FiFo Records was an American record label established by singer-songwriters Bob Markley and Baker Knight in Los Angeles, California, in 1961. Following Markley's unsuccessful stint with Warner Bros. Records as a solo artist, he teamed up with Knight, a co-writer on both of Markley's two singles, to found the label, which recorded a variety of pop, R&B, and folk musical acts. FiFo is best-known, however, as the label that released the debut album by the psychedelic rock group the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band (The WCPAEB) in 1966. [1]
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing, promotion, and enforcement of copyright for sound recordings and music videos, while also conducting talent scouting and development of new artists, and maintaining contracts with recording artists and their managers. The term "record label" derives from the circular label in the center of a vinyl record which prominently displays the manufacturer's name, along with other information. Within the mainstream music industry, recording artists have traditionally been reliant upon record labels to broaden their consumer base, market their albums, and be both promoted and heard on music streaming services, radio, and television. Record labels also provide publicists, who assist performers in gaining positive media coverage, and arrange for their merchandise to be available via stores and other media outlets.
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose, and perform their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies.
Robert H. Markley was an American singer-songwriter and record producer who co-founded the psychedelic rock band, The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, in the late 1960s, and became one of the most controversial figures that emerged from the era.
All the recordings issued on FiFo were licensed through RHM (Robert H. Markley) Publishing. Aside from the WCPAEB, another notable artist on the label was Sonny Knight, a seasoned musician who had a national hit in 1956 with "Confidential". Although not particularly successful, the doo wop group the Triangles recorded the single "My Oh My", which has become a valuable collector's item that sells for as much as $700. Markley produced all the sessions, provided his "trademark" bongos, and carries a writing credit for all the singles released (often in collaboration with Baker Knight). [1] [2]
Joseph Coleman Smith, who performed and recorded under the name Sonny Knight, was an American singer, songwriter and author. His biggest hit was "Confidential", which reached the pop and R&B charts in 1956, and he continued to record into the 1960s. In 1981, using his real name, he wrote The Day the Music Died, a fictionalised account of racism in the American music business in the 1950s.
In the music industry, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separately from an album, although it usually also appears on an album. Typically, these are the songs from albums that are released separately for promotional uses such as digital download or commercial radio airplay and are expected to be the most popular. In other cases a recording released as a single may not appear on an album.
The label is well-known among WCPAEB followers for distributing the band's debut album Volume One in 1966. Recorded mostly before Markley was a band member, the album consists of a handful of cover versions of popular songs and some original material by the Laughing Wind, the group that developed into the WCPAEB. [3] The "FiFo fan" imprinted on some of the releases was a caricature of Markley that was later revived for the compilation album The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band Companion in 2011. [2] [4]
Volume One is the first album recorded by the psychedelic rock band the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band. It was first released in 1966 on the small FiFo Records label. It was reissued in both compact disc and vinyl in 1997 by Sundazed. The album features covers of pop classics such as Richard Berry's "Louie, Louie" and the Kinks' "You Really Got Me". The songs mellow out into a blues/folk style with covers of Bob Dylan songs.
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by someone other than the original artist or composer of a previously recorded, commercially released song.
A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for release together as a single work, but may be collected together as a greatest hits album or box set. If from several performers, there may be a theme, topic, time period, or genre which links the tracks, or they may have been intended for release as a single work—such as a tribute album. When the tracks are by the same recording artist, the album may be referred to as a retrospective album or an anthology.
