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Vee-Jay Records
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{{Short description|American record label}} {{Redirect|Vee-Jay|other uses|Veejay (disambiguation){{!}}Veejay}} {{Infobox record label <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Music --> | name = Vee-Jay Records | image = VeeJayRecord.jpg| | image_size = <!-- size --> | caption = Single by [[Jimmy Reed]], 1956 | parent = [[Concord (entertainment company)|Concord]] | founded = {{start date|1953}} | founder = Vivian Carter, James C. Bracken | fate = <!-- explain the reason of the closing--> | defunct = <!-- year the label dissolved, such as {{end date|1990}} --> | status = <!-- leave blank unless "Inactive" --> | distributor = <!-- distributors, separate with commas or <br /> --> | genre = [[Jazz]], [[blues]], [[rock and roll|rock]], [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]], [[disco]] | country = U.S. | location = [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]] }} '''Vee-Jay Records''' is an American [[record label]] founded in the 1950s, located in [[Chicago]] and specializing in [[blues]], [[jazz]], [[rhythm and blues]] and [[rock and roll]]. The label was founded in [[Gary, Indiana]], in 1953 by [[Vivian Carter]] and [[James Bracken|James C. Bracken]], a husband-and-wife team who used their initials for the label's name.<ref name=thompson>Thompson, Dave (2002). ''A Music Lover's Guide to Record Collecting'', pp. 286-89. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. {{ISBN|0-87930-713-7}}.</ref> Vivian's brother, [[Calvin Carter]], was the label's A&R man. [[Ewart Abner]], formerly of [[Chance Records]], joined the label in 1955, first as manager, then as vice president, and ultimately as president.<ref name="SI"/> One of the earliest [[African American]]-owned record companies,<ref name="Wickham">{{cite news|last=Wickman|first=Forrest|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/01/10/the_beatles_and_vee_jay_records_how_it_took_a_black_owned_label_to_bring.html|title=How a Black Label Brought the Beatles to America|work=Slate|date=January 10, 2013|access-date=April 7, 2016}}</ref> Vee-Jay quickly became a major R&B label, with the first song recorded, [[the Spaniels]]' "Baby It's You," making it to the top ten on the national R&B charts.<ref name="SI">{{cite web |last1=Greene |first1=Bryan |title=The Black Record Label That Introduced the Beatles to America |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-black-record-label-that-introduced-the-beatles-to-america-180979606/ |website=Smithsonian Magazine |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=14 April 2022 |date=23 February 2022}}</ref> ==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. ==Early history== Calvin Carter set up Vee-Jay's first rehearsal space in a garage at 47th Street and King Drive in Chicago in 1953, then discovered and signed Jimmy Reed. Carter also established a regular studio use arrangement with [[Universal Recording Corporation]], one of the largest independent recording studios in the U.S.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vee-Jay Records, est. 1953 |url=https://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/vee-jay-records/ |website=Made In Chicago Museum |access-date=1 September 2021}}</ref> ==Success== Vee-Jay's biggest successes occurred from 1962 to 1964, with the ascendancy of the Four Seasons and the distribution of early [[The Beatles|Beatles]] material ("[[From Me to You]]" b/w "[[Thank You Girl]]," "[[Please Please Me (song)|Please Please Me]]" b/w "[[From Me to You]]," and "[[Do You Want to Know a Secret]]" b/w "Thank You Girl" via Vee-Jay;<ref name=thompson/> and "[[Love Me Do]]" b/w "[[P.S. I Love You (Beatles song)|P.S. I Love You]]" and "[[Twist and Shout]]" b/w "[[There's a Place]]" via its subsidiary [[Tollie Records]]), because [[EMI]]'s autonomous [[United States of America|United States]] company [[Capitol Records|Capitol]] initially refused to release Beatles records<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yokono.co.uk/collection/beatles/usa/single/usa_single_noncapiol.html|title=The Beatles U.S. Singles|work=yokono.co.uk|access-date=14 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beatlesagain.com/barchive/b4capitl.html|title=Reference Library - Beatles Before Capitol - Internet Beatles Album|work=beatlesagain.com|access-date=14 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.friktech.com/btls/bc1.htm|title=The Beatles B.C.--Before Capitol|work=friktech.com|access-date=14 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.friktech.com/btls/bc2.htm|title=The Beatles Before Capitol, Part 2|work=friktech.com|access-date=14 November 2016}}</ref><ref name="SI"/> Vee-Jay's releases were at first unsuccessful, but quickly became huge hits once the [[British Invasion]] took off in early 1964, selling 2.6 million Beatles singles in a single month. Cash flow problems, reportedly caused by Ewart Abner's tapping the company treasury to cover personal gambling debts, led to the company's active demise; Vee-Jay had been forced to temporarily cease operations in the second half of 1963, leading to royalty disputes with the Four Seasons and EMI. The Four Seasons then left Vee-Jay for [[Philips Records]], and [[Swan Records]] purchased the rights to the Beatles' "[[She Loves You]]," which failed to meet a sales quota to retain the rights to the band.