In the music industry, Trade Mark of Quality (abbreviated TMOQ or TMQ) was a
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 ...
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 ...
based in Los Angeles, California, during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The label was responsible for many underground records of
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
,
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
,
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
,
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...
,
Devo
Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...
,
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...
,
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
,
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
,
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
,
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
and many other rock artists of the era.
Trade Mark of Quality was established in 1970 by "Dub" Taylor and Ken Douglas. They were quality-conscious perfectionists who pressed many of their albums on colored, virgin
vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...
, and possibly the first bootleggers to start producing printed picture covers, and later color picture covers, rather than paper inserts. Taylor and Douglas had released several albums under different names before settling on "Trade Mark of Quality" in 1969, the first being ''
Great White Wonder
''Great White Wonder'', or ''GWW'', is the first notable rock bootleg album, released in July 1969, and containing unofficially released recordings by Bob Dylan. It is also the first release of the famous bootleg record label Trademark of Quality ...
'' by Bob Dylan. According to Douglas, Taylor recorded several of TMOQ's releases himself, including the Rolling Stones' ''
Live'r Than You'll Ever Be
''Live'r Than You'll Ever Be'' is a bootleg recording of the Rolling Stones' concert in Oakland, California, from 9 November 1969. It was one of the first live rock music bootlegs and was made notorious as a document of their 1969 tour of th ...
'' and Led Zeppelin's ''Live On Blueberry Hill''. TMOQ frequently released its albums with cover art by
William Stout
William Stout (born September 18, 1949) is an American fantasy artist and illustrator with a specialization in paleoart, paleontological art. His paintings have been shown in over seventy exhibitions, including twelve one-man shows. He has worke ...
.
History
First generation releases are known as TMOQ or "farm pig" and were released by Taylor and Douglas. The first pressings had big number 1/2/3/4 labels and later pressings had different variations of the "farm pig" label. An unknown number of titles had "Made In Holland" printed on the labels, because – according to the book ''Great White Wonders'' – of the liberal laws in Holland. These copies were then exported to Europe. All TMOQ albums initially had blank generic jackets with rubber stamped title, TMOQ stickers in silver, gold and various other colors with records pressed on black or colored vinyl when available. Most, but not all albums, had a back insert.
Second generation releases came after Taylor and Douglas split their partnership and began a "friendly competition". Douglas released titles on his own TMOQ, also known as the "Smoking Pig" label, before establishing
The Amazing Kornyfone Record Label
The Amazing Kornyfone Record Label (TAKRL) was one of the first bootlegging record labels in America. Kornyfone was based in Southern California in the 1970s. The label released albums from such artists as The Beatles, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, T ...
(TAKRL) with a new partner. An arrangement with the pressing plant allowed him use of Taylor's TMOQ stampers to press his own copies of Taylor's records along with his own new releases. His releases were a mix of CV and black vinyl pressings and had front inserts (usually the same as the old TMOQ back inserts but now with the TMOQ logo). Between 1973 and 1974, a number of titles were released without catalog numbers and can only be identified by the matrix numbers.
In 1973, Taylor and Douglas met art student
William Stout
William Stout (born September 18, 1949) is an American fantasy artist and illustrator with a specialization in paleoart, paleontological art. His paintings have been shown in over seventy exhibitions, including twelve one-man shows. He has worke ...
, who expressed an interest in designing their album covers; his first being the Rolling Stones' ''Winter Tour 1973'' double album. Stout subsequently designed all the TMOQ cartoon covers in his unique style. The most famous is probably
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
' ''Welcome to New York'' in 1973 which was also the label's first printed deluxe cover. Asked about his favorite TMOQ artwork, Stout said: "''Welcome to New York'', with
Paul McCartney and Wings
Wings were a British-American rock band formed in 1971 by former Beatle bassist Paul McCartney, his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards, session drummer Denny Seiwell, and former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine. Wings were noted for their co ...
' ''Great Dane'' a close second.
There were so many good Stones covers because the Stones had a great, fully realised image to play with. And bootleggers loved the Stones, so they put out many more Stones LPs compared to ones by other groups."
Stout's last ones were in 1976 when TMOQ released six albums in its deluxe series.
Discography
References
Further reading
*
Clinton Heylin
Clinton Heylin (born 8 April 1960) is an English author who has written extensively about popular music and the work of Bob Dylan.
Education
Heylin attended Manchester Grammar School. He read history at Bedford College, University of London, ...
(1996). ''Bootleg: The Secret History of the Other Recording Industry''. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. .
*
Hot Wacks Press (1996). ''Hot Wacks Book XV : The last Wacks''. Canada: The Hot Wacks Press. .
*John C. Winn (2011). ''Beatlegmania: Volume Four''. New York : Multiplus Books. .
{{Authority control
Defunct record labels of the United States
Bootleg recordings