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Philles Records | |
---|---|
Parent company | EMI Music Publishing (Sony Music Publishing) |
Founded | 1961 |
Founder | Phil Spector, Lester Sill |
Defunct | 1969 |
Status | Defunct |
Distributor(s) | Legacy Recordings |
Genre | Pop, R&B, Blue-eyed soul |
Country of origin | United States |
Location | Los Angeles, California |
Philles Records was an American record label formed in 1961 by Phil Spector and Lester Sill, the label taking its name from a hybrid of their first names. Initially, the label was distributed by Jamie/Guyden in Philadelphia. [lower-alpha 1] In 1962, Spector purchased Sill's stock to become sole owner at 21 years of age, America's youngest label chief at the time.
The label issued 12 albums over the course of its existence, but with the exception of A Christmas Gift for You , the focus was always on the single. However, Philles X-125 is a reissue of Philles 119, and X-125 exists with two different B-side tracks, as "Winter Wonderland" (1964) and "Winter Blues" (1965) were substituted for the original flipside, "Harry and Milt Meet Hal B" (1963). "Harry and Milt" and many other flipsides were deliberately undistinguished instrumentals, which were intended to focus attention on the A-sides. [1] These B-sides were originally credited to the A-side artists, but later pieces were credited to the Phil Spector Group. Also, most discographies, including the one in the Back to Mono booklet, list two items with catalogue number Philles 123. "Stumble And Fall" by Darlene Love was released and then withdrawn (both stock and promos exist) in August 1964 (according to Billboard magazine). Its number was replaced with "Walking in the Rain" by The Ronettes, which came out that October. Philles 111 also has two B-sides: "My Heart Beat a Little Bit Faster" and "Playing for Keeps." The last few singles (134, 135, and 136) received much less airplay than their predecessors. Although singles 134 and 135 were "charted" by Billboard, single 136 did not—although both promo and regular stock copies exist. The promotion-only single "(Let's Dance) The Screw" by The Crystals is known only in the form of a handful of promotional copies and one stock copy.
After the chart failures of the last few singles, Phil Spector stopped producing and releasing new records on Philles. In the summer of 1966, he signed Bob Crewe and Jeff Barry to produce The Ronettes and Ike & Tina Turner. [2] [3] The label effectively ceased operations in 1967, and Spector did not return to production work for another two years. [4] [5] There was one more Philles record, The Phil Spector Spectacular. It was released only to radio stations in 1972, along with a letter from Phil. [6] The Philles catalog is now administered by Sony Music Publishing, which acquired the catalogue when it bought EMI Music Publishing, with Sony Music's Legacy Recordings imprint handling distribution rights for the Philles catalog through a new licensing deal which was finalized in September 2009. [7] Prior to this deal, the Philles reissues were handled by ABKCO Records.
The singles were produced by Spector, with five and one half exceptions: Philles 101, 103, and 104 were produced by Lester Sill prior to his departure from the company; Philles 133 by Jeff Barry; Philles 134 by Bob Crewe; and the B-side of Philles 136 was produced by Ike Turner. For years, The Righteous Brothers' Bill Medley has insisted that he produced "Unchained Melody" (Philles 129) but that has never been confirmed: as an album track for Just Once in My Life , Spector delegated production of such tracks to Medley. As the B-side to "Hung On You", early presses did not specify its producer on the label – Spector usually produced throwaway instrumentals on the B-side to focus on the A-side. When the track boomed in popularity, Spector eventually opted to claim credit in later presses.
Of the non-Spector productions, only "I Can Hear Music" charted and it rose no higher than 100th place. Every one of Spector's productions made the charts in the U.S., with the exceptions of Philles 136, one of the two Philles 123's, the withdrawn Philles 105, and the holiday single both times. Eighteen Philles records made the Top 40, the label topping the charts twice with Philles 106 in 1962, and again with Philles 124 in 1965.
