Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of motor and town, has become a nickname for Detroit, where the label was originally headquartered.
Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved to Hollywood, California. In its early years, Dot specialized in artists from Tennessee. Then it branched out to include musicians from across the U.S. It recorded country music, rhythm and blues, polkas, waltzes, gospel, rockabilly, pop, and early rock and roll. After moving to Hollywood, Dot Records bought many recordings by small local independent labels and issued them nationally. In 1957, Wood sold the label to Paramount Pictures, but remained in charge until 1967, when he departed to join Lawrence Welk in the formation of Ranwood Records. In 1968, the label was acquired as part of the acquisition of Paramount by Gulf+Western, which transitioned it to exclusively recording country music and eventually placed it under the management of Famous Music in 1971. Gulf+Western sold its labels to ABC in 1974, after which Dot was renamed to ABC-Dot Records before closing in 1978.
ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels before ABC was sold to MCA Records in 1979. ABC produced music in a variety of genres: pop, rock, jazz, country, rhythm and blues, soundtrack, gospel, and polka. In addition to producing records, ABC licensed masters from independent record producers, and purchased regionally released records for national distribution.
Duke Records was an American record label, started in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1952 by David James Mattis and Bill Fitzgerald, owners of Tri-State Recording Company. Their first release was Roscoe Gordon singing "Hey Fat Girl", issued on Duke R-1, later amended to R-101.
Peacock Records was an American record label, started in 1949 by Don Robey in Houston, Texas, United States.
Song Bird Records was started at the end of 1963 as a gospel music subsidiary of Houston, Texas-based Duke/Peacock Records. Significant artists on Song Bird included the powerful contralto Inez Andrews formerly of The Caravans, The Gospelettes with Liz Dargan formerly of The Andrewettes, mixed-vocal group The Kansas City Melodyaires later known as Mildred Clark & The Melodyaires, The Dallas Academy Youth Choir, The Jackson Southernaires along with their younger siblings The Williams Brothers, Reverend Oris Mays, and the Christian Harmonizers.
BluesWay Records was an American subsidiary label of ABC-Paramount Records, begun by Bob Thiele in 1966. Artists such as John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Reed, Jimmy Rushing, Otis Spann, and T-Bone Walker were among those who signed for the label. BluesWay released B. B. King's 1969 Live and Well and Completely Well albums, the latter containing his hit "The Thrill is Gone". The label also released the James Gang's first album, 1969's Yer' Album.
20th Century Fox Records was a wholly owned subsidiary of film studio 20th Century Fox. The history of the label covers three distinct 20th Century Fox-related operations in the analog era, ranging chronologically from about 1938 to 1981.
Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp. David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca and RCA Victor. Kapp licensed its records to London Records for release in the UK.
"Everlasting Love" is a song written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden, originally a 1967 hit for Robert Knight and since remade numerous times, most successfully by Love Affair, as well as Town Criers, Carl Carlton, Sandra Cretu, and Gloria Estefan. The original version of "Everlasting Love" was recorded by Knight in Nashville, with Cason and Gayden aiming to produce it in a Motown style reminiscent of the Four Tops and the Temptations. When released as a single, the song reached No. 13 on the US chart in 1967. Subsequently, the song has reached the US Top 40 three times, most successfully as performed by Carl Carlton, peaking at No. 6 in 1974, with more moderate success by the duo Rex Smith and Rachel Sweet and Gloria Estefan.
David "Fathead" Newman was an American jazz and rhythm-and-blues saxophonist, who made numerous recordings as a session musician and leader, but is best known for his work as a sideman on seminal 1950s and early 1960s recordings by Ray Charles.
Ultimate Breaks and Beats was a series of 25 compilation albums released from 1986 to 1991 by Street Beat Records edited by "BreakBeat Lou" Flores. Featured on the albums were tracks from 1966 to 1984 that included drum breaks.
Hickory Records is an American record label founded in 1954 by Acuff-Rose Music, which operated the label up to 1979. Sony Music Publishing revived the label in 2007. Originally based in Nashville, and functioning as an independent label throughout its history, it has had several distributors.
King Records was an American label founded in 1943 by Syd Nathan in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The label owned several divisions, including Federal Records, which launched the career of James Brown. It released original material until 1975.
Carl Carlton is an American R&B, soul, and funk singer-songwriter, best known for his hits "Everlasting Love" and "She's a Bad Mama Jama ".
Roy Kent Head was an American singer, best known for his hit song "Treat Her Right".
George Sylvester "Red" Callender was an American string bass and tuba player. He is perhaps best known as a jazz musician, but worked with an array of pop, rock and vocal acts as a member of The Wrecking Crew, a group of first-call session musicians in Los Angeles.
Norman Fox & The Rob-Roys are an American 1950s doo-wop group from The Bronx, New York, United States.
"Treat Her Right" is a soul music song, with a standard 12-bar-blues structure. Written by Roy Head and Gene Kurtz, it was recorded by Head and The Traits and released on the Back Beat label in 1965.
Marjorie Lucille "Margie" Alexander was an American gospel and soul singer, mainly noted for her recordings in the 1970s.
