Steed Records was a record label founded by songwriter-record producer Jeff Barry in 1967 in New York City. The label was active until 1971. It was first distributed by Dot Records, then by Gulf+Western's Famous Music Group after it absorbed Dot.
Steed's main artist was singer-songwriter Andy Kim, whose biggest hit for the label was "Baby, I Love You" (co-written and produced by Barry) in 1969. Other artists on the label included Robin McNamara ("Lay a Little Lovin' On Me") and The Illusion ("Did You See Her Eyes"). Other Steed acts included Louis St. Louis and Jacqueline Carol (St. Louis would later produce the "Grease" and "Grease II" soundtracks), The Playhouse, Hank Shifter, Keepers of the Light featuring Alzo Fronte (who also recorded as Alzo + Uddin) and The Rich Kids featuring Danny Belline. Most of Steed's recording sessions took place at Century Sound Studios in NYC. Jeff Barry and Andy Kim's songwriting partnership was a cornerstone of the label's fortunes. Steed Records rode the wave of bubblegum pop in the late Sixties and early Seventies (although many of its releases were not bubblegum). When musical trends changed, Steed's sales fell off. Paramount Records took over the label with Famous Music taking over distribution.
Jeff Barry discontinued Steed Records when he relocated to California in 1971. Kim's last two hits, "Rock Me Gently" and "Fire, Baby, I'm on Fire", appeared on Capitol Records in 1974. The Steed catalogue is today controlled by Universal Music Group.
Tommy James and the Shondells are an American pop rock / psychedelic rock band, formed in Niles, Michigan, in 1964. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. – "Hanky Panky" and "Crimson and Clover" – and also charted twelve other Top 40 hits, including five in the Hot 100's top ten: "I Think We're Alone Now", "Mirage", "Mony Mony", "Sweet Cherry Wine", and "Crystal Blue Persuasion".
Bertrand Russell Berns, also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include "Twist and Shout", "Piece of My Heart", "Here Comes the Night", "Hang on Sloopy", Cry To Me and "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love", and his productions include "Baby, Please Don't Go", "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Under the Boardwalk".
The Archies is a fictional American band that features in media produced by, and related to, Archie Comics. They are best remembered for their appearance in the animated TV series The Archie Show. In the context of the series, the band was founded by vocalist/guitarist Archie Andrews, bassist Reggie Mantle, drummer Forsythe "Jughead" Jones, vocalist/keyboardist Veronica Lodge and vocalist/percussionist Betty Cooper. In the cartoons, Veronica is shown playing a large keyboard instrument styled after the X-66, a then-current top-of-the-line organ made by the Hammond Organ Company.
Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved to Hollywood, California. In its early years, Dot specialized in artists from Tennessee. Then it branched out to include musicians from across the U.S. It recorded country music, rhythm and blues, polkas, waltzes, gospel, rockabilly, pop, and early rock and roll. After moving to Hollywood, Dot Records bought many recordings by small local independent labels and issued them nationally. In 1957, Wood sold the label to Paramount Pictures, but remained in charge until 1967, when he departed to join Lawrence Welk in the formation of Ranwood Records. In 1968, the label was acquired as part of the acquisition of Paramount by Gulf+Western, which transitioned it to exclusively recording country music and eventually placed it under the management of Famous Music in 1971. Gulf+Western sold its labels to ABC in 1974, after which Dot was renamed to ABC-Dot Records before closing in 1978.
Kim Carnes is an American singer and songwriter.
Andrew Youakim, known professionally as Andy Kim, is a Canadian pop rock singer and songwriter. He grew up in Montreal, Quebec. He is known for hits that he released in the late 1960s and 1970s: the international hit "Baby, I Love You" in 1969, and "Rock Me Gently", which topped the U.S. singles chart in 1974. He co-wrote "Sugar, Sugar" in 1968 and sang on the recording as part of the Archies; it was #1 for four weeks and was "Record of the Year" for 1969.
William "Mickey" Stevenson is a former songwriter and record producer for the Motown group of labels from the early days of Berry Gordy's company until 1967, when he and his then-wife, singer Kim Weston, left for MGM.
Henry Gross is an American singer-songwriter best known for his association with the group Sha Na Na and for his hit song, "Shannon". Gross is considered a one-hit wonder artist; none of his other songs reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Jeff Barry is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Then He Kissed Me", "Be My Baby", "Chapel of Love", and "River Deep - Mountain High" ; "Leader of the Pack" ; "Sugar, Sugar" ; "Without Us".
Changes is the ninth studio album by the Monkees. The album was issued after Michael Nesmith's exit from the band, leaving only Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones to fulfill the recording contract they had signed in the mid-1960s. Changes was their last new album for Colgems Records and the group's last album of all new material until 1987's Pool It.
"Sugar, Sugar" is a song written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim. It was originally recorded by the cartoon band the Archies. This version reached No. 1 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1969 and remained there for four weeks. It also reached No. 1 on the UK Singles chart in that same year for eight weeks. Don Kirshner had originally wanted The Monkees to record "Sugar, Sugar" but the group rejected the song during a heated meeting at the Beverly Hills Hotel in January 1967. The song became a hit again in 1970 when rhythm and blues and soul singer Wilson Pickett put it back on the charts with his own version.
Robert Stanley Crewe was an American songwriter, dancer, singer, manager, and record producer. He was known for producing, and co-writing with Bob Gaudio, a string of Top 10 singles for the Four Seasons.
Gimme Dat Ding is a split album by The Sweet and The Pipkins, released on EMI's budget record label, MFP in 1970. It is named after the 1970 song "Gimme Dat Ding" by the Pipkins.
Eleanor Louise Greenwich was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Be My Baby", "Then He Kissed Me", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", "Christmas ", "Hanky Panky", "Chapel of Love", "Leader of the Pack", and "River Deep – Mountain High", among others.
John William Bristol was an American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a native of Morganton, North Carolina, about which he wrote an eponymous song. His composition "Love Me for a Reason" saw global success when covered by The Osmonds including a number 1 in the UK charts in 1974. His most famous solo recording was "Hang On in There Baby" recorded in 1974, which reached the Top Ten in the United States and number 3 in the United Kingdom. Both singles were in the UK top 5 simultaneously.
The Illusion were an American psychedelic hard rock band from Long Island, New York. They released three albums in the United States, the first of which was also issued in the United Kingdom. All three albums were produced by Jeff Barry.
Sheldon David English, known as Scott English, was an American songwriter, arranger and record producer. He is best known as the co-writer of "Brandy" which he wrote with Richard Kerr. This song became a No. 1 hit for Barry Manilow in 1974, with the title changed to "Mandy". English had also released a single of "Brandy" which reached No. 12 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1971, and entered the US charts in March 1972.
"It's Getting Better" is a song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil that was a sunshine pop hit single in 1969 for Mama Cass.
Baby I Love You is an album by Andy Kim released by Steed Records.
"Who's Your Baby" is a single released by The Archies, a fictional bubblegum pop band from the Archie Comics universe in 1970. It was written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim. It is a non-album single released before the group released their Sunshine album. It peaked at No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is their last top 40 hit. Its B-Side, "Señorita Rita" is featured on their Jingle Jangle album. "Who's Your Baby" was first issued on Kirshner Records and was issued in most of the world on the RCA Records label.
