| GTO Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parent company | CBS Records (from 1978) |
| Founded | 1974 |
| Genre | Pop, Rock, Disco, Hi-NRG |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
GTO Records was a British record label which released many hits during the 1970s. It ran from 1974 to 1981 and mainly concentrated on pop music and disco. The acronym represented the Gem Toby Organization.
The record label was co-founded by Bell Records UK's Dick Leahy [1] and Gem Records's Laurence Myers in 1974, after Myers had set up GTO Films and Arcade Records in the period between 1972 and 1974. [2] The first GTO release – on 4 July 1974 – was the single "Up in a Puff of Smoke" by Polly Brown, and the label's focus would remain on pop and disco acts such as Billy Ocean, The Dooleys and Heatwave, and released Donna Summer's albums in the UK, all of which proved to be successful. Lulu also briefly recorded for the label. The biggest hit released by the label was Donna Summer's "I Feel Love", which reached No.1 in 1977.
In 1978, the label was sold to CBS Records after achieving a high level of hits for a new label. From this time, the Donna Summer records moved to Casablanca Records, while the hits for other acts began to dry up over the next two years. [3] The label was wrapped up in late 1981 when its roster of acts were either dropped or moved on to Epic Records – also owned by CBS. Prior to the sale and transfer of artists, Epic distributed many of GTO albums, namely Heatwave's output.
The GTO back catalogue is currently owned by Sony Music. [4]
Leslie Sebastian Charles, known professionally as Billy Ocean, is a Trinidadian-born British singer and songwriter. Between 1976 and 1988, he had a series of hit songs in the UK and internationally.
Dana Rosemary Scallon, known professionally as Dana, is an Irish singer, songwriter and politician.
Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label currently focuses on dance and electronic music under the direction of Brett Alperowitz.
"I Feel Love" is a song by the American singer Donna Summer. Produced and co-written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, it was recorded for Summer's fifth studio album, I Remember Yesterday (1977). The album concept was to have each track evoke a different musical decade; for "I Feel Love", the team aimed to create a futuristic mood, employing a Moog synthesizer.
Barry Blue is an English singer, producer, and songwriter. As an artist, he is best known for his hit songs "Dancin' " and "Do You Wanna Dance".
"Could It Be Magic" is a song written by Adrienne Anderson and composed by American singer-songwriter Barry Manilow, inspired by Frédéric Chopin's Prelude in C minor, Opus 28, Number 20.
The Dooleys were a British male–female pop group comprising at its peak eight members – six of them in the Dooley family. The group achieved several UK chart hits between 1977 and 1981, including top-ten hits "Wanted", "Love of My Life" and "The Chosen Few".
The discography of American singer Donna Summer includes 17 studio albums and 89 singles, plus several other releases. Her first single, "Wassermann", a German version of the song "Aquarius" from the musical Hair, was released in Europe in 1968 under her maiden name, Donna Gaines. She would become known as Donna Summer from 1974 onwards. Her first full-length album under that name was Lady of the Night.
"Love to Love You Baby" is a song by American singer Donna Summer from her second studio album, Love to Love You Baby (1975). Produced by Pete Bellotte, and written by Italian musician Giorgio Moroder, Summer, and Bellotte, the song was first released as a single in the Netherlands in June 1975 as "Love to Love You" and then released worldwide in November 1975 as "Love to Love You Baby". It became one of the first disco hits to be released in an extended form.
"I Remember Yesterday" is a song by American singer and songwriter Donna Summer released from her very successful 1977 album. Upon its release as a single it became a hit in Europe, reaching #14 in the UK and #20 in the Netherlands. The album also contained a reprise of the track.
Too Hot to Handle is the debut album by funk-disco band Heatwave, released on June 15, 1976 on the GTO label in the UK and on May 30, 1977 on the Epic label in the US. It was produced by Barry Blue.
Central Heating is the second studio album by funk-disco band Heatwave. It was released in 1977 on the GTO label in the UK and in 1978 on the Epic label in the US. It was produced by Barry Blue. Central Heating sold more than a million copies in its first two years of release.
Hot Property is the third album by the British band Heatwave. Arranged, and primarily written by Rod Temperton, it was released 27 April 1979 on the GTO record label in the United Kingdom, and the Epic label in the United States of America. It was produced by Phil Ramone.
Candles is the fourth studio album by the British pop, funk, disco band Heatwave. Arranged, and primarily written by Rod Temperton, it was released on 21 November 1980 on the GTO record label in the United Kingdom, and the Epic record label in the United States. It was produced by lead singer Johnnie Wilder, Jr. and James Guthrie. It made number 71 on the Billboard LP and Tapes chart, dated 17 January 1981.
Secrets is a 1981 album by the British pop group The Dooleys, released on GTO Records. It was their final album in the UK.
Dooleys was the first UK album by British pop group The Dooleys. It was released on GTO Records in 1978 and featured the top 20 hits "Think I'm Gonna Fall in Love with You", "Love of My Life" and "A Rose Has to Die".
"Always and Forever" is an R&B song written by Rod Temperton and produced by Barry Blue. It was first recorded by the British-based multinational funk-disco band Heatwave in 1976. Released as a single on December 3, 1977, the song is included on Heatwave's debut album Too Hot to Handle (1976) and has been covered by numerous artists, becoming something of a standard.
Heatwave was a disco-funk band formed in London, England in 1975. Its most popular line-up featured Americans Johnnie Wilder Jr. and Keith Wilder (vocals) of Dayton, Ohio; Englishmen Rod Temperton (keyboards) and Roy Carter (guitar); Swiss Mario Mantese (bass); Czechoslovak Ernest "Bilbo" Berger (drums); and Jamaican Eric Johns (guitar).
Derek Joseph Patrick Leahy was a British music industry executive. Leahy first came to prominence as A&R manager at Philips Records in the late 1960s. He managed the Bell Records label in the early 1970s, which had a string of hits in the U.K. He formed the equally successful label GTO Records in 1974 before moving into music publishing in the 1980s, notably working with Wham! and George Michael.
Michael Myers is a songwriter and music producer. During his career, he has written hits for The Dooleys, The Nolans and Billy Ocean.
