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| Duke Records | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1952 |
| Country of origin | United States |
Duke Records was an American record label, started in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1952 by David James Mattis (WDIA program director and DJ) and Bill Fitzgerald, owners of Tri-State Recording Company. [1] Their first release was Roscoe Gordon singing "Hey Fat Girl", issued on Duke R-1, later amended to R-101.
After forming a partnership with Mattis in the summer of 1952, Don Robey (founder of Houston's Peacock Records) took control of Duke. Both labels then headquartered at his Bronze Peacock club at 2809 Erastus Street in Houston, focusing on R&B and gospel music. Robey started a subsidiary, Back Beat Records, in 1957 and this later specialised in soul music, along with Sure Shot Records, whilst Peacock specialised in gospel recordings.
Duke's leading artist was Bobby "Blue" Bland who stayed with the label for many years until its demise, mostly recording successfully with arranger/bandleader Joe Scott. Johnny Ace was a major R&B artist in the early years of the label before his death at a young age, with a string of R&B top 10 hits including three that went to number one. Junior Parker was another important presence on Duke, recording a long string of singles for the label between 1953 and 1966, scoring seven top-twenty Billboard hits during his tenure.
Robey sold his labels to ABC Dunhill Records on 23 May 1973. The Duke labels were soon closed down with the imprints retained by ABC in their catalog, [2] with only Bobby Bland being retained by the new parent label.
Notable artists who recorded on Duke, Peacock and Back Beat included:
Universal Music Group now controls the Robey labels, via their acquisition (as MCA Records) of ABC Records in 1979.
Robert Calvin Bland, known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer.
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.
Peacock Records was an American record label, founded in 1949 by Don Robey in Houston, Texas, United States.
John Marshall Alexander Jr., known by the stage name Johnny Ace, was an American rhythm-and-blues singer. He had a string of hit singles in the mid-1950s. Alexander died of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 25.
The Dixie Hummingbirds are an influential American gospel music group, spanning more than 80 years from the jubilee quartet style of the 1920s, through the "hard gospel" quartet style of gospel's golden age in the 1940s and 1950s, to the eclectic pop-tinged songs of today. The Hummingbirds inspired a number of imitators, such as Jackie Wilson and James Brown, who adapted the shouting style and enthusiastic showmanship of hard gospel to secular themes to help create soul music in the 1960s.
Don Deadric Robey was an American record label executive, songwriter, and record producer. As the founder of Peacock Records and the eventual owner of Duke Records, he was responsible for developing the careers of many rhythm and blues artists in the 1950s and 1960s. He was the first African American record mogul, 10 years prior to Berry Gordy's Motown label.
Rosco N. Gordon III, sometimes billed as Roscoe Gordon, was an American blues singer, pianist, and songwriter. He is best known for his hit songs "Booted," (1952), "No More Doggin'" (1952), and "Just a Little Bit" (1960). Gordon was a pioneer of the Memphis blues style. He played piano in a style known as the "Rosco rhythm," with the emphasis on the off-beat. This rhythm was an influence on later musical styles such as Jamaican ska and reggae.
Overton Vertis "O. V." Wright was an American singer who is generally regarded as a blues artist by African-American fans in the Deep South; he is also regarded as one of Southern soul's most authoritative and individual artists. His best known songs include "That's How Strong My Love Is" (1964), "You're Gonna Make Me Cry" (1965), "Nucleus of Soul" (1968), "A Nickel and a Nail" (1971), "I Can't Take It" (1971) and "Ace of Spades" (1971).
"Turn On Your Love Light" is a rhythm and blues song recorded by Bobby Bland in 1961. It was both an important R&B and pop chart hit for Bland and has become one of his most identifiable songs. A variety of artists have recorded it, including the Grateful Dead, who made it part of their concert repertoire.
W&G Records was an Australian recording company that operated from the early 1950s to the 1970s. It was a subsidiary of the Melbourne precision engineering company White & Gillespie.
Jimmie Lee Land, better known as Buddy Ace, was an American Texas blues singer, billed as the "Silver Fox of the Blues".
"Farther Up the Road" or "Further on Up the Road" is a blues song first recorded in 1957 by Bobby "Blue" Bland. It is an early influential Texas shuffle and features guitar playing that represents the transition from the 1940s blues style to the 1960s blues-rock style.
Lillia Lavell "Lavelle" White is an American Texas blues and soul blues singer and songwriter. After performing most of her adult lifetime, White released three albums, the first of which was issued in 1994, when she was aged 65.
Joe Medwick, probably born Medwick N. Veasey though some sources suggest Joe Medwick Masters or Joe Medwick Veasey, was an American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter. He is officially credited with writing relatively few songs, including "Further On Up The Road", but is widely believed to have written many others, including "I Pity the Fool" and "Turn On Your Love Light". He sold all rights over many of his songs cheaply to record label owner Don Robey. Medwick also recorded under various names including Joe Veasey, Joe Masters and Joe Melvin.
Marie Adams was an American gospel and R&B singer, who became popular in the 1950s particularly for her work with Johnny Otis.
Joseph Wade Scott was an American R&B trumpeter, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, record producer and A&R man, best known for his work at Duke and Peacock Records in the 1950s and 1960s, notably with Bobby "Blue" Bland.
James Louis Huston, better known as James "Thunderbird" Davis, was an American Texas blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He recorded several singles for Duke Records in the early 1960s, achieving moderate success with "Blue Monday" (1963). He dropped out of public attention until his career was revived in 1989 with the release of his album Check Out Time. Davis died on stage in 1992, at the age of 53.
Earl Forest was an American musician and a member of the Memphis-based R&B coalition called the Beale Streeters, which included Johnny Ace, Bobby Bland, Junior Parker, B.B. King, and Roscoe Gordon. Forest had a hit record in 1953 with "Whoopin' And Hollerin'" on Duke Records. He also recorded for Meteor Records and Flair Records.
"No More Doggin'" is a rhythm and blues song written and originally recorded by blues musician Rosco Gordon in 1952. The song featured Gordon's signature "Rosco Rhythm" piano style which became a precursor to Jamaican ska music.
The Beale Streeters were a Memphis-based R&B coalition of musicians, which at times included John Alexander, Bobby Bland, Junior Parker, B.B. King, Earl Forest, Willie Nix, and Rosco Gordon. Initially, they were not a formal band, but they played at the same venues and backed each other during recording sessions.
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