Chelsea Records

Last updated

Chelsea
Parent company Sony Music Entertainment
Founded1972;51 years ago (1972)
StatusDefunct since 1977;46 years ago (1977)
Distributor(s)Self-distributed
GenreVarious
Country of originUnited States

Chelsea Records was an American-based record company founded by musician, songwriter, and record producer Wes Farrell in 1972. Within the company's first four months, it released its first gold single, Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast by Wayne Newton. [1] In addition to Newton, Chelsea featured a number of new and established artists like Tommy Boyce, Jim Gilstrap, Lulu, Jigsaw, New York City, and Rick Springfield. [2] [3]

A sublabel, Roxbury Records, focused on the soul and R&B market and scored a million-selling hit with William DeVaughn's Be Thankful for What You Got in 1974.

RCA Records originally handled distribution for Chelsea, but Farrell switched to independent distributors in 1974, [4] and later did its own distribution. [5] Ultimately, RCA absorbed the label in 1977. [6] In 2018, Boston Rapper MC Spice The Legend formed a new record label named Roxbury Records(no relation to the former label, which folded in 1977). MC Spice The Legend released his album "Grown Folk Hiphop" on Roxbury Records and distributed it through PayUp Records and Empire Distribution.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Say You'll Be There</span> 1996 single by Spice Girls

"Say You'll Be There" is a song recorded by the English girl group Spice Girls for their debut studio album Spice (1996). The Spice Girls co-wrote the song with Eliot Kennedy after the group left Heart Management in 1995. Later, Jonathan Buck also received a songwriting credit. Produced by production duo Absolute, the song incorporates a mix of dance-pop and R&B influences. It also includes a harmonica solo played by Judd Lander. Once considered by the group's record label Virgin Records to be the group's debut single, it was released as the second single from Spice on 26 September 1996.

Jonathan David Buck is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. His debut album Bonafide (1995), spawned the hit singles "Pretty Girl" and "Someone to Love", the latter of which reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated at the Grammys Awards for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. He then co-wrote the single "Say You'll Be There" for the Spice Girls. His second album Cool Relax (1997), was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Cool Relax included the hit singles "Are U Still Down" and "They Don't Know". His third album Pleasures U Like (2001), reached the top ten on the Billboard 200 chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spice Up Your Life</span> 1997 single by Spice Girls

"Spice Up Your Life" is a song by British girl group the Spice Girls from their second studio album, Spiceworld (1997). The song was co-written by the group with Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard, at the same time as the group was shooting scenes for their 1997 film Spice World, while production was handled by the latter two. It is a dance-pop song, with influences of Latin rhythms such as salsa and samba. The song's theme reflects the group desire to "write a song for the world" while the lyrics has been labeled as dance oriented with a self-promoting message.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little David Records</span>

Little David Records was a record label started in 1969 by up-and-coming comedian Flip Wilson and his manager, veteran jazz producer Monte Kay. The label focused mainly on comedy albums, with some jazz and soft rock releases. Little David was independently distributed for its first year but was picked up by Atlantic Records for most of its existence, except for a year under Warner Bros. Records.

BMG Music Canada was the Canadian division of BMG, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The Canadian Singles Chart was a chart compiled by the American-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan, which began publication in November 1996. It was published every Wednesday and also published on Thursday by Jam!/Canoe. The chart also appeared in Billboard until March 2006, when Billboard stopped publishing the Canadian Singles Chart in favor of the Canadian Digital Songs Sales Chart. Billboard later introduced their own singles chart for Canada, the Canadian Hot 100, on June 7, 2007.

Wes Farrell was an American musician, songwriter and record producer, who was most active in the 1960s and 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xanadu (Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra song)</span> 1980 single

"Xanadu" is the title song from the soundtrack of the 1980 film Xanadu. Written by Jeff Lynne of the English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), the song is performed by English-born Australian singer, songwriter and actress Olivia Newton-John, with Lynne adding parenthetic vocals in the style of his other songs on the Xanadu soundtrack, and ELO providing the instrumentation. It was Lynne's least favourite of his own songs. "Xanadu" reached number one in several countries and was the band's only UK number-one single, when it peaked there for two weeks in July 1980. It was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry. It also peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Midland International Records was a US record label founded in 1974 by Eddie O'Loughlin and Bob Reno.

