Dial Records was a Nashville-based soul label established by music promoter, publisher and producer Buddy Killen in 1964. [1] [2] [3]
Dial Records was formed specifically so Buddy Killen could record perhaps his best-known discovery, soul singer Joe Tex. [4] After a few tries and misses, Tex came up with a song called "Hold What You've Got", a 1964 ballad that bridged traditional rhythm and blues with the emerging Southern soul style and also pointed toward a future of rap thanks to Tex's spoken, almost testifying homily midway through the song. (Tex, in fact, was actually nicknamed "The Rapper" in these years.") "Hold What You've Got" got Killen's Dial label a distribution deal with Atlantic Records. Joe Tex was the anchor star of this Dial label (he rolled up almost thirty soul hits, some of which hit the pop charts, especially "Skinny Legs and All" and "I Gotcha") until he all but retired from music in the 1970s and died of a heart attack at age 49.
Dial had a few distributors over the years including London Records, Atlantic Records, Mercury Records, Epic Records and T.K. Records. Killen shut down the label in 1979 to concentrate on his other music interests. He owned Tree International Publishing.
Sony/ATV Music Publishing owns the Dial Records catalogue today. [5]
Dial Records had the distinction of going through four different distributors:
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Yusuf Hazziez, known professionally as Joe Tex, was an American singer and musician who gained success in the 1960s and 1970s with his brand of Southern soul, which mixed the styles of funk, country, gospel, and rhythm and blues.
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William Doyce “Buddy” Killen was an American record producer and music publisher, and a former owner of Trinity Broadcasting Network and Tree International Publishing, the largest country music publishing business, before he sold it to CBS Records in 1989. He was also the owner of Killen Music Group, involved with more diverse genres of music, such as pop and rap.
Paul Kelly is an American singer-songwriter. He is best known for the soul songs "Stealing in the Name of the Lord", which was a major hit in 1970, and "Hooked, Hogtied & Collared". He also wrote "Personally", which has been widely covered, and was a hit for soul singer Jackie Moore and singer-songwriter Karla Bonoff and country singer Ronnie McDowell. Other songs have been covered by gospel artists, including the Mighty Clouds of Joy and The Staple Singers.
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This article contains comprehensive discography information related to Joe Tex.
"Skinny Legs and All" is a song composed and recorded by soul singer Joe Tex and released in 1967 on the Dial label in 1967. The single was later featured on Tex's "live" album, Live and Lively a year later in 1968.
Bumps & Bruises is an album by the American R&B musician Joe Tex, released in 1977 via Epic Records.
Miss Country Soul is a studio album by Australian singer Diana Trask. It was released in February 1969 by Dot Records and consisted of 12 tracks written entirely by American soul artist Joe Tex. The album was marketed as a country recording and reached the top 40 of the US country chart. Of its two singles, "Hold What You've Got" was the only one to chart, making the US country songs chart in 1969. The album itself received positive reviews from Billboard and Cash Box magazines.