The United States version of '' Tiger Lily Records was a

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 ...

that was run by

Roulette Records Roulette Records was an American record company and label founded in 1957 by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Kahl, with creative control given to producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Levy was appointed direc ...

founder

Morris Levy Morris Levy (born Moishe Levy; August 27, 1927 – May 21, 1990) was an American entrepreneur in the fields of jazz clubs, music publishing, and the independent record industry. Levy was cofounder and owner of Roulette Records, founding partner ...

. Purportedly it was a tax scam created by Levy and was never intended to make a profit. Tiger Lily's primary

modus operandi A ''modus operandi'' (often shortened to M.O.) is someone's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also more generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode (or manner) of op ...

was to acquire demo tapes from artists or studios and then release them without the artists consent and sometimes without even the artist's knowledge. Other albums released by Tiger Lily have been identified as bootlegs of albums released in the early 1970s by

Artie Ripp Arthur Marcus "Artie" Ripp (born 1940) is an American music industry executive and record producer. Career Early career Ripp began his career as a singer, initially informally harmonizing rock and roll songs with friends from high school. In ...

's Family Productions and two cases of performers who were actually signed to Tiger Lily Records have been identified. The most prominent artists known to have a record released by Tiger Lily were

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...

, whose album '' L.A. Jail'' was released by Tiger Lily, and

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

, who had a live recording of him in performance at the 1973

Reading and Leeds Festivals The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...

released by Tiger Lily in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

under the title ''Reading Festival Featuring Rod Stewart''. The album credited to Stewart was really a collection of various artists from the Reading Festival, with Rod Stewart and the Faces only appearing on one track. The most expensive and best known Tiger Lily Records release is the album "Stonewall" credited to a band of the same name. It has sold for as much as $14,100. Along with

Guinness Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

, Tiger Lily was one of the major tax scam labels of the 1970s with around 70 albums being released. The types of albums released by Tiger Lily fell into several broad categories: * Single band/artist albums based on unpublished material. (e.g., " Glenn Faria", "Stonewall") *

Compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

s based on unpublished material disguised as the debut album of a single band. (e.g., " Made From Plate") *

Bootleg Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...

re-issues of albums previously published on obscure labels. (e.g., " Sleepy Hollow") * Bootleg albums based on live recordings. (e.g., "L.A Jail", "Reading Festival Featuring Rod Stewart") * Material recorded by bands/artists signed to Tiger Lily Records. (e.g., "

Airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

", "Pressed For Time") Record collector and music producer Stephan Colloredo-Mansfeld is said to own the largest collection of Tiger Lily releases in the world.

List of Records

References

External links

* * - discography of the United States incarnation which includes a few items not featured in the Robert Plante discography. * Defunct record labels of the United States Record labels established in 1976 Record labels disestablished in 1977 {{US-record-label-stub