Mötley Records is a record label founded by the American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe after severing their ties with Elektra Records and acquiring the rights to their music catalog. It serves as a successor to the band's original record label Leathür Records, which released their 1981 debut album Too Fast for Love, an imprint of Greenworld Distribution, owned by the band and original manager Allan Coffman. Leathür was soon closed when Mötley Crüe signed a deal with Elektra, which lasted until 1997. Albums produced under Mötley Records include Saints of Los Angeles, Red, White & Crüe, and New Tattoo. In addition, the label also re-released the band's first seven albums as a "Crücial Crüe" edition.

"You Gotta Move" is a traditional African-American spiritual song. Since the 1940s, the song has been recorded by a variety of gospel musicians, usually as "You Got to Move" or "You've Got to Move". It was later popularized with blues and blues rock secular adaptations by Mississippi Fred McDowell and the Rolling Stones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Sheila</span> 1985 song by Slade

"Little Sheila" is a song by English rock band Slade, released in 1985 as the fourth and final single from the band's twelfth studio album Rogues Gallery. The song was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and was produced by John Punter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Here We Go Again (Ray Charles song)</span> 1967 song by Ray Charles

"Here We Go Again" is a country music standard written by Don Lanier and Red Steagall that first became notable as a rhythm and blues single by Ray Charles from his 1967 album Ray Charles Invites You to Listen. It was produced by Joe Adams for ABC Records/Tangerine Records. To date, this version of the song has been the biggest commercial success, spending twelve consecutive weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 15.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Physical Tour</span> 1982 concert tour by Olivia Newton-John

The Physical Tour was the fifth concert tour by Australian recording artist Olivia Newton-John, in support of her 12th studio album, Physical (1981). The tour primarily visited North America the second largest by Newton-John, visiting arenas and stadiums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CBS Records International</span> Former International arm of Columbia Records

CBS Records International was the international arm of the Columbia Records unit of Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. (CBS) formed in 1961 and launched in 1962. Previously, Columbia Records had licensed other record companies to manufacture and distribute Columbia recordings outside North America, such as Philips Records and its subsidiary Fontana in Europe.

<i>2 + 2 + 1 = Ponderosa Twins Plus One</i> 1971 studio album by Ponderosa Twins Plus One

2 + 2 + 1 = Ponderosa Twins Plus One is the only studio album by American soul vocal group Ponderosa Twins Plus One. It was released in 1971 through Horoscope Records. The album was produced by Bobby Massey of The O'Jays and Michael Burton, a songwriter and a producer of All Platinum Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Touch Me (Willie Nelson song)</span> 1962 single by Willie Nelson

"Touch Me" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer Willie Nelson. Leveraged by the success of his songs, Nelson moved to Nashville in 1960. Through songwriter Harlan Howard, Nelson was signed to write for Pamper Music, and to a recording contract with Liberty Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beyond Music</span> American record label group

Beyond Music was an American record label group based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in August 1998 by Allen Kovac. The label group operated as an arm of Kovac's Left Bank Management firm, which he jointly ran with Jeffrey Sydney. The label was known for its strategy of "resurrecting" bands and artists that had decreased in popularity with unusual high-profile marketing campaigns, and its roster included Yes, Blondie, Veruca Salt, Mötley Crüe, Vince Neil, and others. It also signed a variety of new bands and artists, such as Lucy Pearl and 58.

References

  1. "Chelsea Hits Gold—Fast". Billboard . Vol. 84, no. 31. July 29, 1972. p. 3. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved November 25, 2012.
  2. Sutherland, Sam (April 14, 1973). "Studio Track". Billboard. Vol. 85, no. 15. p. 18. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved November 25, 2012.
  3. Lichtman, Irv (March 16, 1996). "Songwriter/Exec Wes Farrell Dies". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 11. p. 118. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved November 25, 2012.
  4. "Chelsea Switches From RCA to Indie Dist's". Billboard. Vol. 86, no. 25. June 22, 1974. p. 6. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved November 25, 2012.
  5. Williams, Jean (October 16, 1976). "Birthright Records in Campaign". Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 42. p. 47. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved November 25, 2012.
  6. "Chelsea Records". RateYourMusic.com. Retrieved November 25, 2012.