TK 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 ...

founded by record distributor

Henry Stone Henry Stone (June 3, 1921 – August 7, 2014), born Henry David Epstein, was an American record company executive and producer whose career spanned the era from R&B in the early 1950s through the disco boom of the 1970s to the 2010s. He was bes ...

and

Steve Alaimo Charles Stephen Alaimo ( born December 6, 1939) is an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s. He later became record producer and label owner, but he is perhaps best known for hosting and co-producing Dick Clark's ''Where the Acti ...

in 1972. and based in

Hialeah, Florida Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 census, Hialeah is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in the Miami metropolitan area ...

. The record label went bankrupt in 1981. "TK" was inspired by the initials of sound engineer Terry Kane, who built a recording studio in the attic of Stone's office in Hialeah. TK Records is closely associated with the early rise of

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

music, having in 1974 been the label that released the second bona fide disco song (after

The Hues Corporation The Hues Corporation was an American pop and soul trio, formed in Santa Monica, California in 1969. They are best known for their 1974 single " Rock the Boat", which sold over 2 million copies. Group name and background Before achieving main ...

's " Rock The Boat") to reach No. 1 on the

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

charts, namely "

Rock Your Baby "Rock Your Baby" is the debut single by George McCrae. Written and produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch of KC and the Sunshine Band, "Rock Your Baby" was one of the landmark recordings of early disco music. A massive international hi ...

" by

George McCrae George Warren McCrae Jr. (born October 19, 1944) is an American soul music, soul and disco singing, singer who is most famous for his 1974 hit "Rock Your Baby". Biography and career McCrae was the second of nine children, born in West Palm Bea ...

. A little more than a year after McCrae's hit, the record label struck gold with

KC & The Sunshine Band KC and the Sunshine Band is an American disco and funk band that was founded in 1973 in Hialeah, Florida. Their best-known songs include the hits "That's the Way (I Like It)", "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", "I'm Your Boogie Man", ...

, releasing five singles that reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100: including "

Get Down Tonight "Get Down Tonight" is a song released in 1975 on the self-titled album by the disco group KC and the Sunshine Band. The song became widely successful, becoming the first of their five No. 1 hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It also reached th ...

", "

That's the Way (I Like It) "That's the Way (I Like It)" is a song by American disco and funk band KC and the Sunshine Band from their self-titled second studio album (1975). The single became the band's second No. 1 hit in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and it is one of the ...

", "

(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" is a song recorded and released in 1976 by KC and the Sunshine Band for the album '' Part 3''. The song became their third number-one hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, as well as their third number-one on ...

", "

I'm Your Boogie Man "I'm Your Boogie Man" is a song written and produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch, and performed by Casey's band KC and the Sunshine Band, from their fourth album ''Part 3'' (1976). Background Richard Finch said that the song was writt ...

", and " Please Don't Go". The KC & The Sunshine Band single "

Keep It Comin' Love "Keep It Comin' Love" is a song by KC and the Sunshine Band, released as a single in 1977. It appeared on their 1976 album, ''Part 3''. The song, like its predecessor "That's the Way (I Like It)", became widely successful due to its sexual double ...

" reached No. 1 on Billboard's erstwhile

Hot Soul Singles 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 ...

chart and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. TK's subsidiary labels included

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

and Bold Records. At one point, they had established a gospel label named Gospel Roots. Artists signed to TK Records and its subsidiaries included

Betty Wright Bessie Regina Norris (December 21, 1953 – May 10, 2020), better known by her stage name Betty Wright, was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and background vocalist. Beginning her professional career in the late 1960s as a teena ...

(Alston), Clarence Reid, a.k.a. Blowfly,

Benny Latimore Benjamin William Lattimore (born September 7, 1939), known professionally as Latimore, is an American blues and R&B singer, songwriter and pianist. In 2017, Latimore was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. Life and career Latimore was born ...

(Glades), Peter Brown (Drive), Foxy,

Kracker Kracker were an American rock band active in the 1970s. Biography The band was originally formed in South Florida in 1970, but moved to Chicago in April 1971, where they were introduced to producer Jimmy Miller. With Miller, they recorded their ...

