 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2009) |
| Valiant Records | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1960 |
| Country of origin | United States |
Valiant Records was an independent record label distributed in the 1960s by Warner Bros. Records (and briefly by Four Star Television). The label was sold to Warner Bros. in 1967. [1]
Valiant Records was formed in 1960 in California, by singer−songwriter Barry De Vorzon and manager Billy Sherman. [2]
Valiant charted with its first release, "Angel On My Shoulder" recorded by Shelby Flint. De Vorzon's own group, Barry and the Tamerlanes, hit in 1963 with "I Wonder What She's Doin' Tonight." Flint scored again in 1966 with a soft vocal version of "Cast Your Fate To The Wind."
In 1966 De Vorzon rescued folk-rockers The Association from their obscurity at Jubilee Records. They debuted on Valiant (which had just ended a brief distribution stint with Four Star Television, the distributor of such shows as Burke's Law and Honey West ) with a non-charting version of "One Too Many Mornings." The next single records — "Along Comes Mary," "Cherish," "Pandora's Golden Heebie Jeebies," and "No Fair At All" — helped establish The Association as one of the premier Sunshine Pop groups of the '60s.
In 1967, after a little over 110 singles and 11 albums (seven under Warner Bros. and four under Four Star/independent distribution), the Valiant Records label itself ceased to exist and was folded into Warner Bros. Records. Its output remains desirable to collectors, with the early years featuring a string of obscure but worthwhile white pop titles, and the later years an intriguing mix of slick Southern California psych and pop.
On a collectors note, Valiant singles sported three separate numbering series. The very first Valiant release bore the catalog number 45-111. [3] But that record, "Angel On My Shoulder" by Shelby Flint became too big a hit for the new label to handle so Warner Bros. Records picked it up with a new catalog number, 6001. [4] For Warner distributed singles, the 6000 series (6001–6062) ran from 1960 to 1966, followed by the 700 series (700-739 under Four Star Television, 740-762 as an independent label) from 1966–1967. Some numbers from 6002 to 6013 were shared with Montclare Records, a very short-lived Warner subsidiary, as well as several one-shot labels such as Elloma and Burbank. The first five numbers of the Four Star series (701-705) were reissues of the most popular singles of the 6000 series. Six catalog numbers from the second series were unused: 706, 707, 708, 710, 722, and 746.
Albums were also given different numbering sets. The seven albums distributed by Warner Bros. were numbered from W/WS 401–407, the four albums under Four Star/independent were issued VLM 5001–5004 for mono, VLS 25001–25004 for stereo. Warner Bros. reissued the Four Star/independent albums using numbers W (mono)/WS (stereo) 1701–1704 in alignment with the original issues.
In 1960, [5] record label owner Joe Banashak started a New Orleans-based Valiant label, but threats of a lawsuit by Warner Bros. prompted Banashak to rename the label Instant Records in 1961.
Valiant Records was also the name of an unrelated label headquartered variously in Swarthmore, PA and Bronx, NY, that re-released some albums originally issued on the Somerset Records label, largely for inexpensive supermarket and variety store distribution. [6] [7] [8]
Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels.
The Association is an American pop rock band from California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts and were the lead-off band at 1967's Monterey Pop Festival. They are known for intricate vocal harmonies by the band's multiple singers.
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.
Warner Records Inc. is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the American film studio Warner Bros.
Jet Records was a British record label started by Don Arden in 1974, featuring musicians such as Lynsey de Paul, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Roy Wood, Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, Alan Price, Adrian Gurvitz, Riot and Magnum.
Perry Botkin Jr. was an American composer, producer, arranger, and musician. The tune "Nadia's Theme", composed by Botkin and Barry De Vorzon, peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976 and became the theme song for the long-running television soap opera The Young and the Restless. He was also a major contributor to Incredible Bongo Band, one of the most influential groups of all-time for its Bongo Rock album which is one of the most sampled from records, making it a major influence in the origins of Hip hop.
Giant Records was launched in 1990 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. Records and record executive Irving Azoff. Currently, this name is used as a Swedish label owned by Warner Music Sweden, a Swedish branch of Warner Music Group.
