HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Je–Wel, latterly renamed Jewel Records, was an independent American record label founded in
Odessa, Texas Odessa () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, Ector County with portions extending into Midland County, Texas, Midland County. Odessa's population was 114,428 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...
, in 1955 by Weldon Rogers (1927–2004), himself a singer, and Chester Calvin Oliver (1907–2000). Je–Wel is known for having engaged, recorded, and produced fledgling artists from
West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the desert climate, arid and semiarid climate, semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Texas, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Texa ...
at the dawn of rock and roll in the 1950s.


JE-WEL 101

Je–Wel's most notable production was a recording of The Teen Kings (with
Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...
) performing "Ooby Dooby". The session was recorded March 4, 1956, at
Norman Petty Norman Petty (May 25, 1927 – August 15, 1984) was an American musician, record producer, publisher, and radio station owner. He is considered to be one of the founding fathers of early rock & roll. With Vi Ann Petty—his wife and vocalist—he ...
's studio in
Clovis, New Mexico Clovis is a city in and the county seat of Curry County, New Mexico. The population was 38,567 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Clovis is located in the New Mexico portion of the Llano Estacado, in the eastern part of the state. A ...
. "Ooby Dooby" was on the B side and " Tryin' to Get to You" was on the A Side. The record – manufactured in Phoenix, Arizona – was issued as JE-WEL 101 around March 16, 1956. According to the authorised biography of Roy Orbison, this was Orbison's first record release. Je–Wel 101 is considered one of the world's rarest and most collectible records. It exists in both 78 and 45 rpm versions with at least three label variations: the first pressing misspells Roy's surname "Oribson" and many copies credit "Trying to Get You" instead of "Trying to Get to You.'John Ingman, "Roy Orbison in Clovis", ''Now Dig This'', Issue 189 (December 1998)
/ref>


Naming and founding

Je–Wel was formed to promote and record The Teen Kings. The name "Je–Wel" was derived from the first letters of the middle name of Bobbie Jean Oliver (1939–2008) (daughter of co-founder Chester Oliver) and Weldon. Bobbie Jean Oliver was a singer and accordion player with Western Melodiers, a band that backed up other local artists, including Weldon and Willie Rogers. Jean Oliver also frequently performed with the Teen Kings, although she was never a member. In 1993, Chester's wife, Acia, told John Ingman, a journalist with ''Now Dig This'', that it was Jean who had persuaded her parents to finance The Teen Kings' recordings, and that Rogers made little contribution. Weldon Rogers and Jean Oliver had been briefly husband and wife before annulling their marriage at the insistence of Jean's parents. Jean, later, had dated James Morrow, a member of The Teen Kings, who, when not appearing at the Archway Club in
Monahans, Texas Monahans is a city in Ward and Winkler counties in Texas, United States, that is the county seat of Ward County. A very small portion of the city extends into Winkler County. The population was 6,953 at the 2010 census. In 2020, the popula ...
, usually performed at the Saturday Night Jamboree in
Jal, New Mexico Jal () is a small city located in Lea County, New Mexico, Lea County, New Mexico, United States. It is New Mexico's south-easternmost city, and shares a border with Texas to the east and south. The population was 2,047 at the 2010 United States C ...
. That is where James Morrow met and dated Jean Oliver. Jean's father, Chester, had worked for Phillips Petroleum, and the family lived in Seminole, Texas.


Master tapes

The Je–Wel tape box was taken from Norman Petty's studio in
Clovis, New Mexico Clovis is a city in and the county seat of Curry County, New Mexico. The population was 38,567 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Clovis is located in the New Mexico portion of the Llano Estacado, in the eastern part of the state. A ...
, to California by MCAs Steve Hoffman in 1984 and never returned. MCA had no rights to the tapes and has no knowledge of what happened to them.


