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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 60 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Record Labels
| Starline is the reissue branch of which major label?
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Capitol. Many variations of the Starline label exist: green swirl, black and silver, red with white star, olive green with either target or dome logos, light blue, purple, and black with colorband around outer perimeter
| What label was to nationally distribute the only-regionally released Jan & Dean album "Save For A Rainy Day?" | Record Labels
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Columbia. This was entirely a project of Dean Torrence's in 1967, one year after Jan's car accident. It was first privately released as by Jan & Dean on their own J&D label in Los Angeles. Columbia only got as far as a stereo acetate of the LP (CS-9461) and a single ("Yellow Balloon"/"Taste Of Rain") before Jan rejected the project. J&D copies of the album are now worth $300 while the one and only found Columbia stereo acetate goes for $4000! The album was finally released to the public by oldies reissue label Sundazed as a double-LP package, including all the original mono album tracks plus bonus sessions and outtakes.
| For a very short time in 1968, the Cameo/Parkway catalog was owned by which company? | Record Labels
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MGM. Only three albums, two on Cameo and one on Parkway, were released under the MGM arm, including The Ohio Express' debut LP "Beg, Borrow and Steal"
| What was the original name of the Liberty-owned Dolton label? | Record Labels
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Dolphin. Changed right after the first single, The Fleetwoods' #1 hit "Come Softly To Me" (Dolphin/Dolton 1)
| Which was NOT a subsidiary of Philadelphia' Cameo/Parkway label? | Record Labels
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Sundi. Sundi, which yielded Mercy's big 1969 hit "Love (Can Make You Happy)", was a short lived sub of another Philadelphia label, Jamie/Guyden. Only two singles were released on the Winchester label (both by The Tymes, who already had a string of hits on the parent Parkway label), Lucky Eleven included Grand Funk-predecessors Terry Knight & The Pack, and The New Colony Six's debut album on Sentar, "Breakthrough", goes for $500 near mint!
| What do original Beatles 1968-1970 singles on Apple have on the label that were removed on subsequent pressing? | Record Labels
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Capitol dome logo. The Capitol dome logo is at the bottom of the labels on the B-sides with sliced apple. In 1971, Apple re-released all the Beatles' Capitol singles from 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' in 1964 to 'Lady Madonna' in 1968. Originals of these re-releases have black stars on the 'whole apple' A-sides. A red apple was only known to be used once, and that was for the 'Let It Be' album in 1970.
| Ranwood Records was a company set up by Randy Wood primarily for Lawrence Welk's orchestra. What major record company did Wood also own? | U.S. Record Labels of the 1960s
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Dot. Dot records, which had always produced conservative music, was losing ground to the "British Invasion". Throughout the 60s Dot, for the most part, released masters that Wood purchased but did not produce himself.
Spector. Phil Spector began as a member of The Teddy Bears in the late 50s. (The title of their hit "To Know Him Is To Love Him" was also the inscription on his father's tombstone.) He and his partner Lester Sill formed Philles (Phil-Les) in 1961. Philles was home to The Ronettes, Darlene Love and The Crystals among others.
Florence Greenberg. Florence Greenberg owned all three labels. She recorded The Shirelles' first hit "I met Him On A Sunday" On Tiara, which was subsequently shut down. (The master was sold to Decca). Her biggest success was with The Shirelles on Scepter. She also owned Wand records which was established specifically for Chuck Jackson, who had a few minor hits. Ironically, Wand's greatest success would come from a "garage band" called The Kingsmen, who had a #1 hit with "Louie Louie". Luther Dixon was a noted record producer who she collaborated with at Scepter.
Roulette. Tommy James and the Shondells hit #1 in 1968 with "Crimson And Clover". Joey Dee & The Starliters Hit #1 in '61 With "Peppermint Twist". (Joe Pesci played guitar for this group before becoming an actor). Lou Christie went to #6 with "Two Faces Have I" in 1963.
| Many record labels were named after the owner(s) of the record company. Gary Paxton, the owner of Garpax Records was a member of two Top 40 Groups. One was Skip and Flip. What was the other? | U.S. Record Labels of the 1960s
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The Hollywood Argyles. Garpax records was the home of Bobby "Boris" Pickett & The Crypt Kickers who had a #1 hit with "Monster Mash" in 1962.
| The Beatles hit the U.S. charts in January, 1964. Three of their records went to the top spot on three different labels. Two of the labels were Capitol and Tollie. What was the third label? | U.S. Record Labels of the 1960s
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Swan. The Beatles, believe it or not, had Top 40 hits on each of these labels during 1964. Capitol: "I Want To Hold Your Hand", Tollie: "Love Me Do", Vee Jay: "Please Please Me", Swan: "She Loves You", Atco: "Ain't She Sweet" and MGM: "My Bonnie". Quite an accomplishment. Capitol owned the rights to most of them. Not knowing how popular they were to soon become, they sold the rights to most of them to Vee Jay. Vee Jay then gave one to their subsidiary Tollie and sold the others to Atco and Swan. The one MGM owned was done in Germany by The Beatles with Tony Sheridan. Interesting note: I have "From Me To You"/"Please Please Me" on VJ 581 and "From Me To You"/"Thank You Girl" on Vee Jay 522.
