Paradise 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

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and ...

in 1976 in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

History

Paradise Records was the second record label company founded by Russell, the first being

Shelter Records Shelter Records was a U.S. record label started by Leon Russell and Denny Cordell that operated from 1969 to 1981. The company established offices in both Los Angeles and Tulsa, Russell's home town, where the label sought to promote a "workshop ...

which Russell co-founded with

Denny Cordell Dennis Cordell-Lavarack (1 August 1943 – 18 February 1995), known as Denny Cordell, was an English record producer. He is notable for his mid-1960s and early 1970s productions of hit singles for The Moody Blues, Leon Russell, The Move, Procol ...

in 1969. Russell ran Shelter with Cordell until 1976, when the two had a falling out. In a settlement, Cordell became sole owner of the Shelter Records label, and Russell left to start his own label, Paradise Records. Paradise Records was learning place for

Steve Ripley Paul Steven Ripley (January 1, 1950 – January 3, 2019) was an American recording artist, record producer, songwriter, studio engineer, guitarist, and inventor. He entered the music industry in 1977. He was also the leader/producer of country rock ...

and members of Concrete Blonde; Ripley later started the country retro group,

The Tractors The Tractors were an American country rock band composed of a loosely associated group of musicians headed by guitarist Steve Ripley. The original lineup consisted of Steve Ripley (lead vocals, guitar), Ron Getman (guitar, Dobro, mandolin, tenor ...

. Paradise Records are currently made and distributed by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

Paradise Studios

Paradise Records included Paradise Studios, a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

complex with two audio

sound stage A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a soundproof, large structure, building, or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or ...

s and one television production stage, as well as a

remote recording Remote recording, also known as location recording, is the act of making a high-quality complex audio recording of a live concert performance, or any other location recording that uses multitrack recording techniques outside of a recording studio. ...

bus and a remote television production bus that could support the stages or travel. The studio aired a weekly

live television Live television is a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. In a secondary meaning, it may refer to streaming television over the Internet when content or programming is played continuously (not on demand) ...

music show ''

New Wave Theatre ''New Wave Theatre'' is a television program broadcast locally in the Los Angeles area on UHF channel 18 and eventually on the USA Network as part of the late night variety show ''Night Flight'' during the early 1980s. The show was created and ...

'' shown on

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

. The studio produced music videos for

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

and

Randy Meisner Randall Herman Meisner (born March 8, 1946) is a retired American musician, singer, songwriter and founding member of the Eagles. Throughout his professional musical career, Meisner's main role was that of bassist and backing high-harmony vocal ...

, and long-format videos for

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

J.J.Cale John Weldon "J. J." Cale (December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and sound engineer. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Mark Knop ...

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

and Leon Russell. Russell sold the complex in 1982, after which it was home to Alpha Studios and then Oracle Post. In 2014, the facility became

Bang Zoom! Entertainment Bang Zoom! Entertainment is an audio post-production studio with its headquarters in Burbank, California, in Greater Los Angeles. It has worked on anime, video games, television series, feature films, and original animation projects. Their work ...

's second multi-room production facility.

Distribution history

* In 1976 Paradise Records released its first album, the ''

Wedding Album ''Wedding Album'' is the third and final in a succession of three experimental albums by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. It followed '' Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins'' and '' Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions''. In Britain, the album w ...

'' by Leon and Mary Russell. It is a studio album with his then wife, Mary Russell, otherwise known as

Mary McCreary Mary McCreary is an American singer, pianist and composer. She has been a member of hit making recording acts, Little Sister and Leon & Mary Russell. She has recorded her own albums for the MCA and Shelter labels. As a session singer she has su ...

. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Records. Leon and Mary Russell were producers of the album, with the exception of the final track, "Daylight", which was produced by its writer,

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guit ...

. Leon and then-wife Mary Russell were musical guests on the May 15, 1976, episode of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' in its first season, hosted by

Dyan Cannon Dyan Cannon (born Samille Diane Friesen; January 4, 1937) is an American actress, director, screenwriter, producer, and editor. Her accolades include a Saturn Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Academy Award nominations, and a star on the Ho ...

