Peacock 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 ...

, started in 1949 by

Don Robey Don Deadric Robey (November 1, 1903 – June 16, 1975) was an American record label executive, songwriter, and record producer. As the founder of Peacock Records and the eventual owner of Duke Records, he was responsible for developing the caree ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States.

History

" Hound Dog" by

Big Mama Thornton Willie Mae Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984), better known as Big Mama Thornton, was an American singer and songwriter of the blues and R&B genres. She was the first to record Leiber and Stoller's " Hound Dog", in 1952, which becam ...

was a hit for Peacock in 1953. Other significant

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 ...

artists on Peacock were Marie Adams,

James Booker James Carroll Booker III (December 17, 1939 – November 8, 1983) was a New Orleans rhythm and blues keyboardist born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Booker's unique style combined rhythm and blues with jazz standards. Musician Dr. J ...

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (April 18, 1924 – September 10, 2005) was an American singer and multi-instrumentalist from Louisiana. He won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1983 for his album, ''Alright Again!''. Early life Br ...

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

Memphis Slim John Len Chatman (September 3, 1915 – February 24, 1988), known professionally as Memphis Slim, was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxopho ...

, and former gospel singer

Jackie Verdell Jackie Verdell (November 5, 1937 – August 3, 1991) was an American gospel singer, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Musical career After leaving high school, she joined The Davis Sisters in 1955, at the start of their tenure w ...

. The label also dabbled in

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 major ...

, releasing albums by vocalist

Betty Carter Betty Carter (born Lillie Mae Jones; May 16, 1929 – September 26, 1998) was an American jazz singer known for her improvisational technique, scatting and other complex musical abilities that demonstrated her vocal talent and imaginative inter ...

and saxophonist

Sonny Criss William "Sonny" Criss (23 October 1927 – 19 November 1977) was an American jazz musician. An alto saxophonist of prominence during the bebop era of jazz, he was one of many players influenced by Charlie Parker. Biography William Criss wa ...

. In 1952, Robey gained control of the

Duke Records Duke Records was an American record label, started in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1952 by David James Mattis (WDIA program director and DJ) and Bill Fitzgerald, owners of Tri-State Recording Company. Their first release was Roscoe Gordon singing "Hey ...

label of

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. Duke/Peacock Records was formed. For a period of time in the early 1960s, Peacock released gospel music only, issuing singles and albums by some of America's most famous gospel artists, including The

Dixie Hummingbirds Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas shift over the years), or the extent of the area it cover ...

, The

Mighty Clouds of Joy The Mighty Clouds of Joy are an American traditional gospel music quartet. Joe Ligon Bio: Willie Joe Ligon was born on October 11, 1936, and died on December 11, 2016 (80 years, 2 months). He dedicated his life to Jesus making many hit songs ...

, The

Five Blind Boys of Mississippi The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi was an American post-war gospel quartet. They started with lead singer Archie Brownlee, their single "Our Father" reached number ten on the Billboard R&B charts in early 1951. Then the screams of their new lea ...

, Reverend

Cleophus Robinson The Reverend Cleophus Robinson (March 18, 1932, Canton, MississippiJuly 2, 1998, Saint Louis, Missouri) was an American gospel singer and preacher. He hosted a gospel television series which ran for over 20 years. He was often referred to as "Th ...

, The

Sensational Nightingales The Sensational Nightingales are a traditional black gospel quartet that reached its peak of popularity in the 1950s, when it featured Julius Cheeks as its lead singer. The Nightingales, with several changes of membership, continue to tour and r ...

, The Gospelaires of Dayton, Ohio, The Pilgrim Jubilee Singers, The Loving Sisters and gospel/jazz group Together (1975), which included saxophonist Felix "Top Cat" Dixon from

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

. At the end of 1963, the label launched the gospel subsidiary label

Song Bird Records Song Bird Records (also known as SongBird Records) was started at the end of 1963 as a gospel music subsidiary of Houston, Texas-based Duke/Peacock Records. Significant artists on Song Bird included the powerful contralto Inez Andrews formerly ...

which featured

Inez Andrews Sister Inez Andrews, born Inez McConico (April 14, 1929 – December 19, 2012) and better known as Inez Andrews, was an American gospel singer. Her soaring, wide-ranging voice — from contralto croon to soul-wrenching wail — made her a pillar ...

. In the later 1960s, Peacock again began to issue secular soul singles by artists such as Jackie Verdell, the Inspirations, Little Frankie Lee, Al 'TNT' Bragg and Bud Harper. This later Peacock label featured a bright multi-colored peacock tail on an otherwise blue label background, and it is these later records which are often sought by Northern soul collectors. The Duke/Peacock family of labels (which also included Back Beat and Sure Shot) was sold to

ABC Dunhill Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels befo ...

of Los Angeles on May 23, 1973, with label founder Don Robey staying with ABC as a consultant until his death in 1975. The label name was changed to ABC/Peacock in 1974. After ABC was sold to

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

in 1979, MCA briefly operated an MCA/Songbird label with new signings including Little Anthony (of

Little Anthony and the Imperials Little Anthony and the Imperials is an American rhythm and blues/soul vocal group from New York City founded by Clarence Collins in the 1950s and named in part for its lead singer, Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine, who was noted for his h ...

) and

Dan Peek Daniel Milton Peek () was an American musician best known as a member of the folk rock band America from 1970 to 1977, together with Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell. He has been called a "pioneer in contemporary Christian music". Early life ...

(formerly of the group

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

). The previous rosters of both ABC-Peacock and ABC-Songbird were dropped (MCA later reissued several Peacock and Song Bird albums at budget price). MCA briefly revived the Peacock name for a series of CD reissues ("Peacock Gospel Classics") in the late 1990s. Along with the MCA back catalog, the Peacock and Song Bird masters are now controlled by the

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

unit of

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

References

General references

*Gart, Galen, and Ames, Roy C., with Funk, Ray; Bowman, Rob; Booth, David (1990). ''Duke/Peacock Records: An Illustrated History with Discography.'' Big Nickel Publications, Milford, New Hampshire. . *Hayes, Cedric J., and Laughton, Robert (1992). ''Gospel Records 1943–1969, A Black Music Discography (Volumes One and Two)''. Record Information Services, London, England. (Volume One), (Volume Two). *Spörke, Michael (2014). ''Big Mama Thornton: The Life and Music''. McFarland Inc. *Whitburn, Joel (2000). ''Joel Whitburn Presents Top R & B Singles 1942–1999''. Record Research, Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. .

External links

Peacock Album Discography

Arkansas Black Hall of Fame: The Loving Sisters

{{Authority control Record labels established in 1949 Record labels disestablished in 1979 Re-established companies Christian record labels Companies based in Houston Defunct record labels of the United States

History

See also

References

General references

External links