Len Stark was a Philadelphia-based record label owner, composer and producer. He founded the Melron Records label which acts such as William Penn and the Quakers, Essau, Rocky Brown,

Bobby Eli Bobby Eli is an American musician, arranger, composer and record producer from Philadelphia. He is a founding member and lead guitarist of Philadelphia studio band MFSB. Overview A multi-instrumentalist, producer, songwriter and arranger, Eli ...

, Pheasants and Colly Williams recorded for.

Background

Stark was the owner of Melron Records, a label he established in 1961. He also ventured into recording himself and recorded "Maybe I'm Just Foolish". Years later in 2012, it would be released on the ''Rockin' & Boppin' Billy In Philly'' various artists compilation. Stark was writing songs while working at an 8pm till 4am job as a produce checker for Samuel P. Mandell & Company at the Pennsylvania Produce Terminal, a job he had been working at for the past six years.

Career

Stark was writing music as early as 1956. By November that year, Stark and Dan Franklin who was his Hollywood-based music partner had a composition recorded by a well-known group, The Clips. "Kiss Away" was released that year on Calvert 105. Having established the Melron in 1961, Stark had an album and several singles out on his label that year with the artists on his roster. The album was by the Christian Lights. One of the singles was by the Israelites, a new gospel group he was working with. The single they had released was "I'm Building a Home". Other singles were by Lori Ann with "Bobby", The Allures with "Lovin' Him" and Danny Bassett with "If You Want Me". Along with Tony Luisi, Stark produced "King of Love" which is described in ''A House on Fire: The Rise and Fall of Philadelphia Soul'' as an early example of an r&b song that served as a bridge to Philadelphia soul. It was released on Melron 5009 in mid-1964. In 1980, Stark collaborated with

and in light of the

Iran hostage crisis On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over t ...

they recorded a single "American Message To The Hostages" which was released on Melron 5040 in 1980. It was dedicated to the hostages and their families. Eli was a founding member of

MFSB MFSB, officially standing for "Mother Father Sister Brother", was a pool of more than 30 studio musicians based at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios. They worked closely with the production team of Gamble and Huff and producer/arranger Thom Bel ...

and pioneer of the

Philly sound Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia TSOP, is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often featu ...

Melron Records

Operating from 1961, the label was headquartered at 5007 F St., Philadelphia. Its earlierst releases included recordings by The Allures and Lori Ann. It was a small independent label with the majority of its output in the 1960s. In June 1962, Rocky Brown's "Den of Love" bw "Why?" was released on Melron 5001. It was given a 3 star rating by ''Billboard''. It was produced by a young Bobby Eli. In 1967, Danny Bassett had "Day After Day" bw "Teenage Soldier" released on the Melron 5011. By November that year, William Penn & the Quakers had a single, "

California Sun "California Sun" is a rock song first recorded by American rhythm and blues singer Joe Jones. Henry Glover is credited on the original 45 rpm single as the songwriter, although Roulette Records owner Morris Levy's name sometimes incorrectly app ...

" out on Melron 5013, Not to be confused with The William Penn Fyve, or the similarly named

Wm Penn & the Quakers Garrie Emory Thompson (September 18, 1927June 29, 2018) was a record label owner, producer and band manager. He ran the Hush and Duane Record labels. he was the producer of " Little Girl" for Syndicate of Sound. Background He was born on Septemb ...

recorded for Duane Records label from

Sunnyvale Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwest Santa Clara County in the U.S. state of California. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the north ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, this group actually had a member who was called William Penn. Besides William aka Bill Penn, the other members were Lou Altimari, Wayne Carangi, Paul Mc Nulty and Joe Powell. The following year, Rena Faye And The Teddy Bear Co. has their single "Thank You Baby" bw "Do It" released on Melron 5015. The label was still active in December 1980 with the release of the "American Message To The Hostages" single, and to date had released at least two dozen singles and an album. In July, 2008, ''The Best of Melron Records: The Early Philly Sound'' was released on Philly Soul PH 002CD. Artists included Essau & His Group, Emerson Brown & Del Rios, Bobby Eli & Del Rios, Colly Williams & Allures, Sweethearts, Howard Churchill & Radars, Lori Ann and her group etc. A couple of songs from the label "Big Butters", Pts 1 and 2 by Bobby Eli and "Out of the Mist" by The Pheasants were featured on CITR-FM's Shake A Tail Feather Episode which was Broadcast on 12-Dec-2008.

List of artists

* The Alley Cats * The Allures * Angelle * Angels of Mercy * Danny Bassett * Emerson Brown & Del Rios * Rocky Brown * The Christian Light Quintet * Howard Churchill & Radars * Bobby Eli * Bobby Eli & Del Rios * Essau * Essau & His Group * Rena Faye and the Teddy Bear Co. * The Intentions * The Israelites * Dolly McCoy & The Shabells * Fred Martin, Jr's Revue * Johnny Mendell * The Intentions * Lori Ann * Ronnie Mendell with Frank Mooney and the Memories * William Penn and the Quakers * The Pheasants * The Philadelphians * The Revelators * Len Stark * Sensational Starlights * The Sweethearts * Colly Williams & Allures * Colly Williams & His Group

Death

Len Stark had already passed away prior to his son Ronald's death on May 20, 2009.Legacy.com
Ronald A. Stark
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stark, Len Record producers from Pennsylvania Songwriters from Pennsylvania American entertainment industry businesspeople American music industry executives