Sutton Records was a budget record label that was sold in outlets other than record shops. The outlets for Sutton were supermarkets, gas stations etc., would be serviced by
rack jobbers. In addition to cover versions, the label issued recordings by
The Ink Spots
The Ink Spots were an American pop vocal group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Their unique musical style presaged the rhythm and blues and rock and roll musical genres, and the subgenre doo-wop. The Ink Spots were widely a ...
,
Jesse Crawford
Jesse Crawford (December 2, 1895 – May 28, 1962) was an American pianist and organist. He was well known in the 1920s as a theatre organist for silent films and as a popular recording artist. In the 1930s, he switched to the Hammond organ and b ...
and
Jimmy Witherspoon
James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer.
Early life, family and education
Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...
.
Background
Sutton was founded by
Bob Blythe
Bob Blythe was a ball point pen manufacturer and owner of BB pens. Later he was president of a record company, Tops Records, as well as founder of budget record label Sutton Records.
Background
Blythe was a former vaudevillian who drove around i ...
, the former president of
Tops Records
Tops Records was a Los Angeles-based record label owned by Tops Music Enterprises, both founded in 1947 by Carl L. Doshay and Sam Dickerman. After a prolific and profitable run, Tops merged with PRI Records in 1958, which in turn, sold to a group ...
. In 1963, the label began with 225 records in its catalogue. Some of the label catalogues that they sourced their recordings from were Music Craft, Omega and Tiara.
One solo artist to have a record issued on the label was
Jimmy Witherspoon
James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer.
Early life, family and education
Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...
with ''Stormy Monday And Other Blues By''. One of the groups to have albums released on the label was a group called New Dimension who never released any singles.
Tony Hilder
Anthony J. Hilder (1935 - April 26, 2019) was an American author, film maker, talk show host, broadcaster, news correspondent and former actor. In the late 1950s to the mid-1960s he was also a record producer, producing music mainly in the sur ...
and
Robert Hafner had a deal with Sutton. This is an example of one of the many budget releases were packaged in generic sleeves and sent straight to shops to go into the cut-out bins and racks. In 1965, it was announced in the October 16 issue of ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'', that
Pat Collins aka the "Hip Hypnotist" was to do a couple of albums for the label.
Staff
Manny Kopelman was a significant shareholder. Vice-president in charge of Sales was Danny Weston. Artie Belnick left Sutton to go and work for Connoisseur Records in 1964.
Later years
''Surf Mania'' by The Surf Teens was originally released on Sutton SU 339 in 1963. In the late 1990s, the
Bacchus Archives
Bacchus Archives is a record label that has often released previous unreleased recordings. Some of the recordings it has released, includes recordings by artists such as The Controllers, Evan "Funk" Davies, The Dils, Peter Miller and Bob Thompso ...
record label got in touch with producer,
Norman Knowles
Norman Knowles is a surf musician, band leader, and record producer from California. He is the composer of several classic surf songs, including as co-writer of the surf classic "Church Key", which was a hit for The Revels. He also has been invol ...
about the Surf Teens' album he produced. Put out by Sutton and handled by the
rack jobber
A rack jobber (also known as a rack merchandiser) is a company or trader that has an agreement with a retailer to display and sell products in a store. The outlets for the products would be ones that traditionally do not stock such products such as ...
s at their usual outlets, and being a budget release, there was no info on the record or the cover about the band. Rumor had it that Knowles had some unreleased recordings of the group which turned out to be true. The record was re-released on vinyl as a limited edition of 500 pressings.
The New Dimensions were a group that had three albums released on the label. They were ''Deuces and Eights'' on Sutton 331, ''Surf'n'Bongos'' on Sutton 332 and ''Soul Surf'' on Sutton 336. In 2014, their ''Deuces and Eights'' album was re-released on Rockbeat Records on both LP and CD.
Catalogue (selective)
*
The Ink Spots
The Ink Spots were an American pop vocal group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Their unique musical style presaged the rhythm and blues and rock and roll musical genres, and the subgenre doo-wop. The Ink Spots were widely a ...
- '' The Ink Spots Sing Stardust'' - Sutton SU 219 - (196?)
* The Beagle and the Four Liverpool Whigs - ''I Want to Hold Your Hand'' - Sutton SU 229 - (196?)
*
Jesse Crawford
Jesse Crawford (December 2, 1895 – May 28, 1962) was an American pianist and organist. He was well known in the 1920s as a theatre organist for silent films and as a popular recording artist. In the 1930s, he switched to the Hammond organ and b ...
- ''Poet Of The Organ'' Sutton SU 269 - (196?)
*
Les Elgart
Lester Elliott Elgart (August 3, 1917 – July 29, 1995) was an American swing jazz bandleader and trumpeter.
Early Years
Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Elgart grew up in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey with his brother Larry. They were exposed to ...
- ''Les Elgart and Blazing Brass'' - SU 283 (196?)
*
Jimmy Witherspoon
James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer.
Early life, family and education
Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...
- ''Stormy Monday And Other Blues'' Sutton SSU 316
*
Ann Sothern
Ann Sothern (born Harriette Arlene Lake; January 22, 1909 – March 15, 2001) was an American actress who worked on stage, radio, film, and television, in a career that spanned nearly six decades. Sothern began her career in the late 1920 ...
- ''Songs Stylings Featuring Ann Sothern And The Blues Of Broadway'' Sutton SSU 317 - (1963)
*
The Pied Pipers
The Pied Pipers is an American popular singing group originally formed in the late 1930s. They had several chart hits through the 1940s, both under their own name and in association with Tommy Dorsey and with Frank Sinatra.
Origins
Originally ...
- '' The Smooth Stylings Of The Pied Pipers'' - Sutton SSU 318 - (1963)
* Diane Coley,
The Viscaines, Sims Sisters, The Sparkplugs, Dal Cory - '' Jumpin! With Pop Hits Of Tomorrow '' - Sutton SSU 321 - (1963)
* The Spark Plugs - '' Crazy Beat ! With The Spark Plugs'' - Sutton 322 - (1963)
* Bobby Baker - ''Folk Song Fest!! Hootenanny'' - Sutton SU 330 - (1963)
* The New Dimensions – ''Deuces And Eights'' - Sutton – SU 331 - (1963)
* The New Dimensions – ''Surf'n Bongos (The Great Surfing Rhythms Of The New Dimensions)'' - Sutton – SSU 332 - (1963)
* Eddie Dean – ''I Dreamed Of A Hillbilly Heaven''- Sutton SU 333 - (1963)
* The New Dimensions – ''Soul'' - Sutton SU 336 - (1963)
*Lelani Malani, Eddy Kealoha and The Islanders - ''Polynesia'' - Sutton SU 337 - (1963?)
*
The Sentinals
The Sentinals were a surf rock band from San Luis Obispo, California (1961–1965). The band is notable for a Latino influence in some works, such as "Latin'ia" (1962). Notable band members included Tommy Nuñes, drummer John Barbata (later of T ...
- ''Vegas Go Go'' - Sutton 338
* The Surf Teens – ''Surf Mania'' - Sutton SU 339 - (1963)
[''Standard Catalog of American Records, 1950-1975'', Tim Neely ]
Page 1079 SURF TEENS, THE
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References
External links
{{Authority control
American record labels
Budget record labels