First And Second Labels

James "Doc" Starkes and the Niteriders started recording as such in 1954. They released about a dozen sides on several labels over the course of their career. One of those labels was Teen records out of Philadelphia. A local hit, "Apple Cider" did well enough regionally, that another Philly label, Swan, picked it up for distribution. Great record, but it never made it big nationally.

From Asbury Park, New Jersey, the V Eights had the legendary singer Bobby Thomas on all but their first recording. The group lasted for about a year and a half and made four records that I know of. Their first was on Morty Craft's Most record label. Then they had three issues on the local Vibro label, the first shown above, was "My Heart". It was released on Vibro, and then as a promo and stock issue for ABC Paramount for a try at national recognition. After making some local noise, they released "Everything That You Said" and one other, but despite the quality, did not sell, or get picked up by ABC like "My Heart" did.



One of several Five Stars groups that were around in the 1950's and 1960's, the song baby baby first came out on the End label in 1958. Somehow and someway, the giant Columbia label released it in 1961, and it was available in a regular 45 and the compact 33 as shown above. It failed to hit national charts either time, but had significant play in a few Markets to the the labels interested.


The Shytones and Hi Tones were the same group, hailing from Brooklyn New York.,The record above was first issued on leo Rogers' Goodspin label. It was a short run of vinyl before it was issued on Fonsca. It seems that Rogers had a deal with Roulette for distribution of the record, and some copies have that listed on the Fonsca label. neither side broke out of the east coast, but they were great songs.

Joe Therrien was from Indian Orchard, Massachusetts, and recorded a total of 5 records in his brief career. The biggest seller was the first from 1957. "Hey Babe Let's Go Downtown" flipped with "Come Back To Me Darling". It was a two sider that had play on both sides. His back-up group was the Rockets, and his backing vocals were done by the Ekenbarger sisters from Connecticut, called the Eckos. Originally released on the Lido label, Brunswick picked it up for distribution. Joe's subsequent releases did not sell well, but were great records.

Dart Ward and the Cut Ups released this record, QT Cute, in 1958, on the RIP label out of Hollywood, California. It appears more than 75 records were issued on RIP, and at one time, the president of the label was Dick Puccio. Major label Dot records saw potential in this uptempo mover, and released it in September of 1958.

A classic from Little Willie Littlefield, on the classic Rhythm record label out of Oakland, California. Owned by Don Barksdale, this label issued some classic west coast Doo Wop and R+B. Ruby Ruby was issued by Rhythm in 1957, and issued by the New York based Bullseye label in early 1958. This had some good play in Pittsburgh, as did many of the Bullseye releases. There was also a third release in 1959, on the Arglye label.

RAM records was owned by Mira Smith from Shreveport, LA. Most impressive for the time (1955) as a woman starting her own record company. Roy Boogie Boy Perkins was probably her first big find, and his record "Drop Top" made a lot of noise in the gulf area and beyond, early 1958. Enough that Mercury issued it within a month and for some reason dropped the Boogie Boy moniker. Un credited was the back up band, the Riff Rafts, led by Jimmy Scatman Patin.

The Roosters had a cool instrumental called "Fun House", originally released on the Shar-Dee label. It had some good play in Pittsburgh, and was then released on the Felsted label for hopeful national exposure. You can see that the record was produced by the famous duo of Lou Adler and Herb Albert. Also of note, on the Felsted release, it shows that it is "A Hit Sound If Played On 33 RPM"! It actually sounds better at that speed!

The Spindrifts were a group from the North Shore area of Boston and had a local hit on the east coast called Cha Cha Doo. Originally released for the Hot record label in 1958, the artist was shown as just the Spindrifts. The group included Freddy Boom Boom Cannon. When issued on ABC, the Downbeats were added to the record label for credit. The record did not sell that well, but was Cannon's first recording. Popular to contrary belief, Cannon did not play guitar with the G Clefs!

From the Bloomfield section of Pittsburgh, Mickey Sands and the Five Playboys had a local hit with "Pages Of My Scrapbook", released on the legendary Fee Bee label. Originally issued with "Love Me Right" on the flip, it made enough noise to be picked up by Dot. A different flip was slapped on the "B" side called "When We Were Young". Dot often issued records that first appeared on Fee Bee, if they showed promise.

Dot records also showed interest in this Kentucky based Five Stars group. A really good two sider, I believe both sides actually got some play. This Five Stars group appears to be the same one that also recorded on End, Columbia, and Mark X.

The pop group trio the Three Chuckles made a respectable run on the pop charts with a few records. Their first major hit was called "Runaround". It was first issued on Boulevard records as the "B" side. It was then presumably sold to X records in 1954. Teddy Randazzo was a member of the group and went on to have success as a solo artist and writer.

