Old Town Records was a record label set up by Hy Weiss in New York City. It operated between 1953 and 1966, and was responsible for several R&B and doo-wop hit records.
Weiss, who was born in Romania, lived in the Bronx from the 1920s, and began working as a furrier. In the mid-1940s, with his brother Sam, he started distributing records produced in California by Leon René, soon expanding into distributing records by other companies including Modern and Apollo. In 1953, he set up his own label, Old Town, taking its name, and its early stationery, from that of a wholesale paper business in Brooklyn for whom Weiss worked. [1] [2]
Weiss took sole control of the label in 1956. He was primarily a producer of vocal groups, as well as blues music. [3] Old Town had its first hit with the 1958 single "We Belong Together" by Robert & Johnny, and had further hits by Billy Bland ("Let the Little Girl Dance"), the Solitaires ("Walking Along "), the Fiestas ("So Fine"), the Capris ("There's a Moon Out Tonight"), the Earls ("Remember Then"), and others. Arthur Prysock was the label's primary album artist, and the label also recorded blues musicians including Sonny Terry. In addition, Old Town released many vocal records that were successful in the New York area, but did not break nationally or internationally. [1] [2]
The Old Town catalog was sold by Weiss to Atlantic Records in 1970. [4] The label re-emerged between 1973 and 1978, issuing several albums by Arthur Prysock. [2] Weiss died in 2007. [3]
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Arthur Prysock Jr. was an American jazz and R&B singer best known for his live shows and his deep baritone, influenced by Billy Eckstine. According to his obituary in The New York Times, "his heavy, deep voice projected a calm, reassuring virility."
This is a discography of American musician Ray Charles.
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Hyman Y. "Hy" Weiss was an American record producer of pop and rhythm and blues music in the 1950s and 1960s, and the founder of Old Town Records.
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"Only a Fool Breaks His Own Heart" is a song that was composed in Brooklyn New York in 1964 by Norman Bergen and Shelly Coburn in response to a request by United Artists Music who was looking for songs for British duo Chad & Jeremy. Going for a British sound, Bergen started with a chord progression based on The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and Coburn added a lyric. The writers did not receive the usual $25 or $50 advance, but the company did pay for a one-hour demo recording which took place with studio players including Frank Owens (piano) and Kenny Karen (vocals). The session ended early so producer Ken Lauber spent the final ten minutes changing the original uptempo concept to a ballad approach. He asked Karen to do his best Jerry Butler impression, and asked Owens to play the way he had on the Dionne Warwick records The next day, at Coburn’s suggestion, the writers took the demo to Hy Weiss at Old Town Records for jazz singer Arthur Prysock. Old Town used the demo track, added Prysock’s vocal plus strings arranged by Mort Garson, and it became the next single.
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Jerry Jan Ross was an American songwriter, A&R man, record producer, and record label owner. As a writer, his greatest success was with "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me," which he co-wrote with his protégé Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. His greatest successes as a producer include "Sunny" by Bobby Hebb, and he also released "Venus" by Shocking Blue in the United States. Jerry produced The Mob on their self-titled first album in 1970.