Editing Cadence Records (section)

{{Short description|American record label}}
{{refimprove|date=May 2023}}
{{for|the label associated with [[Cadence Magazine]]|Cadence Jazz Records}}
'''Cadence Records''' was an American [[record company]] based in [[New York City]] whose labels had a picture of a [[metronome]].  It was founded by [[Archie Bleyer]], who had been the musical director and [[orchestra]] leader for [[Arthur Godfrey]] in 1952. Cadence also launched a short-lived [[jazz]] subsidiary, '''[[Candid Records]]'''.

The first recording star for Cadence was a Godfrey alumnus, [[Julius La Rosa]].  Other Godfrey alumni signed to the label included [[the Chordettes]]. Bleyer had written a few hit songs in 1932–34 ([[Fletcher Henderson]]'s "Business in F" is a good example) and had a band that recorded for [[ARC Records|ARC]] in 1934 and 1935 (his records were issued on [[Vocalion Records|Vocalion]], [[Melotone Records (US)|Melotone]], [[Perfect Records|Perfect]] and [[Romeo Records|Romeo]]). 

In October 1954, Godfrey fired singer Julius La Rosa, causing a storm of controversy.

Almost immediately after firing La Rosa, Bleyer was fired from the Godfrey show, for signing [[Don McNeill (performer)|Don McNeill]], Chicago-based talk host, to a record deal and producing spoken-word records for Cadence featuring. Godfrey considered McNeill a rival. ''[[Don McNeill's Breakfast Club]]'' aired on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] Radio opposite Godfrey's morning show, although McNeill's success was nowhere on a par with that of Godfrey.{{cn|date=April 2023}}

The label also issued the early recordings of [[Andy Williams]] and [[the Everly Brothers]], as well as [[Johnny Tillotson]] and [[Lenny Welch]]. Virtuoso jazz/classical pianist [[Don Shirley]] was signed to Cadence in the 1950s and 1960s. One of Cadence's most popular songs in the 1950s was "Eloise", written and sung by [[Kay Thompson]].

Cadence charted nearly 100 American singles between 1953 and 1964. The label also released the 1962 bestselling  [[parody]] album ''[[The First Family (album)|The First Family]]'', starring comedic actor and impressionist [[Vaughn Meader]]. Acclaimed at that time as the fastest-selling album in history,<ref>{{cite book|author= |title=Billboard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P0UEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA12 |date=2 February 1963 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |pages=12–|issn=0006-2510}}</ref> this White House satire on the Kennedy family and Capitol Hill politics remained at #1 on the Billboard 200 for 12 weeks. Featuring Meader's impression of President [[John F. Kennedy]], the sketch revue also included takes on First Lady [[Jacqueline Kennedy]], Soviet Premier [[Nikita Khrushchev]], and Vice-President [[Lyndon Johnson]]. A sequel album, ''The First Family Volume Two'', released in March 1963, reached #4. Both albums were immediately withdrawn following Kennedy's assassination in November, 1963.

The departures of the Everly Brothers in 1960 (to [[Warner Bros. Records]]) and of Andy Williams in 1961 (to [[Columbia Records]]), along with radical changes in public taste and the music business brought on by the [[British Invasion]], led to the rapid decline of Cadence. By 1964, Bleyer opted to shut down the label.<ref>{{cite book|author= |title=Billboard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EEUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8 |date=12 September 1964 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |pages=8–|issn=0006-2510}}</ref> Bleyer had competing offers from [[Kapp Records]], [[Liberty Records]] and Andy Williams, who initially wanted to purchase just the masters of his own Cadence recordings. Bleyer's sale specified a complete purchase of the entire Cadence catalog (including [[Candid Records]]), which Williams accepted.<ref>{{cite book
|author=
|title=Billboard 
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SSAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA6 
|date=7 November 1964 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 
|pages=6–|issn=0006-2510}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite book
|author= 
|title=Billboard 
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6EQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1 
|date=19 September 1964 
|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 
|pages=1–|issn=0006-2510}}
</ref> Williams reissued his old Cadence recordings on Columbia and formed [[Barnaby Records]] to manage the rest of the Cadence catalog.