Happy Tiger Records was an independent 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 ...

that was owned by the

Flying Tiger Line Flying Tiger Line, also known as Flying Tigers, was the first scheduled cargo airline in the United States and a major military charter operator during the Cold War era for both cargo and personnel (the latter with leased aircraft). The airline w ...

air freight company. Happy Tiger operated from 1969 to 1971. During this time the label produced more than two dozen albums by

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

Mason Proffit Mason Proffit was an American country rock band from Indianapolis, Indiana, that released five albums between 1969 and 1973. They are known for their song "Two Hangmen", which garnered a significant amount of Album Oriented Rock airplay. Histor ...

Red Rhodes Orville J. Rhodes, better known as Red Rhodes or O. J. Rhodes (December 30, 1930 – August 20, 1995), was an American pedal steel guitarist. His mother taught him to play the Dobro at the age of five, but at the age of fifteen he switched to ...

Priscilla Paris Priscilla Paris (January 4, 1945 – March 5, 2004) was an American singer and songwriter. She had two sons, Edan and Seth. Backed by her two older Paris Sisters, Albeth and Sherrell, Priscilla Paris is best remembered for the song, "I Love ...

, Paul Kelly, and the Anita Kerr Singers. They released two albums by the post-

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

Them Them or THEM, a third-person plural accusative personal pronoun, may refer to: Books * ''Them'' (novel), 3rd volume (1969) in American Joyce Carol Oates' ''Wonderland Quartet'' * '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'', 2003 non-fiction by Welsh ...

band.

History

Happy Tiger's offices were located at 1801 Avenue of the Stars in

Century City, Los Angeles, California Century City is a 176-acre (71.2 ha) neighborhood and business district in Los Angeles, California. Located on the Westside to the south of Santa Monica Boulevard around 10 miles (16 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles, Century City is one of ...

. The staff included engineer and producer Ray Ruff, who had previously worked for

ABC-Paramount Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels befo ...

. During its short existence Happy Tiger issued twenty-seven albums and numerous singles, all distributed by

Era Records Era Records was an independent American record label in Hollywood, California. It was founded by Herb Newman and Lou Bedell in 1955 as a pop, country and western, and jazz label. In 1959 Bedell sold his interest in the label to Newman. Era had ...

. The label also issued eight albums of oldies under the joint Happy Tiger/Era label, including works by Phil Baugh,

Dorsey Burnette Dorsey William Burnett Jr. (December 28, 1932 – August 19, 1979) was an American early rockabilly singer. With his younger brother Johnny Burnette and a friend named Paul Burlison, he was a founder member of The Rock and Roll Trio. He is als ...

and some early

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

recordings. They also recorded singles by such veteran performers as Kay Starr,

Roberta Sherwood Roberta Sherwood (July 1, 1913, St. Louis, Missouri – July 5, 1999, Sherman Oaks, California) was an American singer, notable in part for her sudden rise to fame at the age of 43. Early life and rise to stardom Roberta's father Robert Sherwo ...

and

Joanie Sommers Joanie Sommers (born Joan Drost, February 24, 1941) is an American singer and actress with a career concentrating on jazz, standards and popular material and show-business credits. Once billed as "The Voice of the Sixties", and associated with to ...

. By the end of October 1971, Happy Tiger's national promo chief, Dave Chackler had left to join up to Ray Ruff's record label

Oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

as its vice-president and man in charge of promotion merchandising. Happy Tiger's final album in 1971 was Mason Proffit's ''Movin' Toward Happiness''. The label's final single in 1972 was Richard Berry performing a song he had written and that

the Kingsmen The Kingsmen are a 1960s rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States. They are best known for their 1963 recording of R&B singer Richard Berry's "Louie Louie", which held the No. 2 spot on the '' Billboard'' charts for six weeks and ...

had made famous in 1963, "

Louie Louie "Louie Louie" is a rhythm and blues song written and composed by American musician Richard Berry in 1955, recorded in 1956, and released in 1957. It is best known for the 1963 hit version by the Kingsmen and has become a standard in pop and ...

." After Happy Tiger folded,

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

reissued Paul Kelly's ''Stealin' in the Name of the Lord'' in 1972, retitled ''Dirt''. Warner also reissued the two Mason Proffit albums as a double LP, ''Come and Gone'', in 1974.

Notable artists

* Richard Berry *

Donnie Brooks Donnie Brooks (born John Dee Abohosh; February 6, 1936 – February 23, 2007) was an American pop music singer. Brooks is a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Early life Born in Dallas, Texas, Abohosh moved to Ventura, California in his te ...

Gib Guilbeau Floyd August "Gib" Guilbeau (September 26, 1937 – April 12, 2016) was an American Cajun country rock musician and songwriter. As a member of Nashville West, Swampwater, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and later The Burrito Brothers, Guilbeau h ...

* Paul Kelly * Anita Kerr Singers *

Baker Knight Thomas Baker Knight Jr. (July 4, 1933 – October 12, 2005) was an American songwriter and musician. His best known compositions were "Lonesome Town", "The Wonder of You", and " Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time". His songs have ...

Keith Green Keith Gordon Green (October 21, 1953 – July 28, 1982) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter in the contemporary Christian music genre, who was originally from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. His most notable songs are " There ...

Dan Penn Dan Penn (born Wallace Daniel Pennington, November 16, 1941) is an American songwriter, singer, musician, and record producer, who co-wrote many soul hits of the 1960s, including " The Dark End of the Street" and "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" w ...

* Kay Starr *

Discography

References

{{Authority control American independent record labels Defunct record labels of the United States Record labels established in 1969 Record labels disestablished in 1971

History

Notable artists

Discography

See also

References