The Collectors was a Canadian psychedelic rock band active in the 1960s.
Restless Records is a record label that was started in El Segundo, California in 1986 by Enigma Records and primarily released alternative, metal, and punk records. Restless also licensed and released records from Bar/None Records, Metal Blade Records and Mute Records. Restless also had a fully owned subsidiary, Pink Dust Records.
Anita Jean Kerr was an American singer, arranger, composer, conductor, pianist, and music producer. She recorded and performed with her vocal harmony groups in Nashville, Los Angeles, and Europe.
The Cascades was an American vocal group best known for the single "Rhythm of the Rain", recorded in 1962, an international hit the following year.
Jerome Louis "J.J." Jackson is an American soul/R&B singer, songwriter, and arranger. His singing style is as a belter. Jackson best known for the song "But It's Alright", which he co-wrote with Pierre Tubbs. The song was released in 1966 and then re-released in 1969, to chart success on both occasions. The liner notes to his 1967 album, J.J. Jackson, on Calla Records, stated that he weighed 285 pounds.
Renaissance is the second album by the Association. This was their last album recorded for the Valiant Records label, and was reissued by Warner Bros. Records after the company acquired Valiant. The album peaked at #34 on the Billboard Top LPs albums chart.
Lorraine Ellison was an American soul singer and songwriter known for her recording of the song "Stay with Me" in 1966.
Barry De Vorzon is an American singer, songwriter, producer, composer, label owner and music publisher. His earliest hit compositions were "Just Married" (1958), written with Al Allen and recorded by Marty Robbins, which reached number 26 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart and number one on the Country chart; and "Dreamin'" (1960), written with Ted Ellis, recorded by Johnny Burnette, and charting at number 11 on the Hot 100. Dorsey Burnette and De Vorzon co-wrote several of Dorsey's hits.
Paul Worley is an American record producer and session guitarist, known primarily for his work in country music. Formerly a vice president at Sony BMG, he later joined the staff of Warner Bros. Records' Nashville division as chief creative officer. Since leaving Warner in the early 2000s, Worley has worked mainly as a record producer for other acts, such as Big & Rich, as well as an occasional session guitarist. He is most widely known as the co- producer of the self-titled debut album of Lady Antebellum (2008) and as one of the producers of their second album, Need You Now (2010). He also discovered the Dixie Chicks and, with Blake Chancey, co-produced their first two albums.
Bud & Travis was an American folk music duo from San Francisco, California, consisting of Bud Dashiell and Travis Edmonson that collaborated from 1958 to 1965.
George Greeley was an Italian-American pianist, conductor, composer, arranger, recording artist and record producer who is known for his extensive work across the spectrum of the entertainment industry. Starting as an arranger and pianist with several notable big bands in the 1940s, he segued into the Hollywood radio scene, working on several nationally broadcast variety programs. After conducting an Army Air Force Band during World War II, he was hired by Columbia Pictures as a staff pianist and orchestrator. He worked as pianist on several hundred motion pictures, worked with many famous composers orchestrating their soundtrack compositions, and created original compositions of his own in several dozen movies. It was Greeley's hands that performed the piano parts that Tyrone Power mimed in The Eddy Duchin Story. Concurrent with his work at Columbia Pictures, George Greeley also worked at Capitol Records as music director, pianist, and conductor for many artists such as Gordon MacRae, Jane Powell, Jo Stafford, Frankie Laine, and Doris Day. He was hired in the late 1950s by the newly established Warner Brothers Records. George Greeley arranged, orchestrated and performed as primary artist for a series of hit recordings entitled "Popular Piano Concertos." As music tastes changed in the late 1960s, Greeley had already moved into television, composing themes and music for popular TV series like My Favorite Martian,The Ghost and Mrs. Muir,Nanny and the Professor, and Small Wonder. He performed as featured piano soloist and as guest conductor in concert appearances around the world. He died from emphysema at age 89 in Los Angeles, California.
"Angel on My Shoulder" is a song written and recorded by Shelby Flint that was released on a Valiant Records 45 rpm single in 1960 and on her self-titled debut album in 1961. The single reached No. 22 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in early 1961. It was Flint's only Top 40 hit.
