Winley Records
Paul Winley Records Inc. (more commonly credited as Winley Records) was a doo-wop record label founded in 1956 that, in 1979, became one of the earliest hip hop labels. It was situated on 125th Street, Harlem, New York City. Winley released doo-wop by The Paragons and The Jesters, and hip hop records by Paul Winley's daughters, Tanya and Paulette, produced by Winley's wife, Ann. The label can lay claim to a number of firsts: one of the earliest rock and roll compilations, one of the earliest breaks compilations, an early solo female rap artist and an early instance of social commentary in rap. Winley was also the first label to record one of hip hop's most important figures, Afrika Bambaataa.
Paul Winley
Paul Winley entered the music business through writing songs for his brother's
Doo-wop
Winley Records first recorded "Baby" Cortez, and then
A brother group to The Jesters, and "equally fine",[6] were The Paragons—"real hoodlums, real zip-gun, street-warring hoodlums", Paul Winley recalled to David Toop in 1984, "but at the time I was young and crazy myself, so it didn't make any difference".[7] For Winley, they recorded "Florence" backed with "Hey Little Schoolgirl" (1957), "Lets Start All Over Again" with "Stick With Me Baby" (1957), the ballad "Two Hearts Are Better than One" with "Give Me Love" (1957), "Twilight" plus "The Vows of Love" (1958), and "So You Will Know"/"Don't Cry Baby" (1958). Then came their backing of Tommy Collins on "Doll Baby"/"Darling I Love You" (1959), as The Paragons alone on the re-cap "So You Will Know"/"Doll Baby" (1960) and recording under the name Mack Starr and the Paragons for their last Winley release, "Just A Memory"/"Kneel and Pray" (1961). Of these, the records "Florence" and "Let's Start All Over Again" are doo-wop classics, and "Twilight" a "New York mini-classic".[8] Jay Warner is of the opinion that the obscure "So You Will Know" is a finer record even than these.[8]
The Paragons Meet The Jesters, originally released by Jubilee in 1959, with its street gang cover and vocal duels inspired by doo-wop's street corner singing battles and live show group competitions, was "one of the first rock and roll compilation LPs",[9] and the most commercially successful doo wop compilation ever released.[8] Hal Winley reformed The Clovers for Winley in 1961 and in that year recorded "Wrapped Up in A Dream"/"Let Me Hold You", "Be My Baby"/"They're Rockin' Down The Street" and "I Need You Now"/"Gotta Quit You" on the label.[10] Other releases of this period include those of Charley White (of The Clovers), "Nobody's Fault But Mine" (1958), and Ann Fleming (Ann Winley), "Jive Time Baby" (1960).[9] Relic Records have collected Winley doo-wop on The Best of Winley Records (RELIC 5019) with liner notes by Donn Fileti detailing their lo-fidelity, almost ad hoc independent approach creating a valuable and unique New York sound. Quoting Fileti, David Toop makes the point that these are comments that can equally apply to Winley's hip hop output.[7] Winley Records released an expanded The Paragons Meet The Jesters Deluxe Edition in 2011 as Winley Records 3068-02. This re-release not only contained 31 cuts (with alternate takes and session talk) but appears to have been mixed from the original session tapes.[11]
Hip hop
Winley Records resurfaced in the 1970s, with a series of releases which—like the street corner practices of doo-wop foreshadowing those of hip hop
Harlem Underground Band, augmented with the organ of the seemingly ever-present "Baby" Cortez, functioned as the house band backing Winley's hip hop releases, hence having the same function, if not influence, as
A new generation of acts appeared in the early to mid-1980s on labels like
References
- ^ ISBN 0-7535-0252-6.
- ^ Toop 2000, pp. 96/8.
- ^ Toop 2000, p. 98.
- ^ Warner 2006, p. 239.
- ^ Warner 2006, pp. 230/1.
- ^ Warner 2006, p. 269.
- ^ a b c Toop 2000, p. 99.
- ^ a b c Warner 2006, p. 270.
- ^ a b Warner 2006, p. 231.
- ^ Warner 2006, pp. 122/3.
- ^ "Log In - Both Sides Now Stereo Chat Board". Bsnpubs.websitetoolbox.com. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ Toop 2000.
- ^ Toop 2000, p. ix-x.
- ^ Toop 2000, p. 100.
- ^ Shapiro 2005, pp. 384/5.
- ^ a b c Shapiro 2005, p. 384.
- ^ Chang 2005, p. 179.
- ^ a b Hager 1982.
- ^ Lewis 2004, p. 101.
- ^ Shapiro 2005, p. 4.
- ^ a b Shapiro 2005, p. 385.
- ^ Hsu, Hua (September 15, 2007). "Sure, It Sounds Old School, but When Were They in Class?". Nytimes.com. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ "Various - Death Mix (The Best Of Paul Winley Records)". Discogs.com. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
Sources
- ISBN 978-0-312-42579-1.
- Hager, Steven (September 21, 1982), "Afrika Bambaataa's Hip-Hop", Village Voice Reprinted in Cepeda, Raquel, ed. (2004). And It Don't Stop! The Best American Hip-Hop Journalism of the Last 25 Years. New York: Faber and Faber, Inc. ISBN 978-0-571-21159-3.
- Lewis, Miles Marshall (2004). Scars of the Soul Are Why Kids Wear Bandages When They Don't Have Bruises. New York: Akashic. ISBN 978-1-888451-71-9.
- Shapiro, Peter (2005). The Rough Guide To Hip Hop (2nd ed.). London: Rough Guides. ISBN 978-1-84353-263-7.
- Toop, David (2000). Rap Attack (3rd ed.). London: Serpent's Tail. ISBN 978-1-85242-627-9.
- Warner, Jay (2006). American Singing Groups: A History from 1940 to Today. Milwaukie: Hal Leonard Corp. ISBN 978-0-634-09978-6.