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| Tabu Records | |
|---|---|
| Parent company | Demon Music Group |
| Founded | 1975 |
| Founder | Clarence Avant |
| Defunct | 1999 |
| Status | Defunct |
| Distributor(s) | RCA Records (1977–1978) Epic Records (1978–1991) A&M Records (1991–1993) Motown Records (1993–1996) |
| Genre | Funk, Rhythm and blues, soul music, post disco |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | Los Angeles, California |
Tabu Productions was an American record label founded by Clarence Avant in 1975. It focused on R&B and funk.
Avant founded the label after Sussex Records went out of business in June 1975. Tabu Record's flagship release, Stormin' by Brainstorm, was released in 1977. Tabu Records had a short-lived distribution pact with RCA, which lasted a year before moving to CBS Records.
The label focused on R&B and funk but expanded into other genres such as jazz and disco. Its artists included the Argentine composer and pianist Lalo Schifrin, who composed and scored theme songs for numerous television series, including Mission: Impossible , and released two projects on Tabu ("No One Home", 1979) and the S.O.S. Band ("Take Your Time (Do It Right)," 1980) Jazz singer Sharon Ridley (Full Moon), pianist Manfredo Fest.
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were hired to produce the S.O.S. Band's fourth studio album for Tabu, On the Rise (1983), which was certified gold on January 16, 1984.[ citation needed ] While recording in S.O.S.'s home stomping grounds in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 24, 1983, a freak snowstorm hit, grounding all flights from the city. The duo was scheduled to perform as a part of the Time in San Antonio at the Hemisfair Arena that night but couldn't make it. Subsequently, Prince, who owned and managed the Time, fired them on April 18, 1983. The duo stayed in Los Angeles and became songwriter-producers for artists like New Edition, Boyz II Men and most notably, Janet Jackson.
Working with Jam and Lewis gave Tabu a much-needed shot in the arm. They brought Cherrelle and Alexander O'Neal (the original Time lead vocalist) to the label and both did well; O'Neal released his self-titled studio album in 1985, and Cherrelle's Fragile hit the American R&B charts in 1984. The SOS Band had more hits with "Just The Way You Like It" in 1984 and "Sands of Time" in 1986, the album of which was certified gold on April 6, 1987.[ citation needed ] So influential was the sound that Robert Palmer covered Cherrelle's "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" in 1986, and Beats International covered the S.O.S. Band's "Just Be Good to Me" in 1990. In 1985, Cherrelle and Alexander O'Neal dueted on "Saturday Love," which was a hit in the UK but caught on later with American radio. Other acts like Kid Fire and Demetrius Perry recorded on this label.
Tabu Records, in its deal with CBS, became associated with Sony Music Entertainment in November 1987 when the Japanese group bought CBS Records. During this period, Tabu released Diamonds in the Raw (1989) by the S.O.S. Band, which performed disappointingly. In 1991, Alexander O'Neal's All True Man was the last album Tabu Records released under the new Sony regime.
In 1991, the label resurfaced under PolyGram's A&M Records, who distributed it from 1991 until 1993, releasing four albums and about 20 singles. Avant was hired to run Motown (another PolyGram label), and, in August 1993, he brought Tabu Records under its aegis. It released collections by the S.O.S. Band, Alexander O'Neal and Cherelle, while signing other artists such as Lucky Dube and Identity Crisis. However, this reappearance was short-lived as well.
In 1999, Seagram bought PolyGram and merged it with the MCA family of labels, which became Universal Music Group. Shortly after, Tabu Records was absorbed into A&M Records.
In 2002, Avant brought Tabu Records to EMI's reissue label the Right Stuff, which began to re-release Tabu Record's catalogue.
In 2012, Demon Music Group announced it acquired the licensing rights of the Tabu Records catalogue. [1] The company announced the news on Facebook on Valentine's Day 2013 [2] [3] and released a trailer of the label's return on YouTube. [4] The licensing agreements come with reissues of the entire catalog on compact disc as well as digital download and Vinyl. The Tabu catalogue of Alexander O'Neal and Cherrelle were made available on iTunes in Fall 2012. [5] [6]
Greatest-hits albums by the S.O.S. Band, Cherelle, and Alexander O’Neal were released through Universal Music, as part of its Icon series, during 2012.
Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. In turn, Polydor distributes Interscope releases in the United Kingdom. Polydor Records Ltd. was established in London in 1954 as a British subsidiary of German company Deutsche Grammophon/Schallplatte Grammophon GmbH. It was renamed Polydor Ltd. in 1972. The company is usually mentioned as "Polydor Ltd. (UK)", or a similar form, for holding copyrights.
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released rock, funk, R&B, doo wop, soul music, blues, pop, rock and roll, and jazz records. In the United States, it is operated through Republic Records; in the United Kingdom and Japan, it is distributed by EMI Records.
Alexander O'Neal is an American R&B singer, songwriter and arranger from Natchez, Mississippi.
Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label currently focuses on dance and electronic music under the direction of Brett Alperowitz.
