Playboy Records was an American
record label, based in
Los Angeles,
California, and a unit of
Playboy Enterprises. Artists recording for the label included
Al Wilson
Aldra Kauwa Wilson (born June 21, 1977) is a former American college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football for the University of Tennessee, and ...
,
Barbi Benton
Barbi Benton (born Barbara Lynn Klein; January 28, 1950) is an American retired model, actress, television personality, and singer. She is known for appearing in ''Playboy'' magazine, as a four-season regular on the comedy series ''Hee Haw'', an ...
,
Blue Ash
''Fraxinus quadrangulata'', the blue ash, is a species of ash native primarily to the Midwestern United States from Oklahoma to Michigan, as well as the Bluegrass region of Kentucky and the Nashville Basin region of Tennessee. Isolated populati ...
,
Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers, The Weapons of Peace,
Brenda Patterson, Lois Fletcher, Jeanne French,
Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds were a 1970s soft rock trio from Los Angeles. The original members were Dan Hamilton (guitar/lead vocal), Joe Frank Carollo (bass/vocal), and Tommy Reynolds (multi-instrumentalist/vocal), all of whom had previou ...
, Ivory,
Greg Kihn,
The Rubinoos,
Wynn Stewart,
Mickey Gilley and
Joey Stec
Joey Stec (born 1947) is an American songwriter, singer, guitarist, producer and president of Sonic Past Music.
Biography
In 1967, he became a member of the Millennium. In 1969 he joined The Blues Magoos, and formed The Dependables. In 1976, ...
.
A notable LP was ''Hudson'', the first album by the
Hudson Brothers. Another notable artist is
Jim Sullivan, whose second album (self titled) was released on Playboy. Playboy also issued on LP the only full-length live concert recording by
Lead Belly
Huddie William Ledbetter (; January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk music, folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, Virtuoso, virtuosity on the twelve-string guita ...
from a recording made in 1949, shortly before his death.
Playboy Records was also home to the early 1972-1973 U.S. single releases by soon-to-be international superstars
ABBA, licensed to the label by their Swedish label,
Polar Music. Polar/ABBA manager
Stig Anderson blamed the lack of greater U.S. success of their first single, "
People Need Love", on the limited distribution resources of the label, as they were unable to meet the demand from retailers and radio programmers, and Polar changed distributors when ABBA won Eurovision in 1974, to
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
.
The label's biggest hit was Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds' million-seller, "
Fallin' in Love", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975 (also reaching #24, R&B). Al Wilson also had a major hit for the label in 1976 when "
I've Got a Feeling" reached #3 on the
R&B chart (#29 pop).
In addition to its own material, Playboy also acted as the distributor for the
Beserkley Records label, which predominantly released music by
power pop acts such as
The Modern Lovers and
The Greg Kihn Band.
The label was originally independently distributed and towards the end of its life, CBS Records took over distribution. The original incarnation of the label folded in 1978, after which
Elektra Records
Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...
took over the distribution of Beserkley titles until that label dissolved in 1984.
The label was relaunched in 2001 as a jazz imprint distributed by
Concord Records.
Sony Music's
Legacy Recordings
Legacy Recordings is an American record label that is a division of Sony Music. Formed in 1990 after Sony's acquisition of CBS Records, Legacy originally handled the archives of Sony Music-owned labels Columbia Records and Epic Records. In 20 ...
handles Playboy Records catalog from the 1970s.
Staff
Tom Takayoshi
In the 1970s,
Tom Takayoshi joined Playboy Records. In early 1973, he was named marketing director of sales and promotion. Around 1974, he was executive vice-president for the label. While in that role he signed country singer Eddie Weaver to the label. Later, he was the man in charge of the label, the third man in that position in three years. Under his stewardship, Playboy Records did well with country singer
Mickey Gilley.
[Billboard 26 Dec 197]
Page 4 Talent In Action Top Seller Trend: Softer, more Sophisticated Productions by Nat Freedland
/ref>
See also
* List of record labels
References
{{Authority control
Playboy
American record labels
Pop record labels
Record labels based in California
Concord Music Group
Re-established companies