Hit Records was a record company based in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, which specialized in sound-alike

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

s of hit records. These types of releases are often categorized as exploito.

Background

It was run by entrepreneurs Bill Beasley and Alan Bubis. The records they produced were sold via convenience stores throughout the United States. Prior to HIT, they started Tennessee Records in 1950 and the Republic label in 1952. In 1959, they took advantage of buying up overstocked hits at low prices and selling them cheaply via the

racks Rack or racks may refer to: Storage and installation * Amp rack, short for amplifier rack, a piece of furniture in which amplifiers are mounted * Bicycle rack, a frame for storing bicycles when not in use * Bustle rack, a type of storage bin ...

throughout the country. Then with Hit Records which they formed, they added their own twin side records to the mix. At 39¢ (US), the records were less than half the price of the hit recordings they were covering. The label was located in Nashville, the home base for the

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, ...

recording business in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The company folded in 1969 due to competition from record companies such as

K-Tel K-tel International Ltd is a Canadian company which formerly specialized in selling consumer products through infomercials and live demonstration. Its products include compilation music albums, including ''The Super Hits'' series, ''The Dynami ...

which issued various artists compilation albums featuring the actual hit recordings licensed from the various record companies. Many Hit Records are very collectable and some of the performers on these recordings have developed their own fan base.. There was also an outfit called Hit Records Inc. in Chicago which had been in business since about 1957. With around 600 outlets, they sold their releases via

in supermarkets and businesses which included Jewel Food and Osko Drugstores in the Chicago area. This company was owned and managed by Charles Stephens.

Business history

In 1965, legal action was taken against director Beasley and Record Service by Harry Fox Office who were represented by Abeles & Clark, a law firm. This was for royalties relating to recordings on a Hit record album, namely ''26 Top Hits''. Harry Fox Office won the case and the sum of $37,000 was awarded to them. The money was paid by Record Service, the owner of Hit Records.

Artists

The company had a pool of singers and musicians to record the cover songs. Some of these performers would later become successful on their own such as

Sandy Posey Sandy Posey (born Sandra Lou Posey, June 18, 1944) is an American popular singer who enjoyed success in the 1960s with singles such as her 1966 recording of Martha Sharp's compositions "Born a Woman" and "Single Girl". She is often described as a ...

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Misty", as well as novelty ...

Bobby Russell Bobby Russell (April 19, 1940 – November 19, 1992) was an American singer and songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, he had five singles on the Hot Country Songs charts, including the crossover pop hit "Saturday Morning Confusion". Russell w ...

Sam Moore Samuel David Moore (born October 12, 1935) is an American vocalist who was a member of the soul and R&B group, Sam & Dave, from 1961 to 1981. He is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame (for " Soul Man"), and the Voc ...

Sam & Dave Sam & Dave were an American soul and R&B duo who performed together from 1961 until 1981. The tenor (higher) voice was Sam Moore (born 1935) and the baritone/tenor (lower) voice was Dave Prater (1937–1988). Nicknamed "Double Dynamite", "The ...

. . Herbert Hunter, who was a prolific performer on the Hit label, used his own name as well as the name "Leroy Jones" for some of his recordings.Soulful Kinda Music
HerbertHunter
/ref>

References

External links

Hit Records tribute site

* - A sample of some of the music offered by the "HIT" label. {{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 1962 Record labels disestablished in 1969