Okeh Records
This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2013) |
OKeh Records | |
---|---|
Rhythm & Blues (1953–1970) Blues (1994–2000) Jazz (2013-) | |
Country of origin | U.S. |
Location | New York City |
Official website | okeh-records |
OKeh Records (/ˌoʊˈkeɪ/) is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916,[1] which branched out into phonograph records in 1918.[2] The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Otto K. E. Heinemann but later changed to "OKeh". In 1965, OKeh became a subsidiary of Epic Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music. OKeh has since become a jazz imprint, distributed by Sony Masterworks.
Early history
OKeh was founded by Otto (Jehuda) Karl Erich Heinemann (Lüneburg, Germany, 20 December 1876 – New York, USA, 13 September 1965) a German-American manager for the U.S. branch of Odeon Records, which was owned by Carl Lindstrom. In 1916, Heinemann incorporated the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, set up a recording studio and pressing plant in New York City, and started the label in 1918.[3]
The first discs were vertical cut, but later the more common lateral-cut method was used.[4] The label's parent company was renamed the General Phonograph Corporation, and the name on its record labels was changed to OKeh. The common 10-inch discs retailed for 75 cents each, the 12-inch discs for $1.25. The company's musical director was Frederick W. Hager, who was also credited under the pseudonym Milo Rega.
OKeh issued popular songs, dance numbers, and vaudeville skits similar to other labels, but Heinemann also wanted to provide music for audiences neglected by the larger record companies.[citation needed] OKeh produced lines of recordings in German, Czech, Polish, Swedish, and Yiddish for immigrant communities in the United States. Some were pressed from masters leased from European labels, while others were recorded by OKeh in New York.
OKeh's early releases included music by the New Orleans Jazz Band. In 1920,
In 1926, OKeh was sold to Columbia Records.[4][9] Ownership changed to the American Record Corporation (ARC) in 1934, and the race records series from the 1920s ended. CBS bought the company in 1938. OKeh was a label for rhythm and blues during the 1950s, but jazz albums continued to be released, as in the work of Wild Bill Davis and Red Saunders.[4]
The OKeh Laughing Record
The OKeh Laughing Record was recorded in Germany by
Race records and remote recording
1940–1970
OKeh releases were infrequent after 1932, although the label continued into 1935. In 1940, after Columbia lost the rights to the Vocalion name by dropping the Brunswick label, the OKeh name was revived to replace it, and the script logo was introduced on a demonstration record announcing that event. The label was again discontinued in 1946 and revived again in 1951.[16]
In 1953, OKeh became an exclusive R&B label when its parent, Columbia, transferred OKeh's pop music artists to the newly formed Epic Records.[17] OKeh's music publishing division was renamed April Music.
In 1963, Carl Davis became OKeh's A&R manager and improved OKeh's sales for a couple of years.[18] Epic took over management of Okeh in 1965. Among the artists during OKeh's pop phase of the 1950s and 1960s were Johnnie Ray and Little Joe & the Thrillers.
With soul music becoming popular in the 1960s, OKeh signed Major Lance, who gave the label two big successes with "The Monkey Time" and "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um". Fifties rocker Larry Williams found a musical home at OKeh for a period of time in the 1960s, recording and producing funky soul with a band that included Johnny "Guitar" Watson. He was paired with Little Richard, who had been persuaded to return to secular music. Williams produced two Little Richard albums for OKeh in 1966 and 1967, which returned Little Richard to the Billboard album chart for the first time in ten years and produced the hit single "Poor Dog".[19] He also acted as the music director for Little Richard's live performances at the OKeh Club in Los Angeles. Bookings for Little Richard during this period skyrocketed.[19] Williams also recorded and released material of his own and with Watson, with some moderate chart success.
Much of the success of OKeh in the 1960s was dependent on producer Carl Davis and songwriter Curtis Mayfield.[20] After they left the label (due to disputes with Epic/OKeh head Len Levy), OKeh sales gradually slipped, and the label was quietly retired by Columbia in 1970.
1993–2000
In 1993,
Since 2013
In January 2013,
Ownership
Sony Music Entertainment owns the global rights to the OKeh Records catalogue through Epic Records and Sony's Legacy Recordings reissue subsidiary.[21] EMI's rights to the OKeh catalogue in the UK expired in 1968, and CBS Records took over distribution.[23]
See also
- OKeh Records artists
- List of record labels
- Ralph Peer
References
- ISBN 978-1-4507-0166-2. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
- ISBN 978-0-203-48427-2. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
- ^ ISBN 1-56159-284-6.
- ISBN 978-0-306-80743-5.
- ISBN 978-0-393-06582-4.
- ISBN 978-0-393-06582-4.
- ISBN 978-0-393-06582-4.
- ISBN 978-0-313-31142-0. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
- ^ a b "Okeh Laughing Record : Okeh : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive". 30 November 1922. Retrieved 2013-03-11.
- ^ a b c d Wilson, R. J. (July 25, 2017). "The Bizarre History Of The Okeh Laughing Record". Urbo. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- ISBN 978-0446505314. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-393-06582-4.
- ISBN 978-0-313-31142-0.
- ^ Tsotsi, Tom (1988). "Gennett-Champion Blues". 78 Quarterly. 1 (3): 31. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-19-534845-3. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
- ^ "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media. 6 November 1954 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Okeh Names Carl Davis". Google Books. Billboard. 13 April 1963. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
- ^ a b White (2003), p. 268.
- ^ Williams, Richard (19 August 2012). "Carl Davis obituary". The Guardian.
- ^ a b Publishing, Rames El Desouki, The Traveller. "CVINYL.COM – Label Variations: Okeh Records". www.cvinyl.com. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Sony Classical Relaunching OKeh Records Jazz Imprint". Billboard. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
- ^ Billboard – Google Books. 1968-05-11. Retrieved 2013-03-11.
External links
- Official site
- Okeh masters in the Discography of American Historical Recordings
- Okeh album discography
- Okeh Records on the Internet Archive's Great 78 Project