| Which label is famous for releasing records by the likes of Aphex Twin, LFO, Autechre, Boards of Canada and Squarepusher? | Record Labels
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Warp Records. Warp was started in Sheffield, UK, in 1989. Their fifth release, a 12" by electro-duo LFO, was their first top 20 hit. One member of LFO, Mark Bell, has worked with Björk, on her "Homogenic" (1997) album. In 1998 Warp celebrated their birthday by releasing three fabulous compilations: "Warp 10+1: Influences" (featuring early techno classics), "Warp 10+2: The Classics 1989 - 1992" (featuring classic early IDM tracks; IDM stands for 'intelligent dance music', a sub-genre for which Warp was very important in its development) and "Warp 10+3: the Remixes" (where acts like Stereolab, Spiritualised and Push Button Objects create new shapes and features with tracks by Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada and Seefeel ao.)
| Which record mogul is the link between artists like Beastie Boys, Johnny Cash, Public Enemy, the Cult, Run-DMC, Slayer, LL Cool J and the Black Crowes? | Record Labels
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Rick Rubin. Rubin and Russell Simmons started the Def Jam Records label in 1984. In the beginning they concentrated on hip hop, but soon Rubin's more rockist tastes and production work for bands like The Cult, started to drive the two partners apart. In 1989 Rubin left to start Def American Records, to which he signed bands like Slayer and Black Crowes. In 1993 Def American became American Recordings. In 1994 Rubin produced and released Johnny Cash's comeback record, "American Recordings". It was such a hit that three more records were produced in the series, which put Cash back into the limelight, before passing away on September 12, 2003.
| What label is the common bond between bands like Cocteau Twins, Pixies, M/A/R/R/S, Throwing Muses, the Birthday Party, Lush and Dead Can Dance? | Record Labels
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4AD. 4AD was started in 1980, by one Ivo Watts-Russell. He was also the driving force behind 'supergroup' This Mortal Coil. He assembled members from Dead Can Dance, Colourbox, Cocteau Twins, Breeders, Throwing Muses and even Howard Devoto and Colin Newman, to record mainly covers of his favourite songs. Their versions of Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren" and Chris Bell's "You and Your Sister" are probably better known that the originals these days.
| Which label is very closely associated with acts like Fad Gadget, Depeche Mode, Einstürzende Neubauten, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Moby? | Record Labels
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Mute Records. Mute Records was started in 1978 by Daniel Miller, a.k.a. The Normal, to release his groundbreaking 7" "T.V.O.D. / Warm Leatherette"; which was his only personal release by the way. Afterwards he started to concentrate on releasing other people's music. Though he did occasionally do some work with his friend Fad Gadget, a.k.a. Frank Tovey. Tovey sadly passed away on April 3, 2002.
| Which label featured bands like Black Flag, the Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Hüsker Dü, Saccharine Trust, Screaming Trees, fIREHOSE and Negativland in their roster? | Record Labels
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SST. In 1979, Black Flag guitarist, Greg Ginn, started SST (Solid State Transformers) records, to release his own bands' records. It had originally been an electronics company, but Ginn saw more future in rock music. Black Flag's "Nervous Breakdown" 7" was the first release on the label.
In 1991, Negativland released a single on SST with the title "U2" written large and the word Negativland in a smaller typeface on the cover sleeve, with a picture of the U2 spy plane on it. The songs were parodies of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", including samples of the original song and a rant from DJ Casey Kasem, calling the band a 'bad word'. Island Records sued Negativland claiming that the "U2" violated trademark protection, and for violation of copyright protection. Island won and the record was taken out of the shops. The entire episode cost Negativland a ton of money, with SST records suing the band for the legal costs of the case.
The following year the magazine Mondo 2000 was contacted to conduct an interview with The Edge. The magazine let two members of Negativland conduct the interview. They questioned The Edge about sampling and the legality of using copyrighted material without permission. Halfway through the interview they revealed their identities and The Edge tried to wriggle himself out of it by claiming most of the legal action took place without U2's knowledge. For the full interview, see: http://www.negativland.com/edge.html
| If I mention bands like the Ramones, Talking Heads, the Dead Boys, Richard Hell & the Voidoids, Tom Tom Club, and later Madonna, and even Ice-T and Ministry, which record label immediately leaps to mind? | Record Labels
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Sire Records. Sire records was founded in 1966 by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteher. In the mid-70s they were one of the first labels to see the potential of the New York City punk bands. On their 1998 album "The Boy With The Arab Strap" Scottish band Belle & Sebastian recorded a song called "Seymour Stein", though it isn't about the man himself per se. In 2005 Seymour Stein was inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.