Catalogue | Release Date | Hot 100 | Song Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Philles 100 | 10/61 | #20 | There's No Other (Like My Baby) | Phil Spector and Leroy Bates | The Crystals | 2:31 |
Philles 101 | 3/62 | Here I Stand | Tony Mottola | Joel Scott | ||
Philles 102 | 3/62 | #13 | Uptown | Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann | The Crystals | 2:19 |
Philles 103 | /62 | Malagueña | Ernesto Lecuona | Ali Hassan | ||
Philles 104 | 6/62 | Lt. Colonel Bogey's Parade | Lester Sill | Steve Douglas and His Merry Men | ||
Philles 105 | 7/62 | withdrawn | He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss) | Gerry Goffin and Carole King | The Crystals | 2:32 |
Philles 106 | 9/62 | #1 | He's A Rebel | Gene Pitney | The Crystals | 2:25 |
Philles 107 | 10/62 | #8 | Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah | Ray Gilbert and Allie Wrubel | Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans | 2:49 |
Philles 108 | 1/63 | #43 | Puddin' N' Tain | Gary Pipkin, Alonzo Willis, Brice Coefield | The Alley Cats | 2:48 |
Philles 109 | 12/62 | #11 | He's Sure the Boy I Love | Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil | The Crystals | 2:44 |
Philles 110 | 1/63 | #38 | Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Hearts | Ellie Greenwich, Tony Powers, Phil Spector | Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans | 2:48 |
Philles 111 | Early 63 | special use only | (Let's Dance) The Screw, Part 1 | Spector | The Crystals | |
Philles 111 | 4/63 | #39 | (Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry | Greenwich, Powers, Spector | Darlene Love | 2:48 |
Philles 112 | 4/63 | #3 | Da Doo Ron Ron | Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, Phil Spector | The Crystals | 2:17 |
Philles 113 | 5/63 | #63 | Not Too Young to Get Married | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans | 2:27 |
Philles 114 | 7/63 | #26 | Wait ‘til My Bobby Gets Home | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | Darlene Love | 2:23 |
Philles 115 | 8/63 | #6 | Then He Kissed Me | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | The Crystals | 2:37 |
Philles 116 | 8/63 | #2 | Be My Baby | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | The Ronettes | 2:40 |
Philles 117 | 10/63 | #53 | A Fine Fine Boy | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | Darlene Love | 2:46 |
Philles 118 | 12/63 | #24 | Baby, I Love You | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | The Ronettes | 2:50 |
Philles 119 | 11/63 | Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | Darlene Love | 2:45 | |
Philles 119x | 1/64 | #92 | Little Boy | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | The Crystals | 2:59 |
Philles 120 | 4/64 | #39 | The Best Part of Breakin' Up | Vini Poncia, Pete Andreoli, Phil Spector | The Ronettes | 3:02 |
Philles 121 | 6/64 | #34 | Do I Love You? | Poncia, Andreoli, Spector | The Ronettes | 2:50 |
Philles 122 | 7/64 | #98 | All Grown Up | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | The Crystals | 2:49 |
Philles 123 | 8/64 | withdrawn | Stumble And Fall | Poncia, Andreoli, Spector | Darlene Love | 2:22 |
Philles 123 | 10/17/64 | #23 | Walking in the Rain | Weil, Mann, Spector | The Ronettes | 3:16 |
Philles 124 | 11/64 | #1 | You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' | Weil, Mann, Spector | The Righteous Brothers | 3:46 |
Philles X-125 | 12/64 | Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | Darlene Love | 2:45 | |
Philles 126 | 2/65 | #52 | Born to Be Together | Weil, Mann, Spector | The Ronettes | 2:57 |
Philles 127 | 4/65 | #9 | Just Once in My Life | Goffin, King, Spector | The Righteous Brothers | 3:56 |
Philles 128 | 5/65 | #75 | Is This What I Get for Loving You? | Goffin, King, Spector | The Ronettes | 3:21 |
Philles 129 | 7/65 | #4 | Unchained Melody (originally B side to "Hung On You") | Hy Zaret and Alex North / "Hung on You" by Gerry Goffin, Carole King and Phil Spector | The Righteous Brothers | 3:37 |
Philles 130 | 11/65 | #5 | Ebb Tide | Carl Sigman and Robert Maxwell | The Righteous Brothers | 2:48 |
