Roulette Records

Roulette Records is an American independent record label, which had since 1957 great success with performers of rock & roll, jazz, rhythm & blues, rockabilly, and even classical music.

History

Foundation

The label was launched in December 1956 by George Goldner and his backers Morris Levy, Joe Kolsky and Phil Kahl to life. Morris Levy immediately took over the role of President. The staffing of the label with experienced management people like Hugo ( Peretti ) and Luigi ( Creatore ) as an A & R people, Henry Glover, Richard Barrett, Sammy Lowe, Joe Reisman and Teddy Reig as producers was more comprehensive organized than many other record companies. The first release of the label put country and rockabilly musician Jimmie Logsdon under the pseudonym " Jimmy Lloyd " with Where The Rio De Rosa Flows / The Beginning of the End ( Roulette # 7001, but appeared only in August 1957).

The fifties

Already the first acquisition of the label turned out to be a lucky out: Buddy Knox With The Rhythm Orchids, assigned to the Rockabilly, landed with his in February 1957 Roulette # 4002 published Party Doll at number one on the pop charts and hereby put a million records to. The recording was previously published without success with the I'm Sticking With You B - side on the small label Triple -D # 797 in Texas. However roulette decided to publish I'm Sticking With You Roulette previously as # 4001 under the name Jimmy Bowen as an A- side and reached herewith a # 14, another million seller. On April 29, 1957 Rock Your Little Baby to Sleep / Do not Make Me Cry was released as the second single by Buddy Knox. Shortly thereafter, Hugo and Luigi discovered the folk-pop singer Jimmie Rodgers, who won a record contract on 23 April 1957. Its first published in July 1957 single with catalog # 4015 Honeycomb / Their Hearts Were Full of Spring also landed at # 1 and became the third million seller of this young label. Rodgers still took 6 more Top 20 singles for Roulette. On August 12, 1957 appeared as # 4018 by Buddy Knox its third single Hula Love / Devil Woman. While Buddy Knox until 1960 remained at Roulette and a total of 9 singles brought out, Jimmy Bowen came up with ten singles until 1960.

Doo -wop was contributed by the Cleftones, which actually stood at Goldner's Gee Records. Henry Glover, just changed from King Records to roulette as a producer, she took to roulette. Your She's So Fine / Trudy ( Roulette # 4094 ) was published in July 1958, but failed to match the charts. They remained until September 1960, Roulette, before Glover handed it back to the reactivated Gee label.

Already in April 1957 reported the Billboard magazine that Goldner had sold its holdings in Roulette, Rama, Gee and Tico to the Morris Levy Group for $ 250,000. However Goldner remained as a clerk in the administration involved and helped in this way the expansion of the catalog.

The Playmates brought in November 1958 Beep Beep a plate with witty text up to # 4 on the pop charts. The Million Sellers was about a really slow car ( Nash Rambler ), which succeeds to the amazement of the driver of a Cadillac much faster to overtake the vehicle actually faster, namely in second gear. The tempo of the song is accelerating apparently with the increasing speed of both vehicles until they reach 120 miles / h. Thus, the hare and hedgehog history was transported in a clever way in pop music. This was already the seventh single of the first vocal group of roulette, so that the continuity had paid. The Playmates were among the early days of the young label, because with # 4003 (Pretty Woman / Barefoot Girl) they brought out their first single in February 1957. As one of the last rock & roll pioneer Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks came to the label. While Glover's composition Teardrops on your letter appeared for Hank Ballard in February 1959 at his previous label King Records, was brought the rocking cover of him with Mary Lou Ronnie Hawkins on the market in May 1959 and reached a # 7 R & B charts. The song tells the strange experience with a Goldschürferin. His Forty Days (# 4154 ) from June 1959 has an unusual history. It is based on a Chuck Berry composition that is called Thirty Days. " Glover told me I should just draufpacken 10 days ," said Hawkins. Berry's Chess label would not even complain because Berry's composition was based on the melody of When The Saints Go Marchin ' In. The Rock-A- Teens were able to achieve a # 16 with their wild, now-classic instrumental piece Woo -Hoo / Untrue in October 1959.

