Tower Records (record Label)
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Tower Records (record Label)
Tower Records was an American record label active from 1964 to 1970. A subsidiary of Capitol Records, Tower often released music by artists who were relatively low-profile in compared to those released on the parent label, including artists—such as The Standells and The Chocolate Watchband—later recognized as "garage bands". For this reason Tower is often associated with the garage rock phenomenon of the 1960s. Overview Named after Capitol's headquarters building, Tower was formed as a subsidiary to Capitol in 1964. In its early years, it released recordings by British invasion artists like Freddie and the Dreamers, (whose "I'm Telling You Now" became Tower's only #1 hit on ''Billboard'') and Tom Jones (only 6 songs recorded in 1963, that were released by Tower on the strength of his hit "It's Not Unusual" two years later in 1965, much to the dismay of the singer, who was actually signed to London subsidiary, Parrot). It also gave Nilsson his first national releases. Tower' ...
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Garage Rock
Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is characterized by basic chord (music), chord structures played on electric guitars and other instruments, sometimes distorted through a distortion (music), fuzzbox, as well as often unsophisticated and occasionally aggressive lyrics and delivery. Its name derives from the perception that groups were often made up of young amateurs who rehearsed in the family Garage (residential), garage, although many were professional. In the US and Canada, surf rock—and later the Beatles and other beat music, beat groups of the British Invasion—motivated thousands of young people to form bands between 1963 and 1968. Hundreds of acts produced regional hits, and some had national hits, usually played on AM radio stations. With the advent of psyc ...
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Mike Curb
Michael Curb (born December 24, 1944) is an American musician, record company executive, motorsports car owner, philanthropist, and former politician. He is also the founder of Curb Records where he presently serves as the chairman. Curb also serves as Chairman of Word Entertainment. He is an inductee of the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame. A Republican, Curb served as the 42nd lieutenant governor of California from 1979 to 1983. Early life and education Curb was born in Savannah, Georgia to Charles McCloud Curb and Stella (Stout) Curb, and raised in Southern California's San Fernando Valley. He has one sister. After attending Grant High School, he graduated from San Fernando Valley State College (now California State University, Northridge). His maternal grandmother was of Mexican heritage. Career Music As a freshman at San Fernando Valley State College, while working in the practice rooms of the Department of Music, Curb wrote the song " You Meet the Nicest People o ...
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Starbuck (band)
Starbuck was a rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1974 by keyboardist/vocalist/record producer Bruce Blackman and marimba player Bo Wagner. Both Blackman and Wagner, along with guitarist Johnny Walker, had previous success with Mississippi-based "sunshine pop" group Eternity's Children, scoring a ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hit with "Mrs. Bluebird" in the summer of 1968. Wagner worked as a studio musician in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, appeared on The Lawrence Welk Show, and played drums for the extravagant pianist Liberace. Starbuck's debut single, "Moonlight Feels Right", reached the No. 3 position on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles charts in 1976. Although the band never re-created the success of their debut, several of their songs did chart in the Billboard Top 100, and their 1977 release "Everybody Be Dancin'" reached No. 38. From 1976 to 1980, the band toured with popular groups of the era, including Electric Light Orchestra, KC and the Sunshine Band, Hall & Oates, ...
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Eternity's Children
Eternity's Children was an American sunshine pop band that originated in Cleveland, Mississippi as a folk group known as the Phantoms. The Phantoms began with two students, composed of vocalist/keyboardist Bruce Blackman and drummer Roy Whittaker. Soon, the group added lead guitarist Johnny Walker, rhythm guitarist Jerry Bounds, and bassist Charlie Ross, and began developing the complex, overlapping vocal harmonies that were utilized when they became Eternity's Children in 1967. Their one and only hit, "Mrs. Bluebird", reached number 69 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' and number 58 in Canada. History Beginnings In 1965, Bruce Blackman and Roy Whittaker, students of Delta College, founded The Phantoms, and added fellow students Jerry Bounds, Charlie Ross, and Johnny Walker. The band played locally within the college and gained a sizable local following. They released a single titled "Workin' Tired" b/w "Gonna Be Nice Tonight" on the local Flash label before relocating to Biloxi, Mi ...
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The Chocolate Watch Band
The Chocolate Watchband is an American garage rock band that formed in 1965 in Los Altos, California. The band went through several lineup changes during its existence. Combining psychedelic and garage rock components, their sound was marked by David Aguilar's lead vocals, songwriting, as well as proto-punk musical arrangements. The band's rebellious musical posture made them one of the harder-edged groups of the period with many critics labeling them as America's answer to the Rolling Stones. The Chocolate Watchband was signed to Tower Records in 1966 and released their first single, "Sweet Young Thing", in 1967. Later in the year, the band released their debut album, '' No Way Out''. Though the album did not chart nationally, the band had a huge following in San Jose and the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1968, their second album, '' The Inner Mystique'', was released and included the band's most popular song, a cover version of "I'm Not Like Everybody Else". By 1969, with Mark Loom ...