The Silhouettes follow up to Get A Job was called "I Sold My Heart To The Junkman". As was "Get A Job", it was issued on the Philadelphia based Junior label, in 1958. This time, it was picked up by Ace, and issued on their label, also in 1958.

Out of Texas, the Mints, also known as the Four Mints, recorded for a few labels including Lin. The flip side of this was probably the more popular side, and it was by Ken Copeland and called Pledge Of Love. It sold well, and was issued on the Maroon Imperial label for better distribution. Ken Copeland is Thee Ken Copeland of the ministries of the same name. He recorded a few records for Lin and Imperial.

The Bobbettes were best known for their 1957 recording of Mr. Lee. 3 years later, they answered their own disc with I Shot Mr. Lee. Originally recorded for their first label, Atlantic. Problem is that Atlantic didn't release it first. Only after the Bobbettes got a Deal with Triple X, did Atlantic decide to then issue their version.Two different versions were therefore recorded of the song, Triple X has a longer running time.

The Dubs couldn't release a bad record on the Gone label. Their fourth record from 1958, Be Sure My Love, was no exception. Though Gone had good distribution for them, it was later released on the Mark X label in 1960. Shown is the original black label gone release, and the 2nd press on the Mark X label with the extended title. The original Mark X label had thick and thin lines.

When I used to think of the song Sugaree, Hank Ballard and the Midnighters would always come to mind. After hearing Rusty York, I think he has the hottest version of the song, hands down. It was originally released on the P.J. label. The last release was on Chess, released in the same year, 1959. Somewhere in the middle, it was also issued on the Indianapolis based Note record label as well.

Here is a group called the Larks from the Philadelphia area. It is not the same group that recorded on Apollo. They had one hit on the Billboard charts called It's Unbelievable. They recorded several others including this soul related song, originally for Crossfire records, and then released for the Guyden label.

Here is a group out of new York called the Possessions. "No More Love" was issued on the local Britton label in 1964. This group included Frank Fox of Vito And The Salutations. Parkway thought enough of the disc to issue it, and it became a local hit on the east coast. Originals also were issued on a blue wax Britton disc. Boots of this record abound on red and black wax. Another identifying feature of the boots are the inclusion of "unc. vrs." on the left side in the middle between the lines.

When you think of the Turks, you may think of the song Emily. They recorded several others that were every bit as good, and had several releases with Los Angeles based record companies. The group had some familiar Los Angeles area singers like Gaynel Hodge, Carl Green and Jesse Belvin. I'm A Fool was written by Gaynel Hodge and was first put out on John Dolphin's Money label. It was reissued on Knight records, which recorded a few groups of it's own including the Robins, Majestics and Popsicles.

Gene Summers had a huge bunch of records that were made between 1958 and at least 1977. Starting with songs like The School Of Rock And Roll on the Jan label, he recorded on no less than 15 different labels, including a pair on Charay out of Fort Worth Texas. The one above sparked the interest of Mercury records who then distributed it. Summers made a few local charts with his songs, but never broke out nationally.

A Los Angeles favorite, Buick 59 was issued by Dootsie Williams' Dootone records in 1954. That's five years before the slated Buick was to roll out the doors. The thought was to make it a hit in 1954, and turn around and do it again in 1959. That they did. In this case, the second label belonged to Dootsie. He had to change the name because of a threatening lawsuit over the name "Dootone" by a company that specialized in phonograph needles called "Duotone". Speculation and hindsight says he could have won the case, but being an independent operator, the funds were not there to go to court. It was much less costly to design a new label and move on. Most of his original product on Dootone was later seen on Dooto.

Here is a classic R+B group with a classic song called "I". It was originally issued on Bobby Robinson's Red Robin records in 1953. It sold well on the R+B charts, and was later reissued on the original purple label of Pilgrim records in 1956. That was about the same time that the Boston area group called the G Clefs had their first record released on Pilgrim called Ka Ding Dong.

Bobby Jackson had a regional hit with "Wow Man Wow". It was part rock and roll record and part novelty, with a female answering him. It was associated with Nor Va Jak music and was originally on the Gold Air label from Amarillo, Texas. Brunswick was the major label that distributed it nationally.

Johnny Flamingo was one of those guys that made a bunch of records in his 7 or 8 years of prolific recording, and he had some amazing stuff. This one was originally issued on Huggy Boy's Caddy label. The Late Dick Hugg named it after a Cadillac - something he wanted to buy with his proceeds from the label. It had a non Johnny Flamingo tune on the flip. The Aladdin record came later in the same year, 1957.

The Contrails. They were Dick And Jack. That would be Richard Engel and John Antonio "Jack" Stanizzo, and they were a Pittsburgh duet. This is an instrumental side, the flip has vocals. Reuben was the first label, and the more popular Diamond label, picked it up for distribution. Diamond had a good stable of artists including Ronnie Dove and Johnny Thunder. The McClendon on the label is actually Charles Reuben McClendon. The "B" side is shown.

