Mirwood Records was an 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 ...

founded by former

Vee-Jay Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a ...

executive Randy Wood in

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in 1965. The Mirwood label was a sister label to Mira Records. It primarily released

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

recordings, Mike Callahan, David Edwards, and Patrice Eyries, '"Mirwood Album Discography"
Retrieved 22 October 2014 and has been described as "among the definitive Northern soul labels". Jason Ankeny, "Review: The Mirwood Soul Story", ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved 22 October 2014 Many of its records were written and produced by Fred Smith and arranged by James Carmichael, who (according to Jason Ankeny at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

) "hone a distinctive style all their own, creating soul music that was both relentlessly energetic and sweetly sophisticated, topped off by trademark vibes that evoked the otherworldly beauty of a Pacific Ocean sunset". The label found success with its second single, " The Duck", credited to Jackie Lee, actually Earl Nelson of

Bob & Earl Bob & Earl were an American music singing duo in the 1960s, best known for writing and recording the original version of "Harlem Shuffle". Career The original duo were Bobby Byrd and Earl Nelson. They had both been members of The Hollywood F ...

. Other artists recorded on the Mirwood label included

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and Bobby Garrett, the other half of Bob & Earl. Mirwood Records Discography, ''SoulfulKindaMusic.com''
Retrieved 22 October 2014 The last singles released on the label were issued in 1968; several various artists compilations were issued in the early 1970s. Several compilations of Mirwood releases have been issued on CD.

References

{{Reflist Defunct record labels of the United States