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Apollo Records (1944)
Apollo Records was a record company and label founded in New York City by Hy Siegel and Ted Gottlieb in 1944. A year later it was sold to Ike and Bess Berman. Apollo was known for blues (Doc Pomus), doo-wop ( The Larks), gospel (Mahalia Jackson), jazz, and rock and roll. Early years In the early 1940s, the Bermans and Siegel worked at the Rainbow Record Shop on 125th Street in Harlem. They named the label after the nearby Apollo Theater. Siegel served as Apollo's first president. Initially Apollo employed three product lines that included a 300 series, featuring rhythm and blues and jazz artists, and a 100 series which was a variety of genres: gospel, calypso, Country music and Jewish comedy. By issue #188, the 100 series shifted exclusively towards gospel. The third line, starting at #750, was dubbed "Jazz Masterworks". Apollo recorded rhythm and blues singers Dinah Washington and Wynonie Harris before they became famous on other labels. Dean Martin recorded briefly for the l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Record label#Major labels, big three" recording companies and the third-largest in the global music industry, after Universal Music Group (UMG) and Sony Music Entertainment (SME). Formerly owned by Time Warner (later called WarnerMedia and its successor is Warner Bros. Discovery), the company sold WMG in 2004 to a group of private investors led by Edgar Bronfman Jr., in a move to alleviate Time Warner's debt load related to its merger with AOL. WMG was publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange from 2005 until 2011, when it announced its privatization and sale to Access Industries. It later had its second IPO on Nasdaq in 2020, once again becoming a public company. As of 2025, Access Industries remains the company's largest shareholder, owning 72% ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Dixie Hummingbirds
The Dixie Hummingbirds (formerly known as The Sterling High School Quartet) are an influential United States, American gospel music group, spanning more than 80 years from the Jubilee quartets, jubilee quartet style of the 1920s, through the "hard gospel" quartet style of gospel's golden age in the 1940s and 1950s, to the eclectic pop-tinged songs of today. The Hummingbirds inspired a number of imitators, such as Jackie Wilson and James Brown, who adapted the shouting style and enthusiastic showmanship of hard gospel to secular themes to help create soul music in the 1960s. History 1928–1938 The group was formed in 1928 in Greenville, South Carolina, by James B. Davis (musician), James B. Davis and his classmate Barney Parks under the name the Sterling High School Quartet. After seeing the success of other quartet groups and realizing that there was not much work for African Americans in the South outside of low-paying labor jobs, the quartet decided to leave school and pu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas A
Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (other) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Apostle * Thomas (bishop of the East Angles) (fl. 640s–650s), medieval Bishop of the East Angles * Thomas (Archdeacon of Barnstaple) (fl. 1203), Archdeacon of Barnstaple * Thomas, Count of Perche (1195–1217), Count of Perche * Thomas (bishop of Finland) (1248), first known Bishop of Finland * Thomas, Earl of Mar (1330–1377), 14th-century Earl, Aberdeen, Scotland Geography Places in the United States * Thomas, Idaho * Thomas, Illinois * Thomas, Oklahoma * Thomas, Oregon * Thomas, South Dakota * Thomas, Virginia * Thomas, Washington * Thomas, West Virginia * Thomas County (other) * Thomas Township (other) Elsewhere * Thomas Glacier (Greenland) Arts and entertainment * ''Thomas'' (Burton novel), a 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hill & Range
Hill & Range (originally "Hill and Range Songs, Inc.") is a music publishing company which was particularly responsible for much of the country music produced in the 1950s and 1960s, and had control over the material recorded by Elvis Presley over that period. It is today part of Warner Chappell Music. Background Hill and Range Songs, Inc. was incorporated in New York on December 9, 1944, by Austrian-born brothers Julian Aberbach and Jean Aberbach and their business partners Milton Blink and Gerald King, who owned Biltmore Music. It opened an office in Los Angeles in 1945. Aberbach's brother Jean joined in the early 1950s after working for Chappell Music, and thereafter the two shared control of the company, with Jean Aberbach being based in the Brill Building in New York City. After initially finding success representing Spade Cooley and Bob Wills, the company became active in the country music industry, particularly in Nashville, and at one point were reportedly responsible fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Records (United States)
King Records was an American label founded in 1943 by Syd Nathan in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The label owned several divisions, including Federal Records, which launched the career of James Brown. It released original material until 1975. History Initially King specialized in country music, at the time known as hillbilly music. King advertised, "If it's a King, It's a Hillbilly – If it's a Hillbilly, it's a King." One of the label's hits was "I'm Using My Bible for a Road Map" by Reno and Smiley. Important recordings in this field were done by the Delmore Brothers and Wayne Raney. The Delmores and Moon Mullican played a country-boogie style that was similar to rockabilly. Several King artists, such as Bill Beach, are in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Queen Records was the "race records" division of King Records and was also owned by Syd Nathan. It was founded in 1943 and was eventually folded into King. King also owned Federal Records, which launched the career ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Music Group, an American division of multinational conglomerate Sony. Founded in 1889, Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in the recorded sound business, and the second major company to produce records. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship record labels, along with Epic Records, RCA Records and Arista Records. History Beginnings (1888–1929) The Columbia Phonograph Company was founded on January 15, 1889, by stenographer, lawyer, and New Jersey native Edward D. Easton (1856–1915) and a group of investors. It derived its name from the District of Columbia, where it was headquartered. At first it had a local monopoly on sales and service of Edison ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The "5" Royales