This appears to be Billy Stewart's first recording for Chess, from June of 1956. About five to six months later, the record was pressed on the Argo label, though neither sold tremendous volumes of discs. Stewart went on to have a bunch of top 100 records on Chess in the 60's with his biggest being a remake of the classic show tune called Summertime. Both of the records above were also released on 78 RPM.

Although it's the B side, I always thought it was interesting to name a song after your group. Freeway is the flip and got the most spins, though only from the local charts. Both labels were based in Hollywood, but the Sims label was first. Richard Vaughn's Arvee label had several hits from the Olympics, later on, the Marathons, and others. The Sims label would later have the Wallace Brothers, Hal Willis, and others in the 60's.

So the Holiday Inn had their own record label! Based in Memphis, Tennessee, it was started by the owner of the Holiday Inn chain, Kemmons Wilson, and included Sam Phillips of Sun records for a time. "Wild Twist" is a great instrumental, issued in 1962, first on the Holiday Inn label. Del Fi issued it on their Los Angeles label shortly thereafter.

These are actually two different recordings of the same song, and are by the Michigan group, the Kingtones. Pete Mervenne was on lead vocals, and as shown the Kitoco issue was released in 1963, Derry discs were from 1964. A fun song from a group that had a couple of songs show up on more than one label.

I have always enjoyed the colts records, and their follow up to Adorable is no exception. Sweet Sixteen is from 1956 on the Vita label, and I love the picture on the label. The Plaza label is from Hollywood, not to be confused with the ones from New York, and was issued in 1962. The Marathons were another group that recorded for Plaza.

A local Los Angeles hit, on the legendary Starla label owned by the amazing DJ Art Laboe. Handsome Jim Balcom's Corrido Rock was sent to the radio stations in 1958. Dot records got on it the same year and though they were a major label with great distribution, it didn't break out of the west coast like they hoped for. Jim Balcom can also be heard as the band on a few of Little Julian Herrera's releases.

This is an interesting pairing. Smokey Joe (Baugh) and The Signifying Monkey was released on the Sun label in 1955. It was re-released on Flip (Non Union) crediting the Clyde Leoppard Band, while the Sun label did not mention it. Flip used the same catalog and master numbers as the Sun release. Both labels were owned by Sam Phillips, and the Flip label was forced out of business in 1955, since Max Freitag already had the Los Angeles Flip label operating successfully.

The late great Gene Pearson along with the Rivileers, had a great record and local hit with the original version of A Thousand Stars. It was released twice on the Baton label. First, as shown in 1954 on issue number 200 with "Hey Chiquita" on the flip. Then again on Baton in 1957 using record number 241 and a differnt flip called "Who is The Girl". Using the exact number of the second disc, it was issued on Dark, in the late 1950's. These two labels along with Sir, were related and owned by Sal Rabinowitz. Baton actually became Sir in 1957.

On Your Mark, Get Set, Now Ready, Ready, Gooooo! Complete with Lifeguard whistles, bells and commands for everybody to get out of the pool, this quasi instrumental was a fun novelty tune from 1959. Though not a Billboard charter, it certainly got the regional action - just enough to have ABC pick it up from the tiny Casa Blanca label. One Frank Pingatore was obviously involved with the production and had the writing credits. There are at least 4 records on Casa Blanca that I know of, including songs by Dave Day and Steve Gibson with the Red Caps That would place the label in the eastern states, quite possibly Pittsburgh or New York.

A hit record in the Rochester New York area, "Leap Frog" by the Chuck Alaimo Quartet was a sax blasting instrumental. First issued on the Ken label, it sold well enough to get MGM interested for their company. The original Ken record label was informative and listed the members of the band, and MGM followed suit. The Ken label also had Blueberry Hill on the flip. When MGM pressed the disc, they used "That's My Desire" for the "B" side. Just 5 releases later, the Ken label had another local hit and Dot was the lucky label. See below.

Frank DeRosa and the "De" Men had an instrumental recording that was starting to make some noise in upstate New York. After enjoying some success with the Chuck Alaimo Quartet, Ken issued "Big Guitar" which is a hot record. Hot enough for Dot to make a deal this time, though it did not sell as well as they would have hoped. Note that the Ken label showed the group as the DE Men, playing off the name DeRosa. When Dot pressed it, they shortened it to "D" Men and Seperated his last name to De Rosa.

An artist I don't know a lot about, Johnny Aragon is considered a "teener" when it comes to classifing his music. This is one of at least three records he made, one of which is shown above. The original was on Airlok, and then 20th Century picked it up hoping for a big hit. I place the record from 1960, and Aragon was likely from the east coast.

