Oak Records

Last updated
Oak Records
Founded1970
FounderRay Ruff
GenreVarious
Country of origin United States
Official website http://www.oakrecordsmusic.com/

Oak Records is an independent record label that has released recordings by Ernie Freeman, Doug Gibbs, Five Flights Up, James Talley, Stephanie Winslow and Dwight Yoakam. It has been releasing recordings since the 1970s.

Contents

Info

The label was founded by Ray Ruff in 1970. [1]

In the latter part of 1971, Oak was a new company. Ruff, the owner, was preparing a 2LP set of Bible stories, Truth of Truths for Christmas to be pushed through independent distributors. [2] In November, Billboard said he was involved in licensing deals with GRT Music Tapes. Due to the renewed popularity of religious music, Oak president Ruff had offers from record companies and a large advance for license rights to their rock opera album, Truth of Truths. Over them, he chose GRT Music Tapes. [3] By October that year they had their new vice-president and man in charge of promotion merchandising, Dave Chackler. Prior to his coming on board with Oak, Chackler had been the national promo chief for the Happy Tiger record label. [4]

It was announced in the January 8, 1972 issue of Billboard that Ernie Freeman was the head of A&R for the label. [5] Prior to that Freeman was a producer for the label. [6] Also that year, Oak teamed up with Radio KDAY for the Truth of Truths Christian rock opera which was held at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles on April 2. [7] A Recording of the same name was produced by Ray Ruff. [8] By mid November 1972, David Chackler had left Oak and joined Jimmy Miller Productions as its GM in charge of merchandising and promotion. [9]

Artists

Actor Lee van Cleef was signed to the label around June 1972 and set to become a recording artist. [10] [11] According to Ray Ruff, he was there to record concept albums. The first of the albums was to be called Gunfighter. According to the article in the July 8 article of Cashbox , the album was to be released in August that year and there were plans to release more by him. [12] Also in 1972, one of the label's artists Doug Gibbs had a hit on the soul chart with "I'll Always Have You There" which peaked at #25 on October 25. [13] [14] [15]

In the 1980s, Dwight Yoakam had a six track EP Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. released on the label. [16] [17]

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dwight Yoakam</span> American singer-songwriter and actor

Dwight David Yoakam is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and film director. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.. Yoakam had considerable success throughout the late 1980s onward, with a total of ten studio albums for Reprise Records. Later projects have been released on Audium, New West, Warner, and Sugar Hill Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janus Records</span> American record label

Janus Records was a record label owned by GRT Records, also known as General Recorded Tape. The label was in operation from 1969 to 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moe Koffman</span> Canadian jazz musician

Morris "Moe" Koffman, OC was a Canadian jazz saxophonist and flautist, as well as composer and arranger. During a career spanning from the 1950s to the 2000s, Koffman was one of Canada's most prolific musicians, working variously in clubs and sessions and releasing 30 albums. With his 1957 record Cool and Hot Sax on the New York-based Jubilee label, Koffman became one of the first Canadian jazz musicians to record a full-length album. Koffman was also a long-time member of Rob McConnell's Boss Brass.

"Heartaches by the Number" is a popular country song written by Harlan Howard, and published in 1959. The sheet music was a best seller in both the US and Britain in January 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dusty Wakeman</span> Musical artist

Donald "Dusty" Wakeman is an American rock/country music producer and engineer based in Burbank, California. Wakeman is also credited as a bass player on many recordings. Dusty has worked with Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams, Jim Lauderdale, Buck Owens, Michelle Shocked, Tom Russell, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, Anne McCue, Tony Furtado, Feel, Reacharound, Dieselhed among others. He served as musical director for Gram Parsons: Return to Sin City and for the Sin City All Stars. He is also the owner of Mad Dog Studios, which is now a home studio, and president of Mojave Audio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">How Can You Mend a Broken Heart</span> 1971 song written by Barry and Robin Gibb

"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" is a song released by the Bee Gees in 1971. It was written by Barry and Robin Gibb and was the first single on the group's 1971 album Trafalgar. It was their first US No. 1 single and also reached No. 1 in Cashbox magazine for two weeks.

