All Platinum Records was a record company started in 1967 by singer/writer/producer

Sylvia Robinson Sylvia Robinson (née Vanderpool; May 29, 1935 – September 29, 2011) was an American singer, record producer, and record label executive. Robinson achieved success as a performer on two R&B chart toppers: as half of Mickey & Sylvia with ...

and her husband, businessman Joe Robinson, who had previously worked in the recording industry. All Platinum and its subsidiary labels, including Stang, Vibration, Turbo and Astroscope, specialised in soul and R&B music. Many of the company's releases were recorded at its Soul Sound Studios, using the company's in-house musicians, at its

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

base. The company released four singles that reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart but failed to top the Hot 100 pop chart. The label started as Platinum Records but the prefix of 'All' was added to avoid confusion with a Miami label. The company, with Sylvia helming the creative operations as well as producing or co-producing many releases, racked up a series of R&B and Pop hits during the 70s, despite being only a small independent concern. The company's mainstay act was the all-male group, The Moments (later Ray, Goodman & Brown) whose first hit at the end of 1968 launched the Stang label, "Not On The Outside" (#13 Billboard R&B, #57 pop). The group, with a few early personnel changes, stayed with the company for ten years, resulting in over 25 R&B hits and 15 Hot 100 entries. These included the million-seller, " Love on a Two-Way Street" in 1970 (#1 R&B, #3 pop) and another R&B chart-topper, "

Look at Me (I'm in Love) "Look at Me (I'm in Love)" is a 1975 single written by, Al Goodman, Walter Lee Morris, and Harry Milton Ray , and performed by The Moments. The Moments would later change their name to Ray, Goodman & Brown Ray, Goodman & Brown is an American R& ...

", which also reached #39 on the pop chart in 1975. The group's Harry Ray and

Al Goodman Alfred Goodman (August 12, 1890 – January 10, 1972) was a conductor, songwriter, stage composer, musical director, arranger, and pianist. Early years Goodman was born in Nikopol, Ukraine, (another source says that he was born in Odessa, Ru ...

branched out as writers and producers in their later years at the company. Other major hits for the All-Platinum labels included Sylvia's own million-selling "

Pillow Talk Pillow talk is the relaxed, intimate conversation that often occurs between two sexual partners, sometimes after sexual activity, usually accompanied by cuddling, caresses, kissing, and other physical intimacy. It is associated with honesty, sex ...

" in 1973 (#1 R&B, #3 pop);

Shirley & Company Shirley & Company was an American disco group, consisting of Shirley Goodman (1936–2005), Jason Alvarez (now a pastor), Walter Morris, Bernadette Randle, Seldon Powell, Jonathan Williams, Kenny Jeremiah, and Clarence Oliver. They topped the U. ...

's " Shame, Shame, Shame" in 1975 (#1 R&B, #12 pop); Donnie Elbert's version of "Where Did Our Love Go" in 1971 (#6 R&B, #15 pop); Brother To Brother's "In The Bottle" in 1974 (#9 R&B, #46 pop);

Linda Jones Linda Jones (December 14, 1944 – March 14, 1972) was an American soul singer with a strong gospel-influenced style who had the 1967 top 10 R&B hit single, "Hypnotized". Biography Jones was born in Newark, New Jersey, United States. She starte ...

' "Your Precious Love" in 1972 (#15 R&B, #74 pop); and

The Whatnauts The Whatnauts were an American soul group from Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (U ...

' 1971 hit, "I'll Erase Away Your Pain" (#14 R&B, #71 pop). The Moments also had considerable success in the UK with three Top 10 hits including "Girls" (#3) in 1975 and All Platinum also had its own label in the UK for a few years during the mid-1970s. All Platinum purchased

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...

with assistance from the European record concern,

PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

in 1975, after Chess fell into

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

. However, the move was not a success as All Platinum was unable to keep steadily releasing material from Chess's roster of artists.Review of ''Deep in the Night'' by Etta James
''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', June 1, 1978. The Robinsons launched a new subsidiary label,

Sugar Hill Records Sugar Hill Records is an American bluegrass and Americana record label. It was founded in Durham, North Carolina in 1978 by Barry Poss and David Freeman, the owner of County Records and Rebel Records. Poss acquired full control of Sugar Hil ...

in 1979 to concentrate on the fast-emerging rap/hip hop music scene. Sylvia switched her efforts to the new label completely, following early major success with "Rapper's Delight" (1979) and then "The Message" (1982), as the company's other labels went quiet. Sugar Hill as a label came to an end in 1986 after a disagreement with distributors,

MCA MCA may refer to: Astronomy * Mars-crossing asteroid, an asteroid whose orbit crosses that of Mars Aviation * Minimum crossing altitude, a minimum obstacle crossing altitude for fixes on published airways * Medium Combat Aircraft, a 5th gene ...

, resulted in protracted litigation. The Robinsons maintained their studio operation through to 2002 when the Englewood studios (by then, renamed Sugar Hill Studios) burnt down in a fire. Joe Robinson had died two years earlier and then Sylvia died in hospital in 2011 at the age of 75.

Artists

*Jesus Alvarez * Hank Ballard * Brook Benton * Brother to Brother * Dave "Baby" Cortez * Donnie Elbert * First Class * Chuck Jackson *

* George Kerr * Derek Martin *

Eleanore Mills Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was introdu ...

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hi ...

* The Good Rats ( One Album only- "Ratcity in Blue") * Bobby Patterson *

Ponderosa Twins Plus One Ponderosa Twins Plus One was an American soul vocal group formed in 1970 in Cleveland, Ohio. The group featured two sets of identical twins, Alfred and Alvin Pelham, and Keith and Kirk Gardner, along with Ricky Spicer. The group released one stud ...

* The Moments * Irene Reed *

The Rimshots The Rimshots were an American funk and disco band, popular in the late 1970s History The group started out as the house band for the record labels All Platinum Records and in particular, Stang Records in the early 1970s. The then nameless rhythm ...

Larry Saunders Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment * Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer *Larry Boone ...

*Spoonbread * Sylvia * Lezli Valentine *

* Willie & The Mighty Magnificents *

Timothy Wilson Timothy DeCamp Wilson is an American social psychologist and writer. He is the Sherrell J. Aston Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia and teaches public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. He is k ...

Retta Young Retta Young was a singer who released an album and 3 singles during the 1970s. She is remembered for her 1975 disco hit " Sending Out An S.O.S.". Background In the 1960s she was a member of The Superbs, and The Devotions. In the mid-70s she wa ...

Lonnie Youngblood Lonnie Thomas (born August 3, 1941 in Augusta, Georgia), known as Lonnie Youngblood, is an American saxophonist and bandleader best remembered for playing with Jimi Hendrix. Biography Youngblood's main influence is King Curtis, although his earli ...

Footnotes

{{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 1967 Record labels disestablished in 1974 1967 establishments in the United States Virtual reality companies

Artists

See also

Footnotes