. * In 1976 Leon & Mary Russell released ''Rainbow In Your Eyes/ Love's Supposed To Be That Way'' a Single * In 1976 Leon & Mary Russell released ''Satisfy You / Windsong '' a 7" Promo single. * In 1997 Leon & Mary Russell released ''

Make Love to the Music ''Make Love to the Music'' is the title of a recording by Leon & Mary Russell, released in 1977 by Paradise Records. There were two CD re-releases one in 2007 by Wounded Bird Records and a second in 2012 by AIS Records. Track listing All tracks ...

'' an LP, Album * In 1977 Gary Ogan released ''Gary Ogan'' an LP, Album. * In 1977 Gary Ogan released ''The Road'' a 7" single * In 1977 Leon & Mary Russell released ''Say You Will'' 7" single * In 1977 Leon & Mary Russell released ''Love Crazy'' 7" single * In 1977 Leon & Mary Russell released ''Easy Love'' 7" single * In 1977 Gary Ogan released ''Make Me Sing'' * In 1978 Leon Russell released ''Elvis And Marilyn'' a 7" single. * In 1978 Leon Russell released ''

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

'' an LP Album * In 1978 Leon Russell released ''From Maine To Mexico a 7" single * In 1978 Leon Russell released ''Elvis And Marilyn / Anita Bryant'' a 12" Promo * In 1979 Leon Russell released '' Life And Love'' an LP Album. * In 1979 Mary Russell released ''Heart Of Fire'' Album * In 1979

Wornell Jones Wornell Jones (born November 14) is an American bassist. He has performed with many people and groups in the United States and Japan, including likes of Sly and the Family Stone, Koko Taylor, Chage and Aska, Hiromi Go, and Omega Tribe. He is ...

released ''Wornell Jones'' an LP, Album. * In 1979 Mary Russell released ''Right Or Wrong / Up Against The Wall'' a 7" single. * In 1979 Mary Russell released ''Up Against The Wall'' a 7", Promo single. * In 1979 Wornell Jones released ''You Are My Happiness'' a 7", Promo single. * In 1981 following up on his country theme, Leon released a second Hank Wilson album, '' Hank Wilson, Vol. II''. Hank Wilson being Leon's pseudonym name. * In 1981 Leon Russell &

New Grass Revival New Grass Revival was an American progressive bluegrass band founded in 1971, and composed of Sam Bush, Courtney Johnson, Ebo Walker, Curtis Burch, Butch Robins, John Cowan, Béla Fleck and Pat Flynn. They were active between 1971 and 1989, r ...

released a ''

The Live Album ''The Live Album'' is a live album by Texas-based folk singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen. It recorded at the Sons of Hermann Hall in Dallas, TX, and released in 1988 on Sugar Hill. Track listing All tracks written by Robert Earl Keen, excep ...

'' * In 1981 Leon Russell &

released a ''I've Just Seen A Face a 7", Promo single. * In 1984 Leon Russell released ''Hank Wilson - Wabash Cannonball'' a 7", Promo single. * In 1984 Leon Russell released '' Solid State'' Album. * In 1984 Leon Russell re-released ''Hank Wilson Vol. II'' a LP, Album. * In 1984 Leon Russell released ''

Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues "Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues" is a song written and performed by Danny O'Keefe. It was first recorded by O'Keefe in 1967, but not released. It was recorded by The Bards and released in 1968 as the b-side to the song "Tunesmith" on Parrot Re ...

'' a 7", Promo. * In 1984 Leon Russell released ''Rescue My Heart'' a 7", Single. * In 1984 Billy Chinnock released ''The Way She Makes Love'' a 7", Promo single. * In 1984 Leon Russell released ''Oh Lonesome Me'' a 7", Promo. * In 1985 Paul Black And The Flip Kings released ''How How'' an LP, Album. * In 1993 Paradise Records released the ''LEON RUSSELL 24K GOLD DISC'' album. A remix of recordings done at Olympic Sound in London in 1969.discogs.com, LEON RUSSELL 24K GOLD DISC
/ref> * In 1997 Paradise Records released '' Blues: Same Old Song''. * In 2012 Astronomy released ''Bali Moon'' a CD, Album. * In 2012 Astronomy released ''Golden Disc'' a CDr Single. * In 2012 Astronomy released ''Bali Moon'' a CDr Single.

References

External links

Paradise Records discography
{{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 1976 Record labels disestablished in 2012

History

Paradise Studios

Distribution history

See also

References

External links