Beserkley Records was an American
independent record label
An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...
based in
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...
, from 1973 to 1984. Beserkley is usually regarded as a
power pop
Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ch ...
and
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
label. During the 1970s, the label released albums by
Earth Quake,
Greg Kihn
Gregory Stanley Kihn (born July 10, 1949) is an American rock musician, radio personality, and novelist. He founded and led The Greg Kihn Band, which scored hit songs in the 1980s, and has written several horror novels.
History
Kihn was born ...
,
Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic a ...
, and
The Modern Lovers
The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by Jonathan Richman in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band existed from 1970 to 1974 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks w ...
,
the Rubinoos
The Rubinoos are an American power pop band that formed in 1970 in Berkeley, California. They are perhaps best known for their singles "I Think We're Alone Now" (1977, a cover of the hit by Tommy James & the Shondells), "I Wanna Be Your Boyfrien ...
, and the
Tyla Gang. Several other artists appeared on singles, or on
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
s. From 1980 to its dissolution in 1984, Beserkley was a one-artist label, the artist being Greg Kihn.
History
The label was founded by
Matthew King Kaufman
Matthew "King" Kaufman (born May 19, 1946) is an American record producer who was the owner of leading independent label Beserkley Records in Berkeley, California from the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s, successfully producing records by Jonath ...
,
along with members of the Bay Area band
Earth Quake. Kaufman was a law graduate who became co-manager of Earth Quake, and helped them sign with
A&M Records
A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...
in 1970. After experiencing frustration at what he saw as A&M's incompetence in handling the band,
and winning some compensation for the unauthorized use of Earth Quake's music in the movie ''
The Getaway'', he set up Beserkley Records, in 1973.
Kaufman produced virtually all of Beserkley's output throughout its existence, often in association with
Glenn Kolotkin, less frequently with
Kenny Laguna
Kenneth Benjamin Laguna is an American songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Joan Jett.
Biography
Laguna was born in Greenwich Village, New York City, United States, and started playing piano at high school dances from th ...
.
For the first two years of its existence, Beserkley only put out singles. The first release (in late 1973) was Earth Quake's version of
the Easybeats
The Easybeats were an Australian rock band that formed in Sydney in late 1964. They enjoyed a level of success that in Australia rivalled The Beatles. They became the first Australian rock act to score an international hit, with the 1966 sing ...
' "
Friday On My Mind
"Friday on My Mind" is a 1966 song by Australian rock group the Easybeats. Written by band members George Young and Harry Vanda, the track became a worldwide hit, reaching no. 16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in May 1967 in the US, no. 1 ...
".
Initially none of the Beserkley singles were especially successful, but in 1975 some were assembled, together with newly recorded tracks, into the album ''Beserkley Chartbusters Vol. 1''. As well as tracks by Earth Quake, this included tracks by power-pop group
the Rubinoos
The Rubinoos are an American power pop band that formed in 1970 in Berkeley, California. They are perhaps best known for their singles "I Think We're Alone Now" (1977, a cover of the hit by Tommy James & the Shondells), "I Wanna Be Your Boyfrien ...
,
Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic a ...
and
Greg Kihn
Gregory Stanley Kihn (born July 10, 1949) is an American rock musician, radio personality, and novelist. He founded and led The Greg Kihn Band, which scored hit songs in the 1980s, and has written several horror novels.
History
Kihn was born ...
. Richman's recordings were his first as a solo performer (after the disbanding of the original
Modern Lovers
The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by Jonathan Richman in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band existed from 1970 to 1974 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks w ...
) and included the first released version of "
Roadrunner
The roadrunners (genus ''Geococcyx''), also known as chaparral birds or chaparral cocks, are two species of fast-running ground cuckoos with long tails and crests. They are found in the southwestern and south-central United States and Mexico, us ...
", by
Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic a ...
backed by Earth Quake.
Kaufman and Richman had previously worked together on the Modern Lovers' sessions for A&M in 1972. In 1976, Kaufman licensed those recordings, together with the ones the band had made around the same time with producer
John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
for
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
, and released them on Beserkley as the acclaimed album ''
The Modern Lovers
The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by Jonathan Richman in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band existed from 1970 to 1974 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks w ...
''. Though neither Richman nor the Modern Lovers made the American charts, they were quite successful in the UK, with the singles "Roadrunner (Once)" and "Egyptian Reggae" making the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
.
Other 1970s Beserkley acts had less commercial success, although
the Rubinoos
The Rubinoos are an American power pop band that formed in 1970 in Berkeley, California. They are perhaps best known for their singles "I Think We're Alone Now" (1977, a cover of the hit by Tommy James & the Shondells), "I Wanna Be Your Boyfrien ...
made the US charts, hitting No. 45 with a cover of "
I Think We're Alone Now
"I Think We're Alone Now" is a song written and composed by Ritchie Cordell that was first recorded by Tommy James and the Shondells. It was a major hit for group, reaching number 4 on the US Hot 100 in April 1967. It finished at No. 12 on '' B ...
