Alta Records was a record label founded in Dallas, Texas in the early 1960s by pioneer, radio personality Jim Lowe. Lowe was a popular DJ who hosted a rhythm and blues program "Kat's Karavan" from the WRR-AM studios located at Fair Park in Dallas. He was one of the first DJs in the Southwest to introduce early R&B recording artists to a mainstream, white audience. His program became enormously popular and was broadcast well into the 1960s. Lowe was also noted for airing his "Library Of Laughs" which featured many up and coming comics like Brother Dave Gardner and Justin Wilson.
Jim Lowe was a prominent record/music force in the DFW area having founded several labels including White Rock Records, Division Records and Alta Records . Lowe was also the voice of "Big Tex" at the State Fair of Texas for many, many years.
Alta Records were produced for the Top 40 radio market and they had several chart successes. Jim Lowe "The Cool Fool" (as he was known as) died in 2000 but left a legacy of popular recordings that have become highly prized collectibles in the world of vinyl.
Nicholas Drain Lowe is a British singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica.
James Travis Reeves was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville Sound. Known as "Gentleman Jim", his songs continued to chart for years after his death in a plane crash. He is a member of both the Country Music and Texas Country Music Halls of Fame.
Lemeul Eugene Lucas, better known by his stage name Gene Austin, was an American singer and songwriter, one of the first "crooners". His recording of "My Blue Heaven" sold over five million copies and was for a while the largest selling record of all time. His 1920s compositions "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street" and "The Lonesome Road" became pop and jazz standards.
William Orville "Lefty" Frizzell was an American country music singer-songwriter and honky-tonk singer. Frizzell is widely considered one of the greatest country singers who ever lived, influencing George Jones, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers, Keith Whitley, Merle Haggard, Randy Travis and John Fogerty.
Seger Pillot Ellis was an American jazz pianist and vocalist. He also made a few brief film appearances, most notably in collaboration with director Ida Lupino.
The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, the Four Tops, Jimmy Ruffin, Edwin Starr, the Supremes, the Marvelettes, Marvin Gaye and the Isley Brothers, among others. It is estimated they appeared on 20,000 recordings.
Sheldon Talmy is an American record producer, songwriter and arranger, best known for his work in the UK in the 1960s with the Who, the Kinks and many others.
Butterbeans and Susie were an American comedy duo comprising Jodie Edwards and Susie Edwards. They married in 1917, and performed together until the early 1960s. Their act, a combination of marital quarrels, comic dances, and racy singing, proved popular on the Theatre Owners Booking Association (TOBA) tour. They later moved to vaudeville and appeared for a time with the blackface minstrel troupe the Rabbit's Foot Company.
Bring the Family is John Hiatt's eighth album. It was his first album to chart on the Billboard 200, and featured his first single entry on the mainstream rock chart with "Thank You Girl". It features Ry Cooder on guitar, Nick Lowe on bass guitar and Jim Keltner on drums. The four would later reform as Little Village and release an album in 1992. "Thing Called Love" later became a hit for Bonnie Raitt, and "Have A Little Faith In Me" is among Hiatt's most popular songs, although it wasn't released as a single in America.
Marvin Earl Johnson was an American R&B singer, songwriter and pianist. He was influential in the development of the Motown style of music, primarily for the song "Come to Me," which was the first record issued by Tamla Records, the precursor to the famous label.
Jimmy Tennant, better known as Jimmy Velvet, was an early American soft rock and roll vocalist, during the 1960s. His most popular singles were "We Belong Together" and "It's Almost Tomorrow".
Jean McClain, better known as Pepper Mashay, is an American soul, house and dance music singer-songwriter who has had success as a touring and studio performer.
David Eugene Summers was an American rockabilly singer, songwriter and guitarist. His most famous recordings include the late 50s "School of Rock 'n Roll", "Straight Skirt", "Nervous", "Gotta Lotta That", "Twixteen", "Alabama Shake", "Fancy Dan" and his biggest-selling single "Big Blue Diamonds". Summers was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Southern Legends Entertainment & Performing Arts Hall of Fame in 2005. He still performed worldwide and celebrated his 50th anniversary as a recording artist in 2008 with the release of Reminisce Cafe.
The Ultimate School Of Rock & Roll is a 32-track CD by Gene Summers. It is a compilation of his biggest hits including out-takes and alternate tracks. The CD was released nationally in the United States by Crystal Clear Sound Records in 1997 and is still in print. It was issued as a deluxe edition with an insert booklet containing 16 printed pages with extensive photos plus exclusive liner notes by Phil York.
James Mullins, better known as Jimmy Velvit, is an American rock and roll singer, who began his career in the 1960s. He is originally from Coalgate, Oklahoma, later from Dallas, Texas. He is best known for recording a white rhythm and blues version, in 1962, of Robert & Johnny's 1958 hit "We Belong Together". Velvit's first release was "Sometimes at Night" on Division Records in 1961, afterwards released on Cub Records. He also recorded under the name 'James Bell', in 1968, when he charted "He Ain't Country", a Country & Western release, for Bell Records.
The Glen Campbell Collection (1962–1989) Gentle on My Mind is a double CD containing 38 of the 74 singles released by Glen Campbell that charted on the Billboard Country Singles chart. "William Tell Overture" has been recorded more than once by Campbell but the version included here is a previously unreleased recording. "Bloodline" is an album track from the 1976 "Bloodline" album.
The Legacy (1961–2002) is a boxset covering four decades of recordings by Glen Campbell. The fourth CD is a compilation of live recordings.
Tear Drop Records was a record label founded in Winnie, Texas, United States, in the early 1960s by recording pioneer and radio personality, Huey P Meaux. As a deejay, Meaux was known as the "Crazy Cajun", a name that stuck with him throughout his long, music career.
Capri Records was a rock and roll record label established in Conroe, Texas by Huey P. Meaux and Foy Lee in the early 1960s. It started the careers of many Texas musicians and furthered the careers of Gene Summers, Gaylon Christie, Scotty McKay, and Pat Minter.
"Cruel to Be Kind" is a song by Nick Lowe, co-written by Lowe and his former Brinsley Schwarz bandmate Ian Gomm. Written by Lowe and Gomm while the pair were in Brinsley Schwarz, the song was saved on a demo until Columbia Records convinced Lowe to release it. Musically, the song was inspired by "The Love I Lost" by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, an influence reflected in more recent performances of the song.