Here is a group called the Quarter-Notes. They had one top 100 record called Record Hop Blues in 1959. It was a quick trip, as it peaked at number 82 and lasted just one week. Late in 1959, Canadian Sunset/Frantic Flip was issued on the local Buffalo New York label called Bison. Though it never made it on the national charts, it did get good airplay on some regional stations. Enough for Imperial to pick it up and press it on their label.

You probably recognize Come Softly To Me, as by the Fleetwoods. And you are right. But, if you were in Chicago, you probably heard Barrett's version as it received substantial airplay in the windy city, along with a few other markets. It even appeared on some charts concurrently with the Fleetwoods. The first copies were pressed on the Orchid label, before Gone got involved and had the needed distribution. This does appear to be the same Orchid label that Vince Castro recorded on.

You may remember the original version of Cherry Pie from Marvin and Johnny. Released in 1954, it was actually the flip of Tick Tock, but ended up getting more exposure when it appeared on a million compilation albums, starting in the early 60's. After that one, but before Skip and Flip's top 100 record, the Tri-Lads had their own version come out in late 1957/early 1958. Though little documentation exists, it came out on a small label out of Tulsa Oklahoma called Perspective. Other vocal groups on the label included the Accents and the Vibes. Bullseye picked it up for better distribution, and it did get airplay in selected markets.

From 1956, Johnnie and Joe's initial waxing of "Feel Alright" and "I'll Be Spinning", sold well for the duo, and for Zell Sanders' J+S label. So well in fact, that she had to set up an agreement with Chess to press and distribute the bulk of the discs. The duo would come back with "Over The Mountain" and have a major hit on the charts with it. More Johnnie and Joe HERE!

This is an interesting instrumental record originally released in late 1957. Easy Pickin' came out first on the Chicago based Taz label, but actually was titled "Gobo" on the very first waxing. The Tazmen had a total of four issues, three on Taz, and one on ABC, which was the major label. Easy Pickin' seemed to have the most sales and showed the most promise. The only hint of who the group members were, is the credited guitar solo byJoe Rumoro. When ABC pressed it, they spelled the group name as The Tazman! I'm sure there is a story behind this one.

From the best I can tell, the Pixies were from the Washington DC area. They had this record called, Cry Like A Baby. It was released initially on the AMC label in 1962, and then it showed up on the Philadelphia based Don Dee moniker after that. Neither label was very big. AMC just had three releases I know of, and Don Dee just about twice that amount. The Pixes are shown as also having one additional release on AMC, but it does not show up in the Don Dee label listing. Also, the Don Dee label can be found on a black label. Further, the Pixies Three were originally slated to use the Pixies name, until they found out about this group on a obligatory name search before they had their first hit recording.

The Velvetones, featuring J.R. Baily, recorded several discs for the Aladdin label. The Glory Of Love, though not a new song, it was certainly a unique interpretation. The talking bridge was quite a bit longer than your normal bridge, and included the line "Fine Fine Super Fine Career". That always stood out for me! It was issued in 1958, on Aladdin, and was then re-issued in 1962 on Imperial 5878 - shown above. It was issued again a couple years later on Imperial 66020 with a different flip.

Out of Cincinnati, Ohio, the Charms can be traced back to 1952, and their first recording was in 1953. It was on the Florida based Rockin' label, which was part of the King roster of monikers. The disc started to sell, and King issued on their "new" Deluxe label. So, it was not exactly new, as they had bought the already established label which was originally based in New Jersey. Heaven Only Knows was their first record as they started the "new" 6000 series of Deluxe.

Here is an odd one. Lafayette and the LaSabres had a doo wopish, almost country-twangish song called "Cure For Love", backed with an instrumental. The artist is Lafayette Yarbrough, who had at least one other record, maybe more. I have very little information the the Your-Pick label, and am still confirming it was a first label. It is possible there were several issues earlier on Your-Pick which is based on the record number of 1005. It does not appear to be a reissue label, and a few different books confirm it as a first label. Port had some original recordings but quite a few artists/songs that had been on other labels.



Here are the Gallahads. OK, one of the Gallahads groups. The Jimmy Pipkin Gallahds group was not in Los Angeles at the time, and due to circumstances that would at least be a chapter in a book, another group was drafted to be the Gallahads. They were the Chants out of San Pedro. They recorded just two records as the Gallahads, and this one was first issued on the Beech Wood label. Sad Girl was the "A" side, and it was quickly picked up by Los Angeles DJ Art Laboe for his Starla label.The Pipkin led Gallahads then got on the charts with I'm Without A Girlfriend, for the Donna/Delfi labels, afte the "Other" Gallahads record was through.

There you have it. So many records came out on a small label and then moved on the a national label when their record showed so much promise. You can literally find 1000's of these, so the possibilities are endless. Keep checking back. As i find them, I will post for all to see.