Editing Vee-Jay Records (section)

==Artists==
Major acts on Vee-Jay in the 1950s included blues singers [[Jimmy Reed]], [[Memphis Slim]], and [[John Lee Hooker]], and rhythm and blues vocal groups [[the Spaniels]], [[the Dells]], and the [[El Dorados]]. The 1960s saw the label become a major soul label with [[Jerry Butler (singer)|Jerry Butler]], [[Gene Chandler]], [[Dee Clark]], and [[Betty Everett]] having hit singles on both the pop and R&B charts. Vee-Jay was also the first label to nationally issue a record by [[Gladys Knight & the Pips|the Pips]] (through a master purchase from the tiny HunTom label of [[Atlanta]]), who became [[Gladys Knight and the Pips]] in 1962 when they moved to [[Fury Records]].

Vee-Jay had significant success with pop/rock and roll acts, such as [[The Four Seasons (group)|the Four Seasons]] (their first non-black act) and [[the Beatles]]. Vee-Jay acquired the rights to some of the early recordings by the Beatles through a licensing deal with [[EMI Records]], since EMI's  American affiliate [[Capitol Records]] initially rejected issuing the Beatles records in America.<ref name="Wickham" /><ref name="SI"/> The main attraction at the time, however, was another EMI performer, [[Frank Ifield]]. Calvin Carter later said, "There was a number one record over in England at the time—It was '[[I Remember You (1941 song)|I Remember You]]' by Frank Ifield. We took the record, and as a throw in, they had a group and asked us if we would take them, too. The group turned out to be the Beatles and we got a five-year contract on the Beatles as a pickup on the Frank Ifield contract."<ref>[http://www.archer2000.com/chronicles/Labels/VeeJay.html Chris Norby, "Vee-Jay label"], '' Archer2000.com''. Retrieved 19 January 2017</ref>

In the mid-1960s, Vee-Jay signed the former successful child singer [[Jimmy Boyd]], known for the hit "[[I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus]]"; Boyd was then twenty-five years old. The company ventured into [[folk music]] with [[Hoyt Axton]] and New Wine Singers, and also picked up [[Little Richard]] who re-recorded his [[Specialty Records|Specialty]] hits and recorded (1965) "I Don't Know What You've Got (But It's Got Me)", an R&B success, with [[Don Covay]], [[Bernard Purdie]], [[Ronny Miller]], [[Billy Preston]], and [[Jimi Hendrix]] (before Hendrix became successful on his own).

Vee-Jay's [[jazz]] line accounted for a small portion of the company's releases, but recorded such artists as [[Eddie Harris]], [[Wynton Kelly]], [[Lee Morgan]], and [[Wayne Shorter]].<ref name=pruter>Pruter, Robert (1996). ''Doowop: The Chicago Scene'', p. 105. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press. {{ISBN|0-252-06506-9}}.</ref> The [[Artists and repertoire|A&R]] for the label's jazz releases was Sid McCoy.<ref>{{cite web|last=Johnson|first=David|url=https://indianapublicmedia.org/nightlights/vee-jay-jazz-story.php|title=The Vee-Jay Jazz Story|work=Night Lights |date=February 1, 2016|access-date=April 10, 2020}}</ref> The company also had a major [[gospel music|gospel]] line, recording such acts as the [[Staple Singers]], The Famous Boyer Brothers, the Argo Singers, [[Swan Silvertones]], [[the Caravans]], [[Dorothy Love Coates]] and the Gospel Harmonettes, and Maceo Woods.<ref name=pruter /> Vee-Jay even released comedy on LP, with records by [[Dick Gregory]], and ''Them Poems'', [[Mason Williams]]' early nightclub act, recorded with a studio audience in 1964.