Avco Records was a

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

started by music producers/composers

Hugo Peretti Hugo E. Peretti (December 6, 1916 – May 1, 1986) was an American songwriter, trumpeter, and record producer. Born in New York City to an Italian American family, Peretti began his music career as a teenager, playing the trumpet in the Bors ...

and

Luigi Creatore Luigi Federico Creatore (December 21, 1921 – December 13, 2015) was an American songwriter and record producer. Creatore was born in New York City in 1921, the son of noted Italian-born bandleader and composer Giuseppe Creatore. After serving w ...

together with film and TV producer

Joseph E. Levine Joseph Edward Levine (September 9, 1905 – July 31, 1987) was an American film distributor, financier and producer. At the time of his death, it was said he was involved in one or another capacity with 497 films. Levine was responsible for the ...

in 1968 as Avco Embassy Records.

History

Hugo and Luigi had previously worked together from the late 1950s for a number of labels, including Mercury, Roulette, and RCA Victor, where they were involved with acts such as Elvis Presley, the Tokens, and Sam Cooke. Levine was the head of Avco Embassy Pictures following a long career in the film industry. Avco's best-known artists were the R&B/soul groups

the Stylistics The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All ...

, who had a series of major hits in the pop and R&B charts mainly produced by Thom Bell, and

Little Anthony & the Imperials Little Anthony and the Imperials is an American rhythm and blues/soul vocal group from New York City founded by Clarence Collins in the 1950s and named in part for its lead singer, Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine, who was noted for his h ...

. One of the most memorable albums recorded for Avco was 1975's ''Disco Baby'' by top producer/arranger/writer

Van McCoy Van Allen Clinton McCoy (January 6, 1940 – July 6, 1979) was an American musician, record producer, arranger, songwriter, singer and orchestra conductor. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful song " The Hustle". He has approximat ...

. This featured the classic disco hit "The Hustle", a million-seller that topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B chart, as well as charts worldwide (#3 in the UK). The release was the company's only Number 1 success in the US, although the Stylistics' "You Make Me Feel Brand New" stayed at #2 for two weeks in the Hot 100 in 1974. In the UK, the same group's "Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)" was a #1 hit in mid-1975. Early on, the other artists released on the label covered a wide range of music. Of the many soul acts on their roster, they included Donnie Elbert, the Softones, Maxine Brown, Chocolate Syrup, Limmie & the Family Cookin'. Pop song stylist turned actress and talk show hostess

Della Reese Delloreese Patricia Early (July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017), known professionally as Della Reese, was an American jazz and gospel singer, actress, and ordained minister whose career spanned seven decades. She began her long career as a s ...

had a disco-styled outing on the label with "If It Feels Good". The label was named simply Avco Records when the 'Embassy' part was dropped in 1971. In 1976, with Avco deciding to exit the record business, Hugo & Luigi bought out the label & renamed it to

H&L Records H&L Records (1976–1979) was a record label founded by Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore after they left Avco Records. They took The Stylistics with them. History Releases The dual artist record, "That Old Black Magic" by The Softones backed with " ...

. In 1978, H&L Records filed for bankruptcy, soon after opening their own new studios in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. In 1984,

Amherst Records Amherst Records is an American independent music label, founded in 1957 by the late Leonard Silver, who later on founded Buffalo-based music store Record Theatre. In 1984, Amherst acquired the back catalogs of Avco Records. Notable artists * S ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, acquired the Avco/H&L Records catalog.Avco Embassy/Avco/H&L Album Discography
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References

Defunct record labels of the United States {{US-record-label-stub