Damon Records was a United States record label.
Original
Damon was headquartered in
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
. Damon used musicians and singers who were not members of the
American Federation of Musicians
The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM/AFofM) is a 501(c)(5) labor union representing professional instrumental musicians in the United States and Canada. The AFM, which has its headquarters in New York City, ...
labor union to make recordings during the ban on Union recordings ordered by
James Petrillo.
In May 1948, the singing duo of
Jon and Sondra Steele
"My Happiness" is a pop music standard which was initially made famous in the mid-twentieth century. An unpublished version of the melody with different lyrics was written by Borney Bergantine in 1933.
The most famous version of the song, with l ...
released "My Happiness" on Damon Records, a fact that was acknowledged on sheet music promoting the song. One of the better known artists with Damon was big band bandleader
Al Trace
Albert J. Trace ''(aka'' Albert Joseph Trace; ''né'' Feinberg; 25 December 1900 – 31 August 1993) was an American songwriter and orchestra leader of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. His popularity peaked in the Chicago area during the height of th ...
. The
Al Trace Orchestra recorded for major labels in the 1940s in addition to Damon. Trace was a writer on several popular songs, including "If I'd Known You Were Coming I'd Have Baked a Cake."
The label was still in existence up to at least 1960, when a rock 'n' roll group from
Pittsburg, Kan.
Pittsburg is a city in Crawford County, Kansas, United States, located in southeast Kansas near the Missouri state border. It is the most populous city in Crawford County and southeast Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the ci ...
,
Conny and the Bellhops, had a regional hit with a 45 titled "Shot Rod," an instrumental on the Damon label.
Rebirth
*Damon was a Canadian music label during the 1970's and 1980s. The
Edmonton-based label released several notable artists including
Juno nominee Jimmy Arthur Ordge, country singer-songwriter
Jack Hennig, The Rodeo Song's
Garry Lee and the Showdown,
Bob and Doug McKenzie's 1981
The Great White North album, and polka great
Bob Kames Bob Kames (April 21, 1925 – April 9, 2008) was an American musician who specialized in genres such as polka. Kames is credited with developing and popularizing the modern-day version of the song " Dance Little Bird," which is much better known ...
.
*In 2010, a small group of people "relaunched" Damon Records as an independent record label. The label's primary genre focus is indie rock music, different from the types of music that the original Damon Records put out.
See also
*
List of record labels
References
{{reflist
External links
Rockin' Country StyleDamon Record Co. WebsiteDamon Recordson the Internet Archive'
Great 78 Project
Damon Records