Instant 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 ...
based in
,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, United States, which was founded in 1961 by Joe Banashak (owner of
Minit Records
Minit Records was an American independent record label, originally based in New Orleans and founded by Joe Banashak in 1959. Ernie K. Doe, Aaron Neville, Irma Thomas, and Benny Spellman were early artists on the label. Later artists included Bobb ...
) and Irvin Smith.
It was originally called Valiant Records until another
Valiant Records
Valiant Records was an independent record label distributed in the 1960s by Warner Bros. Records (and briefly by Four Star Television). The label was sold to Warner Bros. in 1967.
History
Valiant Records was formed in 1960 in California, by sin ...
threatened to sue and forced the label's renaming to Instant Records.
The most successful artist on Instant was
Chris Kenner. Several Instant recordings were distributed by
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
.
Skip Easterling's version of
Willie Dixon
William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...
's "
I'm Your Hoochie Koochie Man" (1970) was Easterling's biggest success, but its release on Instant proved to be the finale of the label's chart career.
References
External links
Instant Records 45s discography from Global Dog Productions
American record labels
Record labels based in Louisiana
Companies based in New Orleans
Record labels established in 1961
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