Philles 131 | 5/66 | #88 | River Deep – Mountain High | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | Ike and Tina Turner | 3:40 |
Philles 132 | 10/66 | #118 | White Cliffs of Dover | Walter Kent and Nat Burton | The Righteous Brothers | 2:20 |
Philles 133 | 10/66 | #100 | I Can Hear Music | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | The Ronettes | 3:00 |
Philles 134 | 10/66 | Two to Tango | Dick Manning, Al Hoffman | Ike and Tina Turner | 2:45 | |
Philles 135 | 5/67 | #114 | I'll Never Need More Than This | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | Ike and Tina Turner | 3:27 |
Philles 136 | 8/67 | A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knockin' Everyday) | Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland | Ike and Tina Turner | 2:57 |
Catalogue | Release Date | Chart Peak | Album Title | Artist | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
PHLP-4000 | 8/62 | Twist Uptown | The Crystals | ||
PHLP-4001 | 2/63 | #131 | He's a Rebel | The Crystals | |
PHLP-4002 | 2/63 | Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah | Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans | ||
PHLP-4003 | 7/63 | Sing the Greatest Hits, Vol. I | The Crystals | ||
PHLP-4004 | 10/63 | Philles Records Present Today's Hits | Various Artists | ||
PHLP-4005 | 11/22/63 | #13 | A Christmas Gift for You | Various Artists | 34:12 |
PHLP-4006 | 11/64 | #96 | Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes featuring Veronica | The Ronettes | |
PHLP-4007 | 1/65 | #4 | You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' | The Righteous Brothers | |
PHLP-4008 | 6/65 | #9 | Just Once in My Life | The Righteous Brothers | |
PHLP-4009 | 12/65 | #16 | Back to Back | The Righteous Brothers | |
PHLP-4010 | 1/66 | Lenny Bruce Is Out Again | Lenny Bruce | ||
PHLP-4011 [lower-alpha 2] | 9/66 | unissued | River Deep - Mountain High | Ike and Tina Turner | |
PHLP-100 | 1972 | DJ only | The Phil Spector Spectacular | Various Artists |
Albums 4007, 4008, and 4009 were issued simultaneously in stereo with an ST- prefix. The Monarch job number for ST-4006 indicates that the stereo release of this album came in July 1966. Album 4000 was released in mono only in 1962. It was released through the Capitol Record Club in both mono and rechanneled stereo. Based on the catalog number of the record club issue, that release was in late 1966.
The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the Los Angeles area as part of a five-member group called the Paramours, and adopted the name The Righteous Brothers when they became a duo. Their most active recording period was in the 1960s and '70s, and, after several years inactive as a duo, Hatfield and Medley reunited in 1981 and continued to perform until Hatfield's death in 2003. The music they performed is sometimes dubbed "blue-eyed soul".
The Crystals are an American vocal group that originated in New York City. Considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era in the first half of the 1960s, their 1961–1964 chart hits – including "There's No Other ", "Uptown", "He's Sure the Boy I Love", "He's a Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me"– featured three successive female lead singers and were all produced by Phil Spector. The latter three songs were originally ranked #263, #114, and #493, respectively, on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. However, two songs were dropped from the magazine's 2010 update, leaving only "He's a Rebel" at number 267. In the 2021 update, "Da Doo Ron Ron" was added back to the list at #366.
The Ronettes were an American girl group from Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett, her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley. They had sung together since they were teenagers, then known as "The Darling Sisters". Signed first by Colpix Records in 1961, they moved to Phil Spector's Philles Records in March 1963 and changed their name to "The Ronettes".
Veronica Yvette Greenfield was an American singer who co-founded and fronted the girl group the Ronettes. She is sometimes referred to as the original "bad girl of rock and roll".
