4 Star Records was a

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

that recorded many well-known

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

acts in the 1950s. The label, founded after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, was home to singers such as

Hank Locklin Lawrence Hankins Locklin (February 15, 1918 – March 8, 2009) was an American country music singer and songwriter. He had 70 chart singles, including two number one hits on ''Billboard''s country chart. His biggest hits included " Send Me the ...

Maddox Brothers and Rose The Maddox Brothers and Rose were an American country music group active from the 1930s to 1950s, consisting of four brothers, Fred, Cal, Cliff, and Don Maddox, along with their sister Rose; Cliff died in 1949 and was replaced by brother Henry. Or ...

Rose Maddox Roselea Arbana "Rose" MaddoxMany sources give her birth name as Brogdon. This is an error. She was recorded, with her birth family, as Rose Maddox in the 1940 US Census, and other sources report her second husband's name as Brogdon. (August 1 ...

Webb Pierce Michael Webb Pierce (August 8, 1921 – February 24, 1991) was an American country music vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist of the 1950s, one of the most popular of the genre, charting more number-one hits than any other country and western pe ...

, Cousin Ford Lewis and T. Texas Tyler, who all regularly issued records on the label, mostly as 78rpm singles.

Label history

The label was founded in 1945 by William A. "Bill" McCall Jr., Clifford McDonald, and Richard A. Nelson. By November 1946, McCall was in complete control of 4 Star. Although record labels give a

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

address, the actual address was on 800 Western Avenue in Los Angeles until 1949, when operations were moved to

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

. Besides country music, 4 Star also recorded

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

(

Wingy Manone Joseph Matthews "Wingy" Manone (February 13, 1900 – July 9, 1982) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, singer, and bandleader. His recordings included " Tar Paper Stomp", "Nickel in the Slot", "Downright Disgusted Blues", "There'll Come a ...

Slim Gaillard Bulee "Slim" Gaillard (January 9, 1911 – February 26, 1991), also known as McVouty, was an American jazz singer and songwriter who played piano, guitar, vibraphone, and tenor saxophone. Gaillard was noted for his comedic vocalese singing ...

, and

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz Double bass, upright bassist, composer, bandleader, pianist, and author. A major proponent of collective Musical improvisation, improvisation, he is considered one of ...

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

(such as

Ivory Joe Hunter Ivory Joe Hunter (October 10, 1914 – November 8, 1974) was an American rhythm-and-blues singer, songwriter, and pianist. After a series of hits on the US R&B chart starting in the mid-1940s, he became more widely known for his hit recordi ...

's " Pretty Mamma Blues",

Cecil Gant Cecil Gant (April 4, 1913 – February 4, 1951) was an American blues singer, songwriter and pianist, whose recordings of both ballads and "fiery piano rockers" were successful in the mid- and late 1940s, and influenced the early development of r ...

's remake of his hit "

I Wonder I Wonder may refer to: Songs * "I Wonder" (1944 song), a song by Pvt. Cecil Gant; covered by Roosevelt Sykes (1945) and several others * "I Wonder" (Kanye West song), 2007 * "I Wonder" (Kellie Pickler song), 2007 * "I Wonder" (Rosanne Cash song ...

" and Ed "The Great" Gates),

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

( Paul Littlechief's Come On Darlin') and

Latin music Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and ) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America, which encompasses Music of Latin America, Latin America, Music of Spain, Spain, Mu ...

recordings. 4 Star re-released "hillbilly boogie" guitarist Porky Freeman's 1945 hit "Boogie Woogie On Strings" in 1948, and

Charlie Ryan Charles Ryan (December 19, 1915 – February 16, 2008) was an American country music and rockabilly singer and songwriter, best known for writing and first recording the rockabilly hit single " Hot Rod Lincoln". Biography Ryan grew up in Polson, ...

re-recorded his 1955 hit "

Hot Rod Lincoln "Hot Rod Lincoln" is a song by American singer-songwriter Charlie Ryan, first released in 1955. It was written as an answer song to Arkie Shibley's 1950 hit "Hot Rod Race" (US #29). It describes a drive north on US Route 99 (predecessor to ...

" for the label in 1959. Smokey Rogers (as 'Buck Rogers & His Texans', 1946-1947),

Terry Fell Terry Fell (May 13, 1921 – April 4, 2007) was an American Country music, country musician. His famous song is "Truck Drivin Man"(1954). Biography Childhood and adolescence Fell was born in Dora, Alabama, Dora, Alabama on May 13, 1921, and g ...

(later of "

Truck Drivin' Man "Truck Drivin' Man" is a popular country music, country song written by Terry Fell and originally recorded by Terry Fell and The Fellers in 1954. One of his band members, Buck Owens, sang harmony with him on the recording. In 1965, Owens record ...

" fame, 1947),

Ferlin Husky Ferlin Eugene Husky (December 3, 1925 – March 17, 2011) was an American country music singer who was equally adept at honky-tonk, ballads, spoken recitations, rockabilly and pop tunes. From 1948 to 1953, he recorded under the stage name Terry ...

(as 'Terry Preston', 1949-1950), Billy Jack Wills (youngest brother of

Bob Wills James Robert "Bob" Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although Spade C ...

, 1951),

Ramblin' Tommy Scott Ramblin' Tommy Scott (June 24, 1917 – September 30, 2013), aka "Doc" Tommy Scott, was an American country and rockabilly musician. Biography Thomas Scott was born outside of Toccoa, Georgia, United States, and began playing the guitar at a ...

(1955), and Sammy Masters (1956) were also 4 Star recording artists. 4 Star released their music on 78rpm (later on 45rpm) discs in three numerical series: the main 1000-series (1000 to 1765), the X-series (1 to 100) and the P-series (101 to 112). In the late 1970s, producer Joe Johnson headed up an organization that purchased 4 Star Records and moved all of its operations to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. Johnson insisted on building state-of-the-art studios and bringing in the best talent available to run them. 4 Star hired successful record producer, Steve Clark, who in turn brought to 4 Star a stable of talented artist and writers, including Barbara South, Debi Bass, and

Joe Nelson Joseph George Nelson (born October 25, 1974) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. High school Nelson attended St. Joseph's High School in Alameda, California. At St. Joseph, Nelson played basketball with NBA star Jason Kidd. Coll ...

. Several chart records were produced, including Debi Bass' "Till I'm Strong Enough to Love Again" and "I Need a Hero", both written by

. 4 Star's financial problems continued to mount; in the early 1980s the company was closed, and the catalogue absorbed by its creditors.

Sony/ATV Music Publishing Sony Music Publishing LLC (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is an American music publisher. Responsible for publishing the largest quantity of music, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021, it is part of Sony ...

owns the catalogue today.

Patsy Cline

On September 30, 1954, singer

Patsy Cline Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley; September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963) was an American singer. One of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century, she was known as one of the first country music artists to successfully Cross ...

signed a recording contract with 4 Star. However, not a single one of Cline's subsequent recordings for 4 Star appeared on the 4 Star label; instead they appeared on

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

, and Decca's subsidiary

Coral Records Coral Records was a subsidiary of Decca Records that was formed in 1949. Coral released music by Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, the McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer. Coral issued jazz and swing music in the 1940s, but after Bob Thiele became head ...

, under a special licensing agreement through 4 Star. Cline's 4 Star contract expired on September 30, 1960, at which point Decca was able to take full advantage of Cline's services in the two-and-a-half years left to her.

References

External links

4 Star Records
on the Internet Archive'
Great 78 Project
{{Authority control American country music record labels Defunct record labels of the United States Record labels established in 1945

Label history

Patsy Cline

See also

References

External links