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Harvest Records
Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969. History Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo and Decca's Deram labels, and the independent Island label. Harvest was initially under the direction of Malcolm Jones, and was distributed in North America by EMI's US affiliate, Capitol Records. They were the European licensee for the American label Blue Thumb Records from 1969 to 1971. In the 1970s, the label primarily released progressive rock recordings by British acts including Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett, Kevin Ayers, The Move, Roy Wood, Barclay James Harvest, Be Bop Deluxe and Deep Purple. Most acts on the Harvest roster were British; two notable exceptions were Australian progressive band Spectrum (whose first two LPs were issued on Harvest) and Spectrum's successor Ariel, whose first two LPs also came out on the label. The Da ...
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Let There Be More Light
"Let There Be More Light" is the opening track on Pink Floyd's second album, '' A Saucerful of Secrets''. It was also released in edited form as the fourth American single by the group. Writing and recording The song is written by Roger Waters. It begins with an iterative bass line before the vocals start. The first, gentler vocals are performed by Rick Wright with Waters whispering, and the following, harder refrain is sung by David Gilmour. The last two minutes of the song mark the first appearance of a guitar solo by Gilmour on a Pink Floyd album, though it has been disputed to be former guitarist Syd Barrett by Andrew King, their manager at the time. Lyrical themes "Let There Be More Light" describes the imagined descent of a fantastical spacecraft at RAF Mildenhall, north-east of Waters' hometown of Cambridge. From 1950, RAF Mildenhall primarily supported US Air Force operations, including the Strategic Air Command. The song shares the theme of benevolent extraterrestrial ...
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Flaming (Pink Floyd Song)
"Flaming" (formerly titled "Snowing") is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, featured on their 1967 debut album, ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn''. Written and sung by Syd Barrett, the song remained in their set until late 1968; David Gilmour sang the lead vocal after Barrett's departure. Writing Barrett's lyrics describe a childlike game with fantastical imagery, including a line "here we go, ever so high". Prominent organ and driving bass guitar carry the uptempo music. Single "Flaming" was also the third US Pink Floyd single (Tower 378) and was released by Tower Records, but it did not chart. The mono US single mix of "Flaming" is slightly edited from other stereo or mono versions of the recording. This US single was released in place of the UK single, "Apples and Oranges" (backed with " Paint Box"), which had then just failed to break into the UK charts. It was the first of two US Pink Floyd singles released on Tower that were not released on a single in the UK. The oth ...
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See Emily Play
"See Emily Play" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, released as their second single in June 1967. Written by original frontman Syd Barrett, it was released as a non-album single, but appeared as the opening track of the U.S. edition of the band's debut album ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' (1967). The song was written by Barrett following the Games for May concert, and became a top 10 hit when released in the UK the following month. The group appeared three times on ''Top of the Pops'', where Barrett started showing signs of erratic behaviour, which ultimately led to him leaving the group in early 1968. Though Pink Floyd seldom performed the song live, it has been covered by a number of diverse artists and regarded as a classic psychedelic pop single. Writing "See Emily Play" is also known as "Games for May", after a free concert on 12 May 1967 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London's South Bank, in which Pink Floyd performed. It was the first show where the group s ...
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Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the Graphophone#Commercialization, American Graphophone Company, the successor to the Volta Laboratory and Bureau#Commercialization of phonograph patents, Volta Graphophone Company. Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in the recorded sound business, and the second major company to produce records. From 1961 to 1991, its recordings were released outside North America under the name CBS Records International, CBS Records to avoid confusion with EMI's Columbia Graphophone Company. Columbia is one of Sony Music's four flagship record labels, alongside former longtime rival RCA Records, as well as Arista Records and Epic Records. Artists who have recorded for Columbia include AC/DC, Adele, Aerosmith, Julie And ...
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Columbia Graphophone Company
Columbia Graphophone Co. Ltd. was one of the earliest phonograph, gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1917 as an offshoot of the American Columbia Records, Columbia Phonograph Company, it became an independent British-owned company in 1922 in a management buy-out after the parent company went into receivership. In 1925 it acquired a controlling interest in its American parent company to take advantage of a new electrical recording process. The British firm also controlled the US operations from 1925 until 1931. That year Columbia Graphophone in the UK merged with the Gramophone Company (which sold records under the HMV label) to form EMI. At the same time, Columbia divested itself of its American branch, which was eventually absorbed by Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) in 1938. As Columbia Records, it became a successful British label in the 1950s and 1960s, and was eventually replaced by the newly created EMI Records, as part of a label consolidation. Thi ...
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