James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Steven Lewis are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. Their productions have received commercial success since the 1980s with various artists, most extensively Janet Jackson. They have written 31 top ten hits in the UK and 41 in the US. In 2022, the duo were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence category.
Demon Music Group Limited is a record company owned by BBC Studios that is mainly concerned with back-catalogue rights and re-issuing recordings as compilations on physical media via supermarkets and specialist stores.
The S.O.S. Band is an American R&B and electro-funk group who gained fame in the 1980s. They are best known for the songs "Take Your Time ", "Just Be Good to Me", and "The Finest".
Cheryl Anne Norton, better known by her stage name Cherrelle, is an American R&B singer and songwriter who gained fame in the mid-1980s. Her signature hits include "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On", "Where Do I Run To", "Everything I Miss at Home", and duets with R&B singer Alexander O'Neal such as "Saturday Love" and "Never Knew Love Like This", as well as "Always" with her cousin Pebbles.
Pickwick Records was an American record label and British record distributor known for its budget album releases of sound-alike recordings, bargain bin reissues and repackagings under the brands Design, Bravo, Hurrah, Grand Prix, and children's records on the Cricket and Happy Time labels.
Sands of Time is the sixth album by the R&B band the S.O.S. Band, released on the Tabu label in April 1986. It was produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. This would be the last album to feature original lead singer Mary Davis before she left the group to embark on a solo career.
Hearsay is the second solo studio album by American recording artist Alexander O'Neal. It was released on July 29, 1987 by Tabu and Epic as the follow-up to O'Neal's critically and commercially successful studio album Alexander O'Neal (1985). Hearsay explores similar genres to those of Alexander O'Neal including pop, R&B, soul, post-disco, funk, and adult contemporary music, while also incorporating a newer genre, new jack swing. The songs were recorded from 1986 to 1987 in sessions that took place at Flyte Time Productions, Inc. Studio A & B in Minneapolis, Minnesota, assisted by R&B songwriting and record production team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. It features contributions from guest musicians, including Cherrelle, David Eiland, and Lisa Keith, and is generally regarded as the culmination of the smoother, more adult-oriented sound of O'Neal's early work.
"Saturday Love" is a song performed by American R&B singers Cherrelle and Alexander O'Neal. The song was written and produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and was released in October 1985. It peaked at No. 2 on the US R&B chart and became a moderate pop hit peaking at No. 26 on the US Hot 100 in the spring of 1986. It reached No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 4 on the New Zealand Top 40 and No. 7 on the Irish Singles Chart. The song appeared on Cherrelle's gold album, High Priority on Tabu Records and included an extended spoken dialogue introduction skit set in a bar.
"Never Knew Love Like This" is a top ten US R&B hit song duetted by American R&B singers Cherrelle and Alexander O'Neal; released in 1988. The song peaked at #2 in the US R&B chart, #26 in the UK and #28 in the Billboard Hot 100.
"The Lovers" is a song written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and recorded by American recording artist Alexander O'Neal. It is the fourth single from the singer's second solo album, Hearsay (1987). The song's distinctive backing vocals were performed by Cherrelle and Lisa Keith. Following the successful chart performances of the Hearsay singles "Fake", "Criticize", and "Never Knew Love Like This", "The Lovers" was released as the album's fourth single.
The Right Stuff Records is an American reissue record label that was part of EMI, which is now owned by Universal Music Group and is based out of Santa Monica, California.
Just the Way You Like It is the fifth album released by the R&B band The S.O.S. Band on the Tabu label in August 1984. It was produced mostly by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis with additional production from the band themselves.
Alexander O'Neal is the debut solo studio album by American recording artist Alexander O'Neal. It was originally released in 1985 by Tabu and Epic. The songs were recorded during 1984 to 1985 in sessions that took place at Creation Audio in Minnesota, and Larrabee Sound in Los Angeles, California, assisted by R&B songwriting and record production team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
Love Makes No Sense is the fifth studio album by American recording artist Alexander O'Neal. The album was O'Neal's final release for Tabu, and his first album made without formal production from Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
"In the Middle" is a song written and produced by Terry Coffey and Jon Nettlesbey, and recorded by American recording artist Alexander O'Neal. It was released in 1993 by Tabu Records as the second single from his fifth studio album, Love Makes No Sense (1993). The song's distinctive backing vocals were performed by Cherrelle. Following the successful chart performances of the single "Love Makes No Sense", "In the Middle" was recorded by Wolfgang Aichholz at Winsonics, Los Angeles, CA. It became O'Neal's 24th hit single, reaching number 32 on the UK Singles Chart and number 26 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. The accompanying music video was directed by Zack Snyder. The single's front cover bears resemblance to a bingo board.
Hearsay - All Mixed Up is a remix album consisting of songs performed by American recording artist Alexander O'Neal. It was originally released in 1988, by Tabu and Epic. It collects together single remixes of tracks taken from O'Neal's critically and commercially successful 1987 album Hearsay. CD and cassette releases contain bonus tracks featuring contemporary remixes of songs from the earlier Alexander O'Neal album.
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