Relationship with Orbison

In 1955, Orbison had arranged for Wink Westerners to perform on KMID, a TV station in Midland, Texas. Cecil "Pop" Holifield (1905–1974)Obituary: ''Cecil Leon Holifield'', ''
The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...
'', December 10, 1974
Cecil Leon Holifield, Sr. (b. 16 July 1905 Dallas, Texas; d. 9 July 1974 Odessa, Texas) also arranged for Johnny Cash to perform on the same program in early 1956. Holifield owned two record stores ("The Record Shop"), one in Odessa and one in Midland. Holifield had also promoted local concerts for Elvis and Cash and arranged TV performances, and regularly contributed articles to ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''. Midland, Texas is where Cash first heard The Teen Kings and met Orbison. Orbison attended a concert at Midland High School on the evening of October 12, 1955, starring
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
and featuring
himself A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun that refers to another noun or pronoun (its Antecedent (grammar), antecedent) within the same sentence. In the English language specifically, a reflexive pronoun will end in ''-self'' or ''-selves'', and ref ...
,
Wanda Jackson Wanda LaVonne Jackson (born October 20, 1937) is an American retired singer and songwriter. Since the 1950s, she has recorded and released music in the genres of Rock music, rock, Country music, country and Gospel music, gospel. She was among th ...
,
Floyd Cramer Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "whole-step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signatur ...
, Porter Wagoner,
Bobby Lord Robert Lester Lord (January 6, 1934 – February 16, 2008) was an American country music singer-songwriter popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Lord was born January 6, 1934, in Sanford, Florida, but grew up in Tampa, Florida, Tampa. As a ...
, Jimmy C. Newman, and Jimmy Day (1934–1999). Billy Walker also performed but was not named in the promotional materials. That afternoon, after a free promotional concert at Midland High School, Cash introduced Orbison to Elvis.W.W. Bear Mills, ''Midland Concert Helped Orbison "Cash" in on Music Career''
''
Midland Reporter-Telegram The ''Midland Reporter-Telegram'' is a daily newspaper in Midland, Texas. It is located in the heart of the vast 54-county Permian Basin of West Texas, a geological region which produces 70 percent of the oil in Texas. The newspaper's special c ...
'', April 22, 2007
Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley tried to persuade
Sam Phillips Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003) was an American disc jockey, songwriter and record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, R ...
of
Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee on February 1, 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Jo ...
to give Orbison a contract. When Orbison made a follow-up call to Phillips, Phillips made it clear that no one, not even Johnny Cash, was going to dictate who did and did not get an audition on his record label. After what had happened to the careers of Presley and Cash, artists were coming to Sun in droves. Elvis, Cash, and Orbison had failed to persuade Phillips to sign Orbison. On the day that Je–Wel released The Teen Kings' single, Orbison took a copy to Cecil "Pop" Holifield (1905–1974). Holifield phoned Sam Phillips and played ''Ooby Dooby'' over the phone and told him it was "sellin' big." He promised Phillips that he would never regret auditioning Orbison. A few days later, Phillips phoned Holifield to say that he wanted The Teen Kings in Memphis in three days to record for Sun Records. The Teen Kings arrived in Memphis on Monday, March 19, 1956. When Phillips was made aware that Orbison was underage when he signed the contract with Je–wel without parental consent on behalf of The Teen Kings, Phillips persuaded Orbison to sign a contract with Sun and Orbison's father co-signed. Phillips also got a court order to prevent Je–wel from selling any more its records of Orbison, although, seemingly, another 5,000 copies were pressed with the assistance of Norman Petty. At this point, Chester Oliver had reach his threshold of tolerance and bowed-out of the partnership with Weldon. According to "The Authorized Roy Orbison," on March 20, 1956, the Teen Kings re-recorded "Ooby Dooby," "Trying to Get to You", and also recorded "Go Go Go" at Sun. Bob Neal (1917–1983)Obituary, ''Bob Neal'', ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...
'', May 12, 1983
— owner of Stars, Incorporated, and Elvis Presley's first manager — signed the group to a booking and management contract. By June 1956 The Teen Kings had their first hits on the Sun label, the back-to-back singles "Ooby Dooby" and "Go Go Go." The Teen Kings toured southern venues that included dance halls and drive-in movies theaters, performing on the projection house roofs between film showings. They appeared with
Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...
,
Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
, Warren Smith, Sonny Burgess, Faron Young,
Johnny Horton John LaGale Horton (April 30, 1925 – November 5, 1960) was an American country, honky tonk, and rockabilly musician during the 1950s. He is best known for a series of history-inspired narrative country saga songs that became international ...
, and other country and
rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...
performers.


Selected discography

: † Wanda Faye Wolfe was married to Weldon Rogers (her second marriage). She signed with Columbia Records in 1964. She was inducted into the Western Swing Society Hall of Fame. (1983)


References


External links


Weldon Rogers biography







Billie Jean Oliver's obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Je-Wel American independent record labels Rockabilly Music of Texas