Defunct Store Tapestries
Description: Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll, and jazz and comedy recordings, released on the Chess and its subsidiary labels Checker and Argo/Cadet. The Chess catalogue is owned by Universal Music Group and managed by Geffen Records and Universal Music Enterprises.
Description: Man's Ruin Records was an independent record label owned and founded by San Francisco Bay Area artist Frank Kozik. In total, the record label released over 200 singles and albums, with most of the artwork designed by Kozik. After the 1995 release of Man's Ruin's first record, Experimental Audio Research, Kozik worked with artists whom he wanted to release. He also designed all of the sleeve-art for the releases. The catalog of Man's Ruin is vast, including relatively famous bands such as the Hellacopters, Nebula, Kyuss, High on Fire, Entombed, Turbonegro, 13eaver, Queens of the Stone Age, and the Sex Pistols; and also lesser known bands such as FuckEmos, Soulpreacher, Angel Rot, and the Cowslingers.
Description: Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll, and jazz and comedy recordings, released on the Chess and its subsidiary labels Checker and Argo/Cadet. The Chess catalogue is owned by Universal Music Group and managed by Geffen Records and Universal Music Enterprises.
Description: Moon Ska Records was one of the most influential ska record labels of the 1980s and 1990s. The label operated from 1983 until 2000, and during those seventeen years, only released ska and ska-influenced music. Originally named Moon Records, as a tribute to Sun Records, the label changed its name to Moon Ska Records because another label owned the copyright to the Moon Records name. The label was started by Robert "Bucket" Hingley, founding member of The Toasters as a means to distribute albums by The Toasters. The label became an American source for many British ska import albums.
Description: Laurie Records was an American record label established in New York City in 1958, by brothers Robert and Gene Schwartz, and Allan I. Sussel. Among the recording artists on Laurie's roster were Dion and the Belmonts (both together and as separate acts), The Chiffons, The Jarmels, The Mystics, Bobby Goldsboro, and The Royal Guardsmen.
Description: Red Rooster is an "only on vinyl" records label founded by D’Arabia in 2016 with the help of his partner Dj Rou. The label was born in Bologna and it's strictly focused on raw samples and cuts with disco/funk/hiphop/house influences, giving a miscellaneous trick between old and new grooves.
Description: Crown Records was a innovation of the California-based Bihari family (brothers Lester, Joe, Saul, Jules) who owned Modern, Flair and RPM , all great solid independent labels, as well as the budget label Custom, Kent, United Superior, and Riviera. It started in December, 1953 and continued until 1972, earning itself the reputation of the king of the junk record labels. Aside from endlessly reissuing and repackaging the legitimate Modern and RPM hits including the B.B. King material, what Crown had to offer was musical junk food on plastic plates .
Description: Service Merchandise was a retail chain of catalog showrooms carrying jewelry, toys, sporting goods, and electronics. The company, which first began in 1934 as a five-and-dime, was in existence for 68 years before ceasing operations in 2002. During the 1970s and 1980s, Service Merchandise was a leading catalog-showroom retailer. At its peak, the company achieved more than $4 billion in annual sales. As the company expanded, it began to open showrooms nationwide, mostly in the vicinity of major shopping malls, which were in vogue in the 1970s.
Description: Neptune Records was a record label founded by Philadelphia writer-producers, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff in 1969. The label, distributed by Chess Records, lasted for only two years, releasing 20 singles and three albums. It was the precursor to the pair's Philadelphia International label, which they started in 1971 with Columbia Records. Neptune featured releases by artists such as Jeanette "Baby" Washington, The O'Jays, The Three Degrees and Billy Paul, all who later appeared on Philadelphia International. The biggest hit was the label's first release, "One Night Affair" by the O'Jays.
Description: Prelude Records was a New York–based independent record label that was active from 1976 to 1986. At one time, François Kevorkian held an A&R position at Prelude. The label's owner was Marvin Schlachter. Prelude was first launched in 1976, renamed from Pye International Records, a US division of UK-based Pye Records which had begun in 1974. The name was derived from the music group Prelude, which recorded for Pye at the time.
Description: Founded in 1962 by the F. W. Woolworth Company, Woolco was an American retail chain. Unlike Woolworth's five-and-dime stores, Woolco was a full-line discount department store, and the creation of the new format coincided with the expansion of suburbia. At its peak, Woolco had hundreds of stores in the US, as well as in Canada and the UK. Woolworth's flagship stores were still doing well, but the company wanted to tap into the growing discount department store market without diluting its dominant position in the variety store business. The first Woolco was located in Columbus, Ohio, and by 1966, there were 18 in the US, and nine in Canada with plans for 30 stores to be added per year.
