Chocolate City Records

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Chocolate City Records
Parent company Casablanca Records
Founded1975
StatusDefunct since 1982.
Distributor The Island Def Jam Music Group
GenreVarious
Country of originUS
LocationUS

Chocolate City Records was a record label subsidiary of Casablanca Records & Filmworks. It was started in 1975 by Cecil Holmes, Neil Bogart's partner at Casablanca. [1] [2] Its name was a reference to the album Chocolate City by The Parliaments. [2] The label featured artists such as Cameo, founded by Larry Blackmon. [1] [2]

Contents

In 1980 the label was sold to PolyGram along with Casablanca, which are now part of Universal Music Group; in 1983 Chocolate City Records went out of business and Cecil Holmes left Casablanca Records & Filmworks and went on to be the VP of Black music for CBS Records.

Recording history

The label's first group were The New York City Players, who later changed their name to Cameo , with singles "Find My Way" and "Rigor Mortis".[ citation needed ]

The next groups to sign for Chocolate City were Brenda & the Tabulations, with their slow jam entitled "Home To Myself", and Blacksmoke aka Black Smoke, whose self-titled debut Blacksmoke featured the two singles "Your Love Has Got Me Screaming" and "There It Is". [3] [4] [5] The group who used to back Donna Summer [6] were previously called Smoke. Due to legal action instigated by another group also called Smoke, who had released a record, "I'm So Lonely" in 1974, [7] they changed their name to Smoke. The change was reflected on their releases and merchandising. [8] Their single "(Your Love Has Got Me) Screamin'" received a good review in the 10 July issue of Billboard . [9] It was a chart hit, peaking at no. 96 on the Hot Soul Singles chart during its two-week run. [10] [11] [12] Their self-titled album peaked at No. 166 in the Record World 151-200 Album chart [13] [14] [15] during its seven-week run. [16] [17]

In 1977, both Cameo and Brenda & The Tabulations recorded their first albums for Chocolate City Records. Cameo titled their first album Cardiac Arrest. The two singles were "Funk Funk" and "Post Mortem". The first Brenda & The Tabulations album was I Keep Coming Back For More, from which the singles "Let's Go All The Way (Down)" and "Superstar" were taken. In the fall of 1977, Cameo titled their 2nd album We All Know Who We Are. The 4 singles were "C On The Funk", "Why Have I Lost You?", "We All Know Who We Are" and "It's Serious".

In 1978, two new artists signed with Chocolate City Records: the solo singer Vernon Burch, and Townsend, Townsend, Townsend & Rogers. Burch's album was titled Love-A-Thon, with singles "Brighter Days" and "Love Is"; Townsend, Townsend, Townsend & Rogers' album was self-titled and included the single "Bring It Down To The Real" written by Dave Rogers and Ed Townsend.

Four new groups signed with the label in 1980. Randy Brown, who was originally signed to Parachute Records, released his first album under Chocolate City Records: Midnight Desire. Two singles included on this album were "We Outta Be Doin' It" and "It's The Next Best Thing (To Being There)". 7th Wonder, also originally signed to Parachute, released their first album under Chocolate City Records: Thunder. The album included the singles "The Tilt" and "I Enjoy Ya". Starpoint released their self-titled first album. Three hit singles from the album were "I Just Wanna Dance With You", "Get Ready, Get Down" and "Gonna Lift You Up". Kevin Moore released an album entitled Rainmaker, with the hit single "The Way You Hold Me".

In January 1976, another group called the Funkateers signed with Chocolate City. They recorded their hit single titled, "Give What You Got."n [ citation needed ]

References

  1. 1 2 Barnes, Terry (June 12, 1993). "Everyone knows the hits, but how about the men behind them?". Billboard. pp. R16 –R18. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Wikane, Christian John (August 17, 2009). "Part Two: Painting the Building, 1975-1977". Pop Matters. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  3. ↑ Both Sides Now Publications - Chocolate City Album Discography By Patrice Eyries, Mike Callahan, and David Edwards, CHOCOLATE CITY ALBUM DISCOGRAPHY, CCLP 2000 series:, CLP 2001 - Smoke - Smoke (1976); CCLP 2002 - I Keep Coming Back for More - Brenda & Tabulations (1977)
  4. ↑ Billboard, July 10, 1976 - Page 10 General News, LOS ANGELES HASSLE, 2 Smoke Groups In Court Dispute Over Ownership
  5. ↑ 45Cat - BlackSmoke - Discography, USA
  6. ↑ Record World, August 7, 1976 - Page 16 Casablanca—Cornin' On Strong, Chocolate City
  7. ↑ Billboard, July 10, 1976 - Page 10 General News, LOS ANGELES HASSLE, 2 Smoke Groups In Court Dispute Over Ownership
  8. ↑ Record World, July 17, 1976 - Page 40 Smoke Now Blacksmoke
  9. ↑ Billboard, July 19, 1976 - Page 64 Billboard's Top Single Picks, First Time Around, BLACKSMOKE - (Your Love Has Got Me) Screamin'
  10. ↑ Billboard, August 21, 1976 - Page 34 Billboard Hot Soul Singles, This Week 98, NEW ENTRY, (Your Love Has Got Me) SCREAMIN'- Blacksmoke
  11. ↑ Billboard, August 28, 1976 - Page 72 Billboard Hot Soul Singles, This Week 96, Last Week 98, Weeks on Chart 2, (Your Love Has Got Me) SCREAMIN'- Blacksmoke
  12. ↑ Records And Charts - ARTIST: Blacksmoke, TITLE: (Your Love Has Got Me) Screamin'
  13. ↑ Record World, July 3, 1976 - Page 40 151-200 ÁLBUM CHART, 171 BLACKSMOKE / Chocolate City 2001 (Casablanca)
  14. ↑ Record World, July 17, 1976 - Page 38 151-200 ALBUM CHART, 166 BLACKSMOKE / Chocolate City 2001 (Casablanca)
  15. ↑ Record World, July 31, 1976 - Page 73 151-200 ALBUM CHART, 194 BLACKSMOKE / Chocolate City 2001 (Casablanca)
  16. ↑ Record World, June 19, 1976 - Page 73 151-200 ALBUM CHART, 171 BLACKSMOKE / Chocolate City 2001 (Casablanca)
  17. ↑ Record World, July 14, 1976 - Page 73 151-200 ALBUM CHART, 194 BLACKSMOKE / Chocolate City 2001 (Casablanca)
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