Cameo Shorts
Description: Formed by Larry Blackmon in 1974 as the New York City Players the band was signed by Casablanca Records to its Chocolate City imprint in 1975 as the Players. The band changed its name after notification by Mercury Records that the name "the Players" was too similar to Mercury's signing, Ohio Players. The name Cameo was taken from a brand of cigarettes the band saw in Canada. Prior to this, Blackmon, keyboardist Gregory Johnson, and Gwen Guthrie formed the band East Coast, together with James Wheeler (alto saxophone), Melvin Whay (bass), Michael Harris (percussion), and Haras Fyre (also known as Pat Grant) on trombone. They released one self-titled album in 1973 on an independent label.
Description: Cameo Records was an American record label that flourished in the 1920s. It was owned by the Cameo Record Corporation in New York City. Cameo released a disc by Lucille Hegamin every two months from 1921 to 1926. Cameo records are also noted for dance music. The catalogue also included the Original Memphis Five and the Varsity Eight. Musicians such as Red Nichols, Miff Mole, Adrian Rollini, and Frank Signorelli made trips to the Cameo studios. In 1926, Cameo started recording using a microphone-electrical process. An interesting blues number is 583, "Crazy Blues", by Salt & Pepper.
