since probably the late 80s, early 90s,” Rainwater said. “I would come down to Wax ‘n’ Facts, and he was always the most informative guy about music. This is a guy who has been here his whole life and who has seen everybody from Jimi Hendrix to Allman Brothers. You name a band, [DeMille] has seen it.”

Many of DeMille’s close friends in Little Five Points initially met him the same way Rainwater did, simply by visiting Wax ‘n’ Facts 20 years ago and becoming lifelong friends.

“This had to be 30 years ago [when I first met DeMille], [I was] just going to the record store and asking him for a Parliament (Parliament Funkadelic) album that they released a different version of in Europe,” Broussard said. “To this day, he has not gotten it to me, but it was just hanging out [was how I met him].”

Bourne said he initially met DeMille through mutual friends and connections within the Atlanta music scene in the 1970s.

“I used to come into Atlanta to see a band that some of my art school friends liked called ‘The Fans,’” Bourne said. “They all hung out with Harry, and they lived in a house down there, and we would all come into [Wax ‘n’ Facts] because it was close and open. So, I’d come in and when there was nothing to do, wait for the shows to start, and I’d just be hanging out in the store and talking to [Harry DeMille].”

DeMille was known by the Little Five Points community as always having a positive attitude and a smile on his face.

“He never did not have a smile,” Broussard said. “I’m always squinting my eyes, and I’m cranky, and I want to be left alone, and that’s it. Harry was the exact opposite. I envy that of him, and to his last day, any time I’d talk to him or call him on the phone, he’d be like, ‘I’m feeling good.’”

Bourne said he thinks people around Little Five Points knew and recognized DeMille because he was so personable.

“You immediately knew what kind of person [Demille] is,” Bourne said. “He was not veiled or shadowed; he was very open and engaging; he was very knowledgeable and affable, friendly and he loved to sit and talk with people.”

DeMille was also known by his friends for talking at great length about music and other topics he was passionate about.

“If you were going to talk to him, especially when he got in-depth about something, pack a lunch,” Rainwater said. “He is going to tell a story, and it is going to be a long story. He was just a very kind-hearted man, and I always loved to talk to him about music. He was such a vital part of this community; having a record store that has been here for so long and such a staple [in the community].”

DeMille’s passing was a sudden and upsetting change to his friends and the Little Five Points community.

“He was a buddy; he is a buddy,” Broussard said. “He came down, and we were hanging out longer than usual, and he said, ‘My car knows how to get home,’ and I told him, ‘Hey Harry, we’re done for the day. I have to get home,’ and he was like, ‘I’m going to the doctor tomorrow, and I’m scared.’ That was the last time I physically saw him. We talked a lot on the phone, I’m still trying to process all that.”

Rainwater believes that while Little Five Points has lost a core community member, DeMille’s passing will pave the way for people to remember him through Wax ‘n’ Facts.

“I think more people are going to start visiting Wax ‘n’ Facts again and realize that nostalgia is something great and that it is a part of this neighborhood,” Rainwater said. “Maybe somebody will think, ‘Man, I didn’t go into Wax ‘n’ Facts enough, and now that Harry’s passed, let’s go in there more often, let me get some more vinyl.’”

DeMille will be remembered in Little Five Points for his positive attitude and sense of humor.

“He’s truly missed,” Rainwater said. “I miss his stories; I miss his smile; I miss his laugh; he was just a wonderful man. He will most definitely be missed; a part of Little Five Points is most certainly gone.”