Car Records was a record label founded in 1977 by Chris Stamey of the powerpop group the dB's. [1] Originally from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Stamey moved to New York City and started his label where he released the band's first single "(I Thought You) Wanted to Know"/"If and When" under the name Chris Stamey and the dB's in 1978. Also in 1978, Car Records released the first single by Chris Bell (former guitarist of Big Star) "I Am The Cosmos"/"You and Your Sister" (the only solo material released in Bell's lifetime). [2] Car Records was located at 89 Bleecker St.
Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). The group broke up in early 1975, and reorganized with a new lineup 18 years later following a reunion concert at the University of Missouri. In its first era, the band's musical style drew on the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Byrds. Big Star produced a style that foreshadowed the alternative rock of the 1980s and 1990s. Before they broke up, Big Star created a "seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations", in the words of Rolling Stone, as the "quintessential American power pop band", and "one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll". Three of Big Star's studio albums are included in the Rolling Stone's list of the Top 500 Albums of All-Time.
Billy Joe Thomas was an American singer widely known for his pop, country and Christian hits of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
The dB's are an American alternative rock and power pop group, who formed in New York City in 1978 and first came to prominence in the early 1980s. Their debut album, Stands for Decibels, is often acclaimed as one of the greatest "lost" power pop albums of the 1980s.
Christopher Branford Bell was an American musician, guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Along with Alex Chilton, he led the power pop band Big Star through its first album #1 Record (1972). He also pursued a solo career throughout the mid-1970s, resulting in the posthumous I Am the Cosmos LP.
Christopher Anton Rea is an English rock and blues singer and guitarist from Middlesbrough. A "gravel-voiced guitar stalwart" known for his slide guitar playing, Rea has recorded twenty five solo albums, two of which topped the UK Albums Chart. Described as "rock's ultimate survivor", given his recovery from several bouts of serious illness, Rea was "a major European star by the time he finally cracked the UK Top 10" with his single "The Road to Hell ". The album, The Road to Hell (1989), topped the album chart, as did its successor, Auberge (1991). His many hit songs include "I Can Hear Your Heartbeat", "Stainsby Girls", "Josephine", "On the Beach", "Let's Dance", "Driving Home for Christmas", "Working on It", "Tell Me There's a Heaven", "Auberge" and "Julia". He also recorded a duet with Elton John, "If You Were Me". Rea was nominated three times for the Brit Award for Best British Male Artist: in 1988, 1989 and 1990.
Mitchell Blake Easter is a musician, songwriter, and record producer. Frequently associated with the jangle pop style of guitar music, he is known as producer of R.E.M.'s early albums from 1981 through 1984, and as frontman of the 1980s band Let's Active.
Peter Livingston Holsapple is an American musician who formed, along with Chris Stamey, the dB's, a jangle-pop band from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He became the band's principal songwriter and singer after Stamey's departure. The band, with Stamey back in the fold, reformed with new material in 2005–2006.
DB Records was a record label owned by Danny Beard, active from 1978 to 1997. The label was operated out of the Wax'n'Facts record store in the Atlanta, Georgia neighborhood of Little Five Points. Through the 1980s, the label became known as a source of southern regional music.
Scott Warren Litt is an American record producer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock genre and is best known for producing six R.E.M. albums in the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s during the band's most successful period.
Don Dixon is an American record producer, songwriter, and musician. He is considered to be one of the key producers of what is called the jangle pop movement of the early 1980s, including working with R.E.M. and The Smithereens.
Christopher Charles Stamey is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. After a brief time playing with Alex Chilton, as well as Mitch Easter under the name Sneakers, Stamey formed The dB's with Peter Holsapple.
John's Children were a 1960s mod rock band from Leatherhead, England that briefly featured future T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan. John's Children were known for their outrageous live performances and were booted off a tour with the Who in Germany in 1967 when they upstaged the headliners. Their 1967 single "Desdemona", a Bolan composition, was banned by the BBC because of the controversial lyric, "Lift up your skirt and fly." Their US record label delayed the release of their debut album, Orgasm, for four years from its recording date due to objections from Daughters of the American Revolution.
Jonathan Patrick Wurster is an American drummer and comedy writer. As a musician, he is best known for his work with Superchunk, the Mountain Goats, and Bob Mould. He is also known for appearing on The Best Show with Tom Scharpling.
Myrtle Eleanor Cooper and Scott Greene Wiseman, known professionally as Lulu Belle and Scotty, were one of the major country music acts of the 1930s and 1940s, dubbed The Sweethearts of Country Music.
Stands for Decibels is the debut studio album by American power pop band the dB's, released January 15, 1981 by Albion Records. The album was commercially unsuccessful but critically acclaimed.
Repercussion is the second studio album by American power pop band the dB's, released in 1981 by Albion Records. Like its predecessor, Stands for Decibels, the album was commercially unsuccessful but critically acclaimed.
Amber Denise "Sevyn" Streeter is an American singer and songwriter, best known for being a member of the girl groups TG4 and RichGirl where she was known as Se7en. She signed to Atlantic Records and released her debut single "I Like It" in 2012.
Omnivore Recordings is an independent record label founded in 2010. It specializes in historical releases, reissues and previously unissued vintage recordings, as well as select releases of new music, on CD, vinyl and digital formats. Omnivore Recordings is a part of Omnivore Entertainment Group LLC, which also incorporates sister companies Omnivore Music Publishing and Omnivore Creative, which provides A&R and art direction/design consulting for recording artists, artist estates, and other record labels.
Alan Betrock was an American music critic, publisher, editor, author and record producer. Initially a music critic, Betrock founded the influential New York Rocker magazine in 1976 and the publishing house Shake Books in 1979. He has written and edited several books, including the critically acclaimed Girl Groups: The Story of a Sound. He produced Blondie's first demos in 1975 and launched the short-lived record label Shake Records. He has produced and/or released music by such artists as Marshall Crenshaw, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, the dB's and the Smithereens.
"My Friend the Sun" is a song by the British rock band Family. It was written by Roger Chapman and Charlie Whitney for the band's 1972 album Bandstand. The single did not make the UK Singles Chart.