Record Label Pillows
Description: Hi Records is an American soul music and rockabilly label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1957 by singer Ray Harris, record store owner Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell and Quinton Claunch (formerly producers for Sun Records), and three silent partners, including Cuoghi's lawyer, Nick Pesce. Hi Records' first big hit was "Smokie Part 2", an instrumental by Bill Black's Combo, released in 1959. Black was a bass player with Elvis Presley and a long-time friend of Ray Harris. Founder Claunch was forced out of the label, selling his share in 1960 to Carl McVoy (a cousin of Jerry Lee Lewis), who had been involved with the label since its first recording and had worked with Bill Black.
Description: Casablanca Records, Inc. was formed in 1973 by former Buddah Records executives Neil Bogart (who named the label as a homage to the classic film Casablanca), Cecil Holmes, Larry Harris and Buck Reingold. The label was initially distributed by Warner Bros. Records until September 1974, but Bogart decided to distribute the label independently after being disillusioned with the lack of success under Warners.
Description: RSO Records was a record label formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood and record executive Al Coury in 1973. The letters "RSO" stand for the Robert Stigwood Organisation. The company's main headquarters were at 67 Brook Street, in London's Mayfair. It underwent four distribution stages: by Atlantic Records from March 1973 to December 1975, by Polydor Records from January 1976 to December 1977, as an independent label under the PolyGram Group umbrella from January 1978 to around October 1981, and finally by PolyGram Records from around November 1981 until the label's end in 1983.
Description: Skunk Records is a Long Beach, California based record label that was founded by Michael "Miguel" Happoldt and Bradley Nowell in 1990. Skunk is affiliated with the spinoff label Cornerstone R.A.S. The inspiration for forming a record label came to Happoldt in 1989 as a way to release music for his band the Ziggens. Happoldt met Nowell shortly thereafter, who insisted on having Sublime backed by the nascent label. Happoldt was selective in choosing other acts, which later included Slightly Stoopid, Juice Bros, Philieano, Toko Tasi, and Paulie Nugent.
Description: Ruthless Records was founded by rapper Eric Wright (supposedly with money made as a drug dealer) and music industry veteran manager Jerry Heller in 1987. Ruthless was the home of several pioneering gangsta rap artists, and is credited with elevating West Coast hip hop beyond fringe audiences and into popular culture.
Description: Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent label, they released records for other bands as well.
Description: Excello Records was an American blues independent record label, started by Ernie Young in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, in 1953 as a subsidiary of Nashboro, a gospel label. It recorded such artists as Lonnie Brooks, Lightnin' Slim, Slim Harpo, Roscoe Shelton, Lazy Lester, the Kelly Brothers, Lonesome Sundown, Silas Hogan, Arthur Gunter, Marion James, Carol Fran, Warren Storm, Tabby Thomas, Guitar Gable, and a spoken word sermon by Martin Luther King Jr.
Description: King Records was an American label founded in 1943 by Syd Nathan in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The label owned several divisions, including Federal Records, which launched the career of James Brown. It released original material until 1975. Initially King specialized in country music, at the time known as hillbilly music. King advertised, "If it's a King, It's a Hillbilly – If it's a Hillbilly, it's a King." One of the label's hits was "I'm Using My Bible for a Road Map" by Reno and Smiley. Important recordings in this field were done by the Delmore Brothers and Wayne Raney. The Delmores and Moon Mullican played a country-boogie style that was similar to rockabilly.
Description: Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Sherman Oaks, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label currently is distributed in the US by The Orchard, and internationally by Sony Music Entertainment. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Records in the United States from 1988 to 1993.
Description: Anticon was an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1998 by seven musicians and manager Baillie Parker. It was collectively owned among six musicians, co-founder Parker, and manager Shaun Koplow. The original musicians signed to Anticon were once referred to as the Anticon collective. Following the death of one of its founding members in 2018, the label dissolved.
Description: Specialty Records was an American record label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by Art Rupe. It was known for rhythm and blues, gospel, and early rock and roll, and recorded artists such as Little Richard, Guitar Slim, Percy Mayfield, and Lloyd Price. Rupe established the company under the name Juke Box Records but changed it to Specialty in 1946 when he parted company with a couple of his original partners. Rupe's daughter, Beverly, restarted the label in the 1980s. The record label was sold to Fantasy Records in 1991 and is now part of the Concord Music Group. The music publishing unit was sold to Sony/ATV Music Publishing.
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: I.R.S. Records was a major American record label founded by Miles Copeland III, Jay Boberg, and Carl Grasso in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wave and alternative rock artists, including R.E.M., The Go-Go's, Wall of Voodoo, and Fine Young Cannibals. Currently the label is distributed by parent company Universal Music Group.
Description: Swan Song Records was a London-based label that was launched on May 10, 1974. The logo that adorned the label's record center stickers featured an Icarus symbol. This was heavily based on a drawing done sometime around 1870 by American painter, William Rimmer. Rimmer’s drawing is called Evening (The Fall of Day), and is said to be a depiction of the God Apollo, though others have considered it to be a depiction of Lucifer, or Icarus. Unfortunately, nobody can ask him, so it's anybody's guess. Regardless, Swan Song ceased operations in 1983, and the label's catalog was absorbed by a larger label.
Description: Founded in 1986, Brooklyn Dust Music hit the ground running and never stopped, publishing more than 400 albums, EPs, and singles over the next four decades. Primarily focusing on rap and hip-hop, Brooklyn Dust also published plenty of rock, alternative, and even soundtracks, creating a diverse catalog.