The "5" Royales was an American rhythm and blues (R&B) vocal group from Winston-Salem, North Carolina that combined gospel music, gospel, jump blues and doo-wop, marking an early and influential step in the evolution of rock and roll. Most of their big R&B hits were recorded in 1952 and 1953 and written by the guitarist Lowman "Pete" Pauling. Cover versions of the band's songs hit the Top 40, including "Dedicated to the One I Love" (the Shirelles and the Mamas & the Papas), "Tell the Truth" (Ray Charles and Ike & Tina Turner), and "Think (The "5" Royales song), Think" (James Brown (musician), James Brown & The Famous Flames). Brown modeled his first vocal group after the "5" Royales, and both Eric Clapton and Stax Records, Stax guitarist Steve Cropper cited Pauling as a key influence. The Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger covered "Think" on his 1993 solo album ''Wandering Spirit (album), Wandering Spirit''. The "5" Royales were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Selah Jubilee Singers
The Selah Jubilee Singers were an American gospel vocal quartet, who appeared in public as a gospel group but who also had a successful recording career as a secular group in the 1930s & 1940s. History Around 1927, Thermon Ruth (1914–2002) founded the Selah Jubilee Singers, a group drawn from the membership of a church choir, while he was the disc jockey at WOR in Brooklyn, New York. He later based the group in Raleigh, North Carolina when he moved his radio show to station WPTF. The Selah Jubilee Singers first recorded on April 28, 1938 for Decca, a session which included popular songs such as "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" (DE 7598), and in February 1941, "I'll Fly Away" (DE 7831). The group made the first recording of "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" (Decca Records 7872), recorded on October 8, 1941 in New York City with Thermon Ruth and John Ford, lead vocal; Fred Baker, lead baritone; Monroe Clark, baritone; J. B. Nelson, bass vocal; and Fred Baker on guitar. By the late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Ravens
The Ravens were an American R&B vocal group, formed in 1946 by Jimmy Ricks and Warren Suttles. They were one of the most successful and most influential vocal quartets of the period, and had several hits on the R&B chart in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Career Jimmy "Ricky" Ricks was born in Adrian, Georgia. His mother was 14 when he was born. She went to Florida to find a better job. Jimmy lived with his aunt and uncle, Marnie and Luther Ricks until he was 13 and moved to Jacksonville, Florida to be with his mother. During World War II, Jimmy moved to New York City, where he worked as a waiter in Harlem and met Warren "Birdland" Suttles from Fairfield, Alabama which is southwest of Birmingham, Alabama. In early 1946, they decided to form a vocal group and recruited Leonard "Zeke" Puzey, who had recently won a talent contest at the Apollo Theater, and Ollie Jones. They found a manager, Ben Bart, and an accompanist, Howard Biggs and made their first recordings for Bart's sm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Orioles
The Orioles were an American R&B group in the late 1940s and early 1950s. One of the first vocal groups in R&B, they were early pioneers of the doo-wop sound. Dubbing themselves after Maryland's state bird, the Orioles started the trend of bird groups (The Cardinals, The Crows, The Flamingos, The Larks, The Penguins, The Ravens, The Wrens, etc.). They brought their winning formula to their first charted hit " It's Too Soon to Know"; a #1 record in November 1948, soon followed by the group's second hit, " (It's Gonna Be a) Lonely Christmas", in December that same year. Original members * Sonny Til (born Earlington Carl Tilghman, August 18, 1928, Baltimore, Maryland — died December 9, 1981, Washington, D.C.) (lead tenor) *Alexander Sharp (born December 1919, Baltimore — died January 3, 1970) (high tenor) *George Nelson (born 1925, Baltimore — died June 30, 1959) (baritone) *Johnny Reed (born August 16, 1923, Baltimore — died June 18, 2005) (bass vocals and double b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doo-wop
Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. It features vocal group harmony that carries an engaging melodic line to a simple beat with little or no instrumentation. Lyrics are simple, usually about love, sung by a lead vocal over background vocals, and often featuring, in the bridge, a melodramatically heartfelt recitative addressed to the beloved. Harmonic singing of nonsense syllables (such as "doo-wop") is a common characteristic of these songs. Gaining popularity in the 1950s, doo-wop was commercially viable until the early 1960s and continued to influence performers in other genres. Origins Doo-wop has complex musical, social, and commercial origins. Musical precedents Doo-wop's style is a mixture of p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Cleveland
James Edward Cleveland (December 5, 1931 – February 9, 1991) was an American gospel singer, musician, and composer. Known as the "King of Gospel," Cleveland was a driving force behind the creation of the modern gospel sound by incorporating traditional black gospel, soul, pop, and jazz in arrangements for mass choirs. Throughout his career, Cleveland appeared on hundreds of recordings and earned four Grammy Awards. He was the first gospel musician to earn a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1984. For his trailblazing accomplishments, he is regarded by many as one of the greatest gospel singers who ever lived. His best known recordings include "Lord, Help Me to Hold Out", "Peace Be Still", "I Don't Feel No Ways Tired", “Where Is Your Faith", "The Love of God", "God Has Smiled on Me", and "Jesus Is the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me." Early life and career Born in Chicago, Cleveland began singing as a boy sopran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