(Dash),

Jimmy "Bo" Horne Jimmie Horace Horne, Jr. (born September 28, 1949, West Palm Beach, Florida, United States), known as Jimmy "Bo" Horne, is an American musician, singer and recording artist, whose most successful singles include "Gimme Some" (1975) and "Dance Acr ...

(Sunshine Sound),

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, In ...

(Glades), Little Beaver,

Gwen McCrae Gwen McCrae ( Mosley, December 21, 1943) is an American singer, best known for her 1975 hit record, hit "Rockin' Chair (Gwen McCrae song), Rockin' Chair". Life and career 1960s–1970s Gwen was the youngest of five children, She began performi ...

(

Cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

T-Connection T-Connection was a funk and disco group from Nassau, the Bahamas, who scored two hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 between 1977 and 1979. They did better on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, where they had five Top 10 hits, including "D ...

(Dash),

Bobby Caldwell Robert Hunter Caldwell (born August 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He released several albums spanning R&B, soul, jazz and adult contemporary. He is known for his soulful and versatile vocals. Caldwell released the ...

(Clouds), and

Anita Ward Anita Ward (born December 20, 1956 or 1957) (sources differ) is an American singer and musician from Memphis, Tennessee. Beginning her professional music career in the late 1970s, Ward is best known for her 1979 million-selling chart-topper R&B/ ...

(Juana). Within a couple of years, TK's recognition for disco music would be surpassed by other labels such as

Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label currently f ...

and

RSO Records RSO Records was a record label formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood and record executive Al Coury in 1973. The letters "RSO" stood for the Robert Stigwood Organisation. RSO managed the careers of several maj ...

. In 1980, TK Records encountered financial problems and the label was acquired by

Morris Levy Morris Levy (born Moishe Levy; August 27, 1927 – May 21, 1990) was an American entrepreneur in the fields of jazz clubs, music publishing, and the independent record industry. Levy was cofounder and owner of Roulette Records, founding partner ...

Roulette Records Roulette Records was an American record company and label founded in 1957 by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Kahl, with creative control given to producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Levy was appointed direc ...

; a merger of the two labels created Sunnyview Records. The last single to be released on the TK label was

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...

's " Another One Rides the Bus" (1981). In 1986, Henry Stone formed Hot Productions with Paul Klein and continued to re-release the TK Records catalog on CD until Sunnyview's acquisition by EMI-Rhino in 1989. Rhino owns the North American rights to the Sunnyview/TK catalog; internationally, the catalog was managed by EMI until 2013, when Rhino's sister label

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

took over after

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

's acquisition of the remaining EMI assets. On October 12, 2013,

received a proclamation from City of Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez declaring it TK Records Day every year on October 12.

Wolf Records (subsidiary)

Wolf Records was a jazz subsidiary that released only three albums, each produced by

Joel Dorn Joel Dorn (April 7, 1942 – December 17, 2007) was an American jazz and R&B music producer and record label entrepreneur. He worked at Atlantic Records, and later founded the 32 Jazz, Label M, and Hyena Records labels. He called himself "T ...

: *1976: ''Encourage the People'' –

Robin Kenyatta Robin Kenyatta (March 6, 1942 – October 26, 2004) was an American jazz alto saxophonist. Early life Born Robert Prince Haynes in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, Kenyatta grew up in New York City and began playing the saxophone at age 14. He was ...

*1977: ''After the Dance'' –

Harold Vick Harold Vick (April 3, 1936 – November 13, 1987) was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. Biography Harold Vick was born on April 3, 1936 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. At the age of 13 he was given a clarinet by his uncle, Prince Robin ...

*1978: ''

Innocence Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience. In relation ...

'' –

Kenny Barron Kenny Barron (born June 9, 1943) is an American jazz pianist, who has appeared on hundreds of recordings as leader and sideman and is considered one of the most influential mainstream jazz pianists since the bebop era. Biography Born in Philadel ...

There is a present-day

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n record label of the same name that was founded in 1982 and specializes in releasing

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

music.

References

External links

The TK Records Story from BSN Pubs
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tk Records 1972 establishments in Florida 1981 disestablishments in Florida Record labels based in Florida Rhythm and blues record labels Record labels disestablished in 1981 Record labels established in 1972 Companies based in Miami EMI Rhino Entertainment Labels distributed by Warner Music Group

Wolf Records (subsidiary)

See also

References

External links