Kangaroo Records was an American record label established in 1958 in Houston, Texas by co-founders Henry Hayes and M.L. Young. [1] It was an independent label and recorded at Gold Star Studio in Houston. [2] [3] The label debuted the work of musical artists Albert Collins and Joe "Guitar" Hughes, including the 1958 hit "The Freeze". Hayes was also a musician and played the alto sax [4] and recorded songs with his own band as well as backing other artists.
Henry Hayes, Jr. was born in 1923 in Dallas, Texas. [5] He worked as a public school teacher and lived in Houston's Third Ward. He was recorded on singles for various labels. Hayes and his friend Mel "M. L." Young started the Kangaroo Records record label together in spring of 1958. [6]
Hayes had heard about Albert Collins from Joe "Guitar" Hughes. After seeing him perform live, Hayes encouraged Collins to record a single for Kangaroo Records. [6] Collins recorded his debut single, "Freeze", backed with "Collins Shuffle", for the label at Gold Star Studios in the spring of 1958, with Hayes on saxophone. [7] Texas blues bands of this period incorporated a horn section, and Collins later credited Hayes with teaching him how to arrange for horns. [8] Collins' instrumental song "The Freeze" became a hit. [1] [4]
Joe Hughes first recordings were with Kangaroo Records. [9]
Hayes was part of music groups known as the Four Kings, Rhythm Kings, and Henry Hayes Orchestra. [1] Hayes influenced other musicians, [10] and founded several record labels over the years. [11]
Gold Star Records is an American independent record label, which was founded in 1941.
Albert Gene Collins, known as Albert Collins and the Ice Man, was an American electric blues guitarist and singer with a distinctive guitar style. He was noted for his powerful playing and his use of altered tunings and a capo. His long association with the Fender Telecaster led to the title "The Master of the Telecaster".
Douglas Wayne Sahm was an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist born in San Antonio, Texas. Sahm is regarded as one of the main figures of Tex-Mex music, and as an important performer of Texan Music. He gained fame along with his band, the Sir Douglas Quintet, with a top-twenty hit in the United States and the United Kingdom with "She's About a Mover" (1965). Sahm was influenced by the San Antonio music scene that included conjunto and blues, and later by the hippie scene of San Francisco. With his blend of music, he found success performing in Austin, Texas, as the hippie counterculture soared in the 1970s.
Ivory Joe Hunter was an American rhythm-and-blues singer, songwriter, and pianist. After a series of hits on the US R&B chart starting in the mid-1940s, he became more widely known for his hit recording "Since I Met You Baby" (1956). He was billed as The Baron of the Boogie, and also known as The Happiest Man Alive. His musical output ranged from R&B to blues, boogie-woogie, and country music, and Hunter made a name in all of those genres. Uniquely, he was honored at both the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Grand Ole Opry.
Don Deadric Robey was an American record label executive, songwriter, and record producer. As the founder of Peacock Records and the eventual owner of Duke Records, he was responsible for developing the careers of many rhythm and blues artists in the 1950s and 1960s. He was the first African American record mogul, 10 years prior to Berry Gordy's Motown label.
Joe "Guitar" Hughes was an American blues musician from Houston, Texas.
"Why Baby Why" is a country music song co-written and originally recorded by George Jones. Released in late 1955 on Starday Records and produced by Starday co-founder and Jones' manager Pappy Daily, it peaked at 4 on the Billboard country charts that year. It was Jones' first chart single, following several unsuccessful singles released during the prior year on Starday.
Lillia Lavell "Lavelle" White is an American Texas blues and soul blues singer and songwriter. After performing most of her adult lifetime, White released three albums, the first of which was issued in 1994, when she was aged 65.
Trudy Lynn is an American electric blues and soul blues singer and songwriter, whose recorded work has been released on twelve studio albums, one live album, and four compilation albums.
Joe Medwick, probably born Medwick N. Veasey though some sources suggest Joe Medwick Masters or Joe Medwick Veasey, was an American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter. He is officially credited with writing relatively few songs, including "Further On Up The Road", but is widely believed to have written many others, including "I Pity the Fool" and "Turn On Your Love Light". He sold all rights over many of his songs cheaply to record label owner Don Robey. Medwick also recorded under various names including Joe Veasey, Joe Masters and Joe Melvin.
"Family Bible" is a song written by country music singer-songwriter Willie Nelson. Nelson began writing the song in 1957, while he enjoyed success as a disc jockey in KVAN, in Vancouver, Washington. After being denied a raise by the station, he moved to Houston, Texas. Due to financial issues he sold the song to Paul Buskirk.
"The Storm Has Just Begun" is a song by country music singer-songwriter Willie Nelson. Nelson wrote the song at the age of twelve. While working for KBOP in Pleasanton, Texas, in 1955, the song was one of the first two ever recorded by Nelson.
"What a Way to Live" is a song written by country music singer Willie Nelson. He recorded the song on his second session with D Records, after moving to Houston, Texas. Produced by Bill Quinn, it was cut at Gold Star Studios in March 1960.
"The Party's Over" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer Willie Nelson during the mid-1950s. After arriving in Houston, Texas, Nelson was hired to play for the Esquire Ballroom band, where he would be allowed to close the shows singing the song. Guitar instructor and Nelson's friend Paul Buskirk forwarded the song to singer Claude Gray, who recorded the original version of the song, released as "My Party's Over" in 1959.
"Sometime" is a song written by Gene Thomas, originally released by Venus Records in 1961. After it enjoyed regional success, it was reissued on the United Artists label. The song became a top 100 hit on the national chart. The song was later covered by Doug Sahm and by the Flamin' Groovies.
The discography of Doug Sahm started in 1955 with the release of "A Real American Joe" on Sarg Records. Sahm fronted three bands early in his career: The Pharaohs, The Dell-Kings and The Markays. He released the song "Crazy Daisy" (1959), and he had a local hit in San Antonio, Texas with "Why Why Why" (1960) on Renner Records. Sahm had another local hit with "Crazy, Crazy Feeling" (1961). After he disbanded the Sir Douglas Quintet in 1972, he was signed by Atlantic Records in October 1972, and he released his solo debut album Doug Sahm and Band.
Down in Houston: Bayou City Blues is a 2003 book written by Roger Wood, with photographs from James Fraher, published by the University of Texas Press; it is No. 8 of the Jack and Doris Smothers Series in Texas History, Life, and Culture. Down in Houston discusses the African-American musical culture that was established in Houston, Texas, particularly that of the Third Ward and Fifth Ward. Larry Willoughby of Austin Community College described the book as "an oral history, a socio-cultural study, a beautifully photographed pictorial, and a musicologist's primary source bonanza."
Groover's Paradise is an album by Doug Sahm, produced by musician Doug Clifford and released on Warner Records in 1974. Following his return to Texas after his success with the Sir Douglas Quintet in California, Sahm settled in Austin, Texas. As the local music scene thrived, he was featured as the main attraction in local clubs and he recorded his debut album for Atlantic Records.