Goldwax Records was an American
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 ...
founded in
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, United States, in 1964 by
Quinton Claunch
Quinton Mavis Claunch (December 3, 1921 – April 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, record producer and record label owner, who was responsible with others for setting up Hi Records in the 1950s and Goldwax Records in the 1960s.
B ...
and Rudolph V. "Doc" Russell.
History
Claunch was a hardware store owner who had previously worked as a
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
guitarist, a
session musician at
Sun Records
Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny ...
, a
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...
, and a
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
, and had co-founded
Hi Records
Hi Records is an American soul music and rockabilly label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1957 by singer Ray Harris, record store owner Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell and Quinton Claunch (formerly producers for Sun Records), and three silent partne ...
in 1957 before selling his stake two years later. Russell was a pharmacist who was interested in becoming involved in the music business.
The label had its biggest successes with
James Carr, who had a series of hits on the
R&B chart
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...
between 1967 and 1969, including "
You've Got My Mind Messed Up" and "
The Dark End of the Street
"The Dark End of the Street" is a 1967 soul song, written by songwriters Dan Penn and Chips Moman and first recorded by James Carr.
History and original recording
The song was co-written by Penn, a professional songwriter and producer, and Mo ...
". It also had some success with
The Ovations
The Ovations were an American rhythm and blues vocal group who recorded in the 1960s and 1970s. Their biggest hit, a remake of Sam Cooke's "Having a Party", reached no.7 on the '' Billboard'' R&B chart in 1973.
Biography
The group was formed b ...
,
Spencer Wiggins
Spencer Wiggins (born January 8, 1942) is an American soul and gospel singer. He is an exponent of so-called "deep soul" and is considered one of the best kept secrets of soul music.
Life
Wiggins was born in Memphis, Tennessee, where he grew ...
, and
Wee Willie Walker
Willie Earl Walker (December 21, 1941 November 19, 2019), also known as Wee Willie Walker, was an American soul and blues singer.
Life and career
He was born in Hernando, Mississippi, and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, where he started singin ...
.
The label was dissolved in 1969, as a result of differences between Claunch and Russell as well as Carr's erratic behaviour.
In the mid 1980s, the company was re-launched by Memphis businessman Elliott Clark, and Claunch became its President, but he left again in the 1990s.
[
]
Notable artists
* James Carr
* Spencer Wiggins
Spencer Wiggins (born January 8, 1942) is an American soul and gospel singer. He is an exponent of so-called "deep soul" and is considered one of the best kept secrets of soul music.
Life
Wiggins was born in Memphis, Tennessee, where he grew ...
* The Ovations
The Ovations were an American rhythm and blues vocal group who recorded in the 1960s and 1970s. Their biggest hit, a remake of Sam Cooke's "Having a Party", reached no.7 on the '' Billboard'' R&B chart in 1973.
Biography
The group was formed b ...
* Percy Milem
* The Lyrics
* O.V. Wright
* George Jackson
* Wee Willie Walker
Willie Earl Walker (December 21, 1941 November 19, 2019), also known as Wee Willie Walker, was an American soul and blues singer.
Life and career
He was born in Hernando, Mississippi, and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, where he started singin ...
* Timmy Thomas
Timothy Earle Thomas (November 13, 1944 – March 11, 2022) was an American R&B singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer, best known for the hit song, " Why Can't We Live Together".
Life and career
Thomas was born in Evansville, I ...
* Eddie Jefferson
* George and Greer
* Barbara Perry
* Gene Miller
* Drothy Williams
* Eddie Bond
* Ben Atkins
* Jeb Stuart
See also
* Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records.
Stax was ...
* Hi Records
Hi Records is an American soul music and rockabilly label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1957 by singer Ray Harris, record store owner Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell and Quinton Claunch (formerly producers for Sun Records), and three silent partne ...
* Fame Studios
* TK Records
TK Records was an American independent record label founded by record distributor Henry Stone and Steve Alaimo in 1972. and based in Hialeah, Florida. The record label went bankrupt in 1981.
"TK" was inspired by the initials of sound engineer ...
* Malaco Records
Malaco Records is an American independent record label based in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, that has been the home of various major blues and gospel acts, such as Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, Mel Waiters, Z. Z. Hill, Denise LaSalle, ...
* Ichiban Records
Ichiban Records is an American independent record label, founded in 1985 by John Abbey and Nina Easton in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
History
Wrap Records and Nastymix Records were some of its subsidiary labels. Urgent! Records and Mr. Henr ...
* Southern soul
Southern soul is a type of soul music that emerged from the Southern United States. The music originated from a combination of styles, including blues (both 12 bar and jump), country, early R&B, and a strong gospel influence that emanated ...
References
External links
Album discography
American independent record labels
Record labels established in 1964
Rhythm and blues record labels
Soul music record labels
Record labels based in Tennessee
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