Jeff Barry is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Then He Kissed Me", "Be My Baby", "Chapel of Love", and "River Deep - Mountain High" ; "Leader of the Pack" ; "Sugar, Sugar" ; "Without Us".
"River Deep – Mountain High" is a song by Ike & Tina Turner released on Philles Records as the title track to their 1966 studio album. Produced by Phil Spector and written by Spector, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. Rolling Stone ranked "River Deep – Mountain High" No. 33 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. NME ranked it No. 37 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame added it to the list of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
"Be My Baby" is a song by American girl group the Ronettes that was released as a single on Philles Records in August 1963. Written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector, the song was the Ronettes' biggest hit, reaching number 2 in the U.S. and number 4 in the UK. It is often ranked as among the best songs of the 1960s, and it is regarded by some as one of the greatest songs of all time.
"Baby, I Love You" is a song originally recorded by the Ronettes in 1963 and released on their debut album Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes (1964). The song was written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector, and produced by Spector.
A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector is an album of Christmas songs, produced by Phil Spector, and originally released as Philles 4005 in November 1963. Spector treated a series of mostly secular Christmas standards to his "Wall of Sound" treatment, and the selections feature the vocal performances of Spector's regular artists during this period. One month after its release, the album peaked at No. 13 on Billboard magazine's special, year-end, weekly Christmas Albums sales chart.
Eleanor Louise Greenwich was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Be My Baby", "Maybe I Know", "Then He Kissed Me", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", "Christmas ", "Hanky Panky", "Chapel of Love", "Leader of the Pack", and "River Deep – Mountain High", among others.
Back to Mono (1958–1969) is a box set that compiles tracks produced by American record producer Phil Spector between 1958 and 1969. It was released in 1991 by ABKCO. Initially a vinyl album-sized package, the box contained a booklet with photographs, complete song lyrics, discographical information, and a reproduction of the essay on Spector by Tom Wolfe, "The First Tycoon of Teen." The package also contained a small, round, red "Back to Mono" pin.
"Chapel of Love" is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector, and made famous by The Dixie Cups in 1964, spending three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The song tells of the happiness and excitement the narrator feels on her wedding day, for she and her love are going to the "chapel of love", and "[they'll] never be lonely anymore." Many other artists have recorded the song.
Lester Sill was an American record label executive, best remembered as Phil Spector's partner in Philles Records, and also as the head of both Colpix Records and the later Colgems Records. His three sons are music supervisors in the film and TV businesses: Joel Sill, Greg Sill and Lonnie Sill. His stepson Chuck Kaye is a longtime music publishing executive.
River Deep – Mountain High is a studio album by Ike & Tina Turner. It was originally released by London Records in the UK in 1966, and later A&M Records in the US in 1969. In 2017, Pitchfork ranked it at No. 40 on their list of the 200 Best Albums of the 1960s.
This article contains information about albums and singles released by the American musical duo Ike & Tina Turner.
"A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knocking Everyday)" is a 1963 song issued as the B-side to Motown singing group Martha and the Vandellas' hit single, "Heat Wave", released on the Gordy label.
Harvey Phillip Spector was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by his two trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. Spector developed the Wall of Sound, a production style that is characterized for its diffusion of tone colors and dense orchestral sound, which he described as a "Wagnerian" approach to rock and roll. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in pop music history and one of the most successful producers of the 1960s.
"Is This What I Get for Loving You?" is a pop song written by Phil Spector, Carole King and Gerry Goffin and recorded by 1960s girl group The Ronettes. The song featured Ronettes lead singer Ronnie Spector on lead vocals, and Ronettes Nedra Talley and Estelle Bennett on backing vocals. Released on Philles Records, reaching No. 75 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965.
This article is a discography for American singing group The Ronettes. The Ronettes began recording with Colpix Records in 1961 and recorded eleven songs for Colpix. In March 1963, the group moved to Phil Spector's Philles Records, where they achieved their biggest success.
"I'll Never Need More Than This" is a single by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner released on Philles Records in 1967. The song was included on the 1969 reissue of the album River Deep – Mountain High.