The sixties

Joe Jones brought in September 1960 with his own composition You Talk Too Much / I Love You (# 4104 ) after a long time for the label again a top singles chart placement with a # 3 hit out. From Jones came also composed by Glover Original Version California Sun (# 4344 ) of March 1961. In October 1961 partzipierte Roulette then the twist boom with Joey Dee & The Starlighters, whose Peppermint Twist (Part I) / Peppermint Twist (Part II) (# 4401 ) after a dry spell for the label again became a # 1 pop. The song was in the car on the way to the studio, co-author and producer was again Glover. The group met in September 1960 in New York's Peppermint Lounge ( 128 W 45th Street ) on. They hastened to quickly create a live LP recorded in the lounge Doin ' The Twist At The Peppermint Lounge together, which was still nachgeschoben in November 1961 and a # 2 on the LP charts reached. Visited the legendary reputation of the club, by celebrities such as Jackie Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, Truman Capote, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra, was cemented by this. The group claimed roulette with their twist- plates sales of 11 million copies, where the Peppermint Twist and the subsequent single Shout were each sold over a million copies.

In 1962 George Goldner also sold the labels Gone and End to Morris Levy, who led more than subsidiary label of roulette. In May 1963 Goldner and Glover brought the group into the studio Essex, where Easier Said Than Done / Are You Going My Way (# 4494 ) out and hardly penetrated on July 6, 1963 Toppostion the charts.

From 1966 Roulette could be a great success with his single rock band Tommy James & The Shondells celebrate, starting with a cover of Hanky ​​Panky / Thunderbolt, the obscure A-side was composed by Jeff Barry / Ellie Greenwich and evolved as # 1 for the million seller. Published May, 1966 single was produced by Glover at Bell Sound Studios in New York. Her biggest hit yet sold 5 million plates of umsatzsärkste hit of the label was Crimson And Clover, provided with a sound and vocal distortion # 1 hit in December 1968. Already within the first 4 weeks after publication of 700,000 copies were sold until June 1969, there were already 2.5 million. The group proved to be very successful overall, for it brought Roulette 23 gold records, 9 gold and platinum albums and more than 100 million records sold worldwide one. The band alone held Roulette alive, because the catalog from 1966 did not involve other successful performers. The label brought out below oldie and compilations, but could not win any more successful talents for themselves.

Jazz catalog

Roulette has built up an extensive jazz catalog, because many performers in the jazz club Birdland occurred, which belonged to the co-owner Morris Levy. These included Stan Getz, Johnny Smith, and Sonny Stitt. In August 1958, the Roost label was purchased. Here at times were Joe Williams, Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie, Billy Eckstine and Buddy Johnson under contract. For Sarah Vaughan, Henry Glover produced in 1962, the single " Untouchable " and the album Star Eyes and Slightly Classical, he having regarded as the best work of his career. Here in the same year he also wrote his last recordings by Dinah Washington, starting with the album Dinah, from which the single " Where Are You " was disengaged.

Decline

For dispute over payment with the label owner Morris Levy Glover was informed of this permission to set up their own label, but continued to work for roulette. Thus was formed in November 1959, the short-lived Glover Records, for which he produced Titus Turner, Larry Dale, Louisiana Red and the first recordings of Ashford & Simpson ( as Valerie and Nick ). In 1968 left Glover, who had contributed most to the success of roulette, the label. For Henry Glover 453 titles are registered copyright at BMI.

In 1988, Jimmie Rodgers sued the Roulette label on misappropriation of royalties. Roulette was contractually obligated to pay him 3% of the retail price of all records sold, which could be offset with studio production costs. Roulette lost the case. Levy, now also through the process lost in financial difficulties, sold roulette finally in 1989 for about $ 55 million to a consortium consisting of Rhino EMI.

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