" in 1977. As well, Earth Quake made the lower rungs of the American LP charts with their second of four albums for Beserkley (1976's ''8.5'', which peaked at No. 151).
Beserkley's records were initially distributed by
Playboy Records
Playboy Records was an American record label, based in Los Angeles, California, and a unit of Playboy Enterprises. Artists recording for the label included Al Wilson (singer), Al Wilson, Barbi Benton, Blue Ash (band), Blue Ash, Bobby Taylor & th ...
until about 1977 (and during part of 1976, Playboy itself was distributed by CBS Records, and Beserkley was included in that arrangement, taking it from a small independently distributed label to briefly being a part of the huge CBS distribution system), then by Janus/GRT until 1979 and subsequently by
Elektra.
In 1978, the label commissioned a multi-artist project of 14 musicians from their roster, including Earth Quake and the Rubinoos. They were recorded playing
oldies
Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...
, both well-known and obscure, and traded
lead vocals
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...
for each of the recordings, which were released as the LP ''Spitballs''. Reviewing in ''
Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981),
Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
said, "I assume the title is a takeoff on ''
Nuggets
Nuggets may refer to:
Music
* ''Nuggets'' (series), a series of compilation albums by Elektra Records, continued by Rhino
* '' Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968''
* '' Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from ...
'', and I approve of the concept ... I find most of the remakes amusing and one or two amazing. But inevitably, the music is ragged ... and I miss the pure dumb inspiration of the originals."
Beserkley's major breakthrough came with Greg Kihn, who sang backup on Earth Quake and Richman records before forming his own band. Beginning with his third album (1978's ''Next of Kihn''), Kihn regularly made the American album charts and received steady airplay on FM radio. By the end of 1980, Kihn was the only artist on the Beserkley roster,
and in 1981 he had his first top 40 hit with "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)". Kihn's early 1980s albums ''Rockihnroll'' (1981), ''Kihntinued'' (1982) and ''Kihnspiracy'' (1983) all reached the top 40 on the LP charts, and his 1983 single "
Jeopardy
''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...
" became Beserkley's biggest-ever hit, peaking at US No. 2.
[
The label's demise was relatively swift. After several years of success, Kihn's 1984 single "Reunited" flopped (peaking at No. 102) and the parent album ''Kihntagious'' stalled at No. 121 on the charts. Beserkley founder Kaufman then essentially dissolved the label and allowed Kihn to sign with major label EMI, where Kaufman would continue to act as Kihn's producer.]
The Beserkley catalogue was licensed to Rhino Records
A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
in 1986, and later to Castle Communications
Castle Communications, also known as Castle Music, was a British independent record label and home video distributor founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane, and Jon Beecher. Its video imprint was called Castle Vision. The label's producti ...
, Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...
, and BMG Rights Management
BMG Rights Management GmbH (also known simply as BMG) is an international music company based in Berlin, Germany. It combines the activities of a music publisher and a record label.
BMG was founded in October 2008 after Bertelsmann sold its ...
. The label name was briefly reactivated in 1988 for a lone new album by Mrs. Green, produced by Kaufman and released only in the UK and Germany. Kaufman operated the Son of Beserkley label for a time in the 1990s; his current label is called Fun Fun Fun Recordings.
Roster
* The Greg Kihn Band
The Greg Kihn Band is an American band that was started by frontman Greg Kihn and bassist Steve Wright. Their most successful singles include "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)" ( ''Billboard'' Hot 100 #15) and "Jeopardy" (''Billboard'' H ...
* Earth Quake
* The Engineers
* The Modern Lovers
The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by Jonathan Richman in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band existed from 1970 to 1974 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks w ...
* Mrs. Green
* Lover's Leap
* Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic a ...
* The Rubinoos
The Rubinoos are an American power pop band that formed in 1970 in Berkeley, California. They are perhaps best known for their singles "I Think We're Alone Now" (1977, a cover of the hit by Tommy James & the Shondells), "I Wanna Be Your Boyfrien ...
* The Smirks
The Smirks were an English new wave band from Manchester who played from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. Although they failed to meet with commercial success, they built a small but loyal base of fans.
They are remembered mostly for a quirk ...
* Son of Pete
* Spitballs
* The Tyla Gang
See also
* List of record labels
File:Alvinoreyguitarboogie.jpg
File:AmMusicBunk78.jpg
File:Bingola1011b.jpg
Lists of record labels cover record labels, brands or trademarks associated with marketing of music recordings and music videos. The lists are organized alphabetically, b ...
References
External links
Beserkley Records Discography
The Beserkley Story
Beserkley Records - Discography
{{Authority control
Companies based in Berkeley, California
Record labels established in 1973
Record labels disestablished in 1984
American independent record labels
Indie rock record labels
Music of the San Francisco Bay Area
1973 establishments in California
1984 disestablishments in California