<i>Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room</i> 1988 studio album by Dwight Yoakam

Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room is the third studio album by American country music singer Dwight Yoakam, released on August 2, 1988. The album contains Yoakam's first two No. 1 Hot Country Singles singles. The first was "Streets of Bakersfield," a duet with country music veteran Buck Owens, who had originally released a version of the song in 1973. The second was an original composition of Yoakam's titled "I Sang Dixie." A third song on the album, "I Got You," also an original composition, peaked at No. 5. The title song, "Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room ," also charted, but only to the No. 46 position.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernie Freeman</span> Jazz musician and performer

Ernest Aaron Freeman was an American pianist, organist, bandleader, and arranger. He was responsible for arranging many successful rhythm and blues and pop records from the 1950s to the 1970s.

<i>Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.</i> 1986 studio album by Dwight Yoakam

Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. is the debut studio album by American country music artist Dwight Yoakam. It was also the first of three consecutive No. 1 Billboard Country Albums for him. The album was the first of more than a dozen Yoakam albums featuring his collaboration with record producer-guitarist Pete Anderson.

"Nut Rocker" is an instrumental rock single recorded by American instrumental ensemble B. Bumble and the Stingers that reached number 23 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in March 1962 and went to number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1962. It is a version of the march from Tchaikovsky's 1892 ballet The Nutcracker.

<i>Under the Covers</i> (Dwight Yoakam album) 1997 studio album by Dwight Yoakam

Under the Covers is the seventh studio album, and the first covers album recorded by Dwight Yoakam. It peaked at No. 8 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart, and No. 92 on the Billboard 200.

<i>Ones on the Way</i> (album) 1972 studio album by Loretta Lynn

One's on the Way is the nineteenth solo studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn. It was released on March 6, 1972, by Decca Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alive (Bee Gees song)</span> 1972 single by Bee Gees

"Alive" is a ballad recorded by the Bee Gees for their album To Whom It May Concern. It was the second and last single from the album released on 10 November 1972 worldwide. The song was credited to Barry and Maurice Gibb and produced by the Gibbs and their manager Robert Stigwood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Happy Tiger Records</span> Independent American record label

Happy Tiger Records was an independent American record label that was owned by the Flying Tiger Line air freight company. Happy Tiger operated from 1969 to 1971. During this time the label produced more than two dozen albums by Count Basie, Mason Proffit, Red Rhodes, Priscilla Paris, Paul Kelly, and the Anita Kerr Singers. They released two albums by the post-Van Morrison Them band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streets of Bakersfield</span> 1988 song by Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens

"Streets of Bakersfield" is a 1973 song written by Homer Joy and popularized by Buck Owens. In 1988, Owens recorded a duet version with country singer Dwight Yoakam, which became one of Yoakam's first No. 1 Hot Country Singles hits.

<i>Dwights Used Records</i> 2004 compilation album by Dwight Yoakam

Dwight's Used Records is a compilation album by American country music artist Dwight Yoakam. It was released by Audium Records on June 29, 2004. The album peaked at number 57 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.

<i>Truth of Truths</i> 1971 studio album by Assorted

Truth of Truths - a Contemporary Rock Opera is a 1971 two-disc Christian rock album, which was largely conceived by promoter/producer Ray Ruff. The album is arranged as a rock opera based on significant events in the Christian Bible, with the first two sides pertaining to the Old Testament and two to the New Testament. The album has a black cover with a white title and a gold Star of David and Cross. It comes with a 17-page booklet with lyrics and biblical references for each of the songs.

David Chackler is an American music and film executive. He is best known for his launching the careers of several artists, including Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, Queen and 2 Live Crew, one of rap/hip-hop music’s ground-breakers, and more recently, his work with Grammy-winning rock legend Jim Peterik.

Douglas Burnett Gibbs is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and session musician, who had a hit on the Billboard soul chart in 1972 with "I'll Always Have You There". He had also done work with Little Richard, Billy Preston and Chuck Jackson. A song he co-composed with Ralph Johnson has been sampled by Jay-Z for his hit "Song Cry".

"I'll Always Have You There" was a hit for singer and session musician Doug Gibbs. Released on the Oak label in 1972, it reached No. 25 on the Billboard soul chart.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.