| Which record label is almost synonymous with bands like Joy Division, A Certain Ratio, New Order and Happy Mondays? | Record Labels
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Factory Records. On May 19, 1978, Manchunian TV presenter Tony Wilson decided to start a club night, called Factory. Among the artists who played at these nights were bands like Joy Division and Durutti Column. In September of the same year a double 7" was released, called "A Factory Sampler", featuring some of the bands that played at the club. And so began the story of this infamous record label. For more info see the movie "24 Hour Party People" (2002), directed by Michael Winterbottom.
| It would be tough to think of grunge music without thinking of this label. Founded as a magazine first, this label was responsible for bringing the Seattle sound to mainstream America. Can you name the label which brought us Nirvana, Soundgarden and Mudhoney? | Stories Behind Record Labels
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Sub Pop. Sub Pop started as a fanzine to earn the label's founder Bruce Pavitt college credits while attending Evergreen State College. After the magazine started selling cassette tapes with local music on them, the label took off. The label has had two platinum releases with Nirvana's "Bleach" and the Flight of the Conchords debut, self-titled album. The label's founder sold a share of the company to Warner Bros. and then ultimately left the business altogether.
| Swan Song is the record label created by the bigger than life rock band Led Zeppelin. The company was overseen by the band's manager Peter Grant. Obviously, the band would release its own music on the label, but which album was the first to appear on the label? | Stories Behind Record Labels
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Physical Graffiti. There were only a total of 27 albums to appear on the Swan Song label, but the quality of those albums is mighty impressive. All of Led Zeppelin's album from "Physical Graffiti" to "Coda", Bad Company's first six albums, "Silk Torpedo" by Pretty Things and even solo work from Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. In addition to music, the label was involved with film. "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" was a Swan Song project in 1975.
| Neil Bogart created this record label with money fronted to him by Warner Bros. in 1973. The first act he signed was the rock band Kiss. What is the name of the record company formed by Mr. Bogart? | Stories Behind Record Labels
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Casablanca Records. I emphasized the name Bogart in hopes that you would associate that name with the movie "Casablanca", which is also the correct answer to the question. Bogart formed the label in 1973 and included Donna Summer, Cher, The Village People and George Clinton in their ranks. The company was bought out by Polygram Records in 1980 and Bogart was forced out of the business. Eventually, the Casablanca name would be shut down and the artists on the label would be transferred over to Mercury Records.
| The Rolling Stones recorded their song "2120 South Michigan Avenue" at the studio owned by this record label in 1964. This label has been described as one of the most important institutions in American blues music. Can you name the record label? | Stories Behind Record Labels
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Chess Records. Leonard Chess bought into Aristrocrat Records in 1947. After bringing his brother into the business in 1950, the two took complete control of the company and renamed it to Chess Records. Over the history of the company, nearly every major player in Chicago blues music has worked with the good people at Chess Records. Bo Diddley, Denise LaSalle, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Etta James and Howlin' Wolf are a short list of the many artists to record on Chess Records.
The Rolling Stones would record three times at the Chess Records studios. "2120 South Michigan Avenue" was their instrumental homage to the famed studios and the music that had been created there. The Rolling Stones, like The Beatles and so many other British acts of the era, held American blues music in high regard and they were always wanting to find ways to relate more closely to that style of music. By recording at Chess Records, they felt closer to the history of blues and the people who had recorded it.
Madonna. Madonna and her team of executives formed Maverick Records in 1992. Madonna acted as CEO from the beginning days until 2004. During her time as boss, the label had great success with acts like Alanis Morissette, The Prodigy, Deftones and Michelle Branch all releasing hit records on the label. In 2004, the relationship with Maverick and their parent company, Warner Bros., soured when the two sides sued each other over lost money. Madonna was ultimately bought out of her ownership of the company and she no longer has any affiliation with the company.
| Reprise Records was formed in 1960 by this iconic performer as an effort to have more artistic control over his music. Who was it? | Stories Behind Record Labels
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Frank Sinatra. It was after Sinatra entered the record business that he got the name "Chairman of the Board". Sinatra's premise was that his artists would have complete control and ownership of their music. The initial stable of artists included obvious selections such as Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., but he offered opportunities to artists as diverse as Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney and even comedian Redd Foxx. In 1963 the company was sold to Warner Bros., which has been the distributor of Reprise's music ever since. Jimi Hendrix, The Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac, Green Day and Eric Clapton are some of the heavyweight acts who have recorded for Reprise over the years.
| In what has been called the biggest mistake in music history, The Beatles were denied a record contract after auditioning for record company executives. The event took place on New Year's Day in 1962. Which record company made this huge gaffe? | Stories Behind Record Labels
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Decca. After performing 15 songs for producer Tony Meehan of Decca Records, the decision was made not to offer the group a record contract. The decision was based on the fact that the company felt guitar based music was going nowhere and the group didn't have a future in show business. Obviously, that was a huge error. Instead, Decca decided to offer the contract to The Tremeloes, a talented band who went on to release some great music, but had nowhere near the success of The Beatles.
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