This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2009) |
Playboy Records | |
---|---|
Parent company | Playboy Enterprises |
Founded | 1949 |
Defunct | 1978 |
Country of origin | United States |
Location | Los Angeles, California |
Playboy Records was an American record label, based in Los Angeles, California, and a unit of Playboy Enterprises. Artists recording for the label included Al Wilson, Barbi Benton, Blue Ash, Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers, The Weapons of Peace, Brenda Patterson, Lois Fletcher, Jeanne French, Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds, Ivory, Greg Kihn, The Rubinoos, Wynn Stewart, Mickey Gilley and Joey Stec.
A notable LP was Hudson, the first album by the Hudson Brothers. Another notable artist is Jim Sullivan, whose second album (self titled) was released on Playboy. Playboy also issued on LP the only full-length live concert recording by Lead Belly from a recording made in 1949, shortly before his death.
Playboy Records was also home to the early 1972-1973 U.S. single releases by soon-to-be international superstars ABBA, licensed to the label by their Swedish label, Polar Music. Polar/ABBA manager Stig Anderson blamed the lack of greater U.S. success of their first single, "People Need Love", on the limited distribution resources of the label, as they were unable to meet the demand from retailers and radio programmers, and Polar changed distributors when ABBA won Eurovision in 1974, to Atlantic Records.
The label's biggest hit was Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds' million-seller, "Fallin' in Love", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975 (also reaching #24, R&B). Al Wilson also had a major hit for the label in 1976 when "I've Got a Feeling" reached #3 on the R&B chart (#29 pop).
In addition to its own material, Playboy also acted as the distributor for the Beserkley Records label, which predominantly released music by power pop acts such as The Modern Lovers and The Greg Kihn Band.
The label was originally independently distributed and towards the end of its life, CBS Records took over distribution. [1] The original incarnation of the label folded in 1978, after which Elektra Records took over the distribution of Beserkley titles until that label dissolved in 1984.
The label was relaunched in 2001 as a jazz imprint distributed by Concord Records. Sony Music's Legacy Recordings handles Playboy Records catalog from the 1970s.
In the 1970s, Tom Takayoshi joined Playboy Records. In early 1973, he was named marketing director of sales and promotion. [2] Around 1974, he was executive vice-president for the label. While in that role he signed country singer Eddie Weaver to the label. [3] Later, he was the man in charge of the label, the third man in that position in three years. Under his stewardship, Playboy Records did well with country singer Mickey Gilley. [4]
Stig Erik Leopold "Stikkan" Anderson was a Swedish music manager, lyricist and music publisher. He was the co-founder of Polar Music, and is best known for managing the Swedish pop band ABBA.
The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by Jonathan Richman in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band existed from 1970 to 1974 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks with drummer David Robinson and keyboardist Jerry Harrison. The sound of the band owed a great deal to the influence of the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, and is now sometimes classified as "proto-punk". It pointed the way towards much of the punk rock, new wave, alternative and indie rock music of later decades. Their only album, the eponymous The Modern Lovers, contained idiosyncratic songs about dating awkwardness, growing up in Massachusetts, love of life, and the USA.
Gregory Stanley Kihn is an American rock musician, radio personality, and novelist. He founded and led The Greg Kihn Band, which scored hit songs in the 1980s, and has written several horror novels.
ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels before ABC was sold to MCA Records in 1979. ABC produced music in a variety of genres: pop, rock, jazz, country, rhythm and blues, soundtrack, gospel, and polka. In addition to producing records, ABC licensed masters from independent record producers, and purchased regionally released records for national distribution.
Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhood of Man (1975–1979). The label changed its name to PRT Records in 1980, before being briefly reactivated as Pye Records in 2006.
Mickey Leroy Gilley was an American country music singer and musician. Although he started out singing straight-up country and western material in the 1970s, he moved towards a more pop-friendly sound in the 1980s, bringing him further success on not just the country charts, but the pop charts as well.
The Hudson Brothers were an American musical group formed in Portland, Oregon, consisting of brothers Bill, Brett and Mark Hudson. They were discovered by a record producer while recording music at a local studio, and offered a recording contract. After releasing several garage rock singles in the late 1960s as The New Yorkers, the group began releasing material under the names Everyday Hudson, and Hudson.
Manticore Records is a record label launched by the Manticore production company in 1973. These companies were owned by the members of the progressive rock group Emerson, Lake & Palmer and their manager, Stewart Young. The manticore was first featured in the artwork for the second ELP album Tarkus, as one of the eponymous creature's adversaries. Manticore was initially the name given to ELP's music publishers, credits first appearing in the credits on Trilogy, released on Island in 1972.
Beserkley Records was an American independent record label based in Berkeley, California, from 1973 to 1984. Beserkley is usually regarded as a power pop and rock and roll label. During the 1970s, the label released albums by Earth Quake, Greg Kihn, Jonathan Richman, and The Modern Lovers, the Rubinoos, and the Tyla Gang. Several other artists appeared on singles, or on compilation albums. From 1980 to its dissolution in 1984, Beserkley was a one-artist label, the artist being Greg Kihn.
Hickory Records is an American record label founded in 1954 by Acuff-Rose Music, which operated the label up to 1979. Sony Music Publishing revived the label in 2007. Originally based in Nashville, and functioning as an independent label throughout its history, it has had several distributors.
"He Is Your Brother" is a song recorded in 1972 by Swedish pop group ABBA, at the time known as "Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid".
The Greg Kihn Band is an American band that was started by frontman Greg Kihn and bassist Steve Wright. Their most successful singles include "The Breakup Song " and "Jeopardy". The band's musical style and genres comprise rock, pop rock and power pop.
"Roadrunner" is a song written by Jonathan Richman and recorded in various versions by Richman and his band, in most cases credited as the Modern Lovers. Richman has described it as an ode to Massachusetts Route 128.
Matthew "King" Kaufman is an American record producer who was the owner of leading independent label Beserkley Records in Berkeley, California from the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s, successfully producing records by Jonathan Richman, Greg Kihn and others.
"Crazy Arms" is an American country song which was a career-making hit for Ray Price. The song, released in May 1956, went on to become a number 1 country hit that year, establishing Price's sound, and redefining honky-tonk music. It was Price's first No. 1 hit.
"Room Full of Roses", written by Tim Spencer, is a song first recorded in 1949 by country music singer George Morgan. The original George Morgan version was released in the summer of 1949, and reached No. 4 on the Billboard country chart that August. A Sons of the Pioneers version reached #10 on the country charts in the same year. It was famously covered in 1974 by up-and-coming singer Mickey Gilley. The Gilley version was his first major hit and broke open his career.
Axe Records is a Canadian record label founded by Greg Hambleton in 1972. After a number of years of inactivity, the label was revived in 2013. It is particularly notable as the original recording label of the Canadian duo Gary and Dave.
I-40 Country is the 29th album by Jerry Lee Lewis, released on the Mercury label in 1974.
Tom Takayoshi was a record label founder as well as a president of a major United States record label. His involvement in the music industry goes back to the early 1960s.
Stanley Joseph Lewis was an American record label owner, in Shreveport, Louisiana.