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hunt |first=Kristin |date=2024-04-04 |title=Before Beatlemania swept the U.S., a Philly record label tried — and failed — to cash in on the Fab Four |url=https://www.phillyvoice.com/beatles-philadelphia-swan-records-she-loves-you-label-dick-clark/ |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=PhillyVoice |language=english}}</ref> EMI's Capitol Records picked up the U.S. rights for both the Beatles and Frank Ifield.<ref name="SI"/> Other Vee-Jay subsidiary labels included [[Interphon]] (which yielded the Top 5 hit "[[Have I the Right?]]" by another British group, [[the Honeycombs]]), and [[Oldies 45]] for reissues along with [[Tollie Records|Tollie]] and [[Abner Records]], which was an early subsidiary label formed in 1958. Vee-Jay also did distribution for Champion Records (notable for producing the original version of [[Tainted Love]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Dahl |first=Bill |date=February 28, 2011 |title=Motown: The Golden Years |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qsCrDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22tainted+love%22+%22Vee+Jay%22&pg=PT501 |publisher=[[Penguin Group]] |page= <!-- or pages= --> |isbn=9781440225574 }}</ref>) as well as [[Rick Hall]]'s Fame Records and, for a time, the Memphis label Goldwax Records and [[Johnny Vincent]]'s [[Ace Records (US)|Ace Records]]. Vee-Jay moved back to Chicago in 1965 after a year in [[Los Angeles]]. Liens were placed on Vee-Jay assets still in Los Angeles after legal action by [[Pye Records]] due to non-payment of royalties.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KCkEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22vee+jay+returns+to+chi.%22&pg=PA3 |title=Billboard - Google Books |date=1965-10-23 |access-date=2015-03-18}}</ref> ==As Vee-Jay International== Vee-Jay Records filed for bankruptcy in August 1966.<ref name=bankrupt>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AhEEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22vee-jay%22+%2B+auction&pg=PA7 |title=Billboard - Google Books |date=1966-08-13 |access-date=2015-03-18}}</ref> The assets were subsequently purchased by label executives Betty Chiappetta and [[Randy Wood (music executive)|Randy Wood]] (not the [[Dot Records]] founder), who changed its name to '''Vee-Jay International'''. The Four Seasons' catalog was not included in the sale, as the band had negotiated a contract clause that would, in the event of bankruptcy, return the catalog to the band,<ref name=bankrupt/> which has retained them ever since.<ref name=vallis2023interview>{{Cite web |last=Willman |first=Chris |date=2023-08-27 |title=Frankie Valli on the Four Seasons’ Legacy and Their Massive New 45-Disc Boxed Set: ‘We Didn’t Want to Try to Sound Like Anybody Else’ |url=https://variety.com/2023/music/news/frankie-valli-four-seasons-boxed-set-ultimate-collection-interview-1235705611/ |access-date=2023-08-27 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> From 1967 to 1972, Vee-Jay was limited to selling some of the inventory on hand when the company went under, and leasing or licensing the Vee Jay masters to [[Buddah Records]], who came out with "The First Generation" series, and Springboard International, who issued dozens of albums featuring Vee Jay material on their subsidiary label, Upfront. In the 1970s, Vee Jay International itself re-released a number of titles on LPs and 8-track tapes. In 1978, Vee Jay issued a Silver Anniversary catalog to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the label.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bsnpubs.com/veejay/veejayinternationalstory.html |title=The Vee-Jay International Story |publisher=Bsnpubs.com |access-date=2015-03-18}}</ref> ==1980s–present== The label was revived under new management in 1982 as a dance and R&B label, but closed down in 1986. In the mid-late 1980s, a one-hour independent documentary film titled “Cradle of Rock and Roll" aired on PBS soon after its completion. It covered the history of Vee-Jay and [[Chess Records]] in Chicago, which helped to begin a revival of some interest in Vee-Jay's history and catalog. In 1986 [[Motown]] licensed 26 of Vee Jay's soul, blues and R&B hits for a CD compilation, "Hits from the Legendary Vee Jay Records." In 1993, the Vee Jay Limited Partnership released a 3-CD boxed set, "The Vee Jay Story (Celebrating 40 Years of Classic Hits)," again drawn from the label's R&B, soul, and blues catalog. The package includes a red-vinyl facsimile 45 of the Spaniels' "Goodnite Sweetheart Goodnite." Under the management of Michele Tayler, the company was reactivated in 1998 as '''The Vee-Jay Limited Partnership'''. Its main office is located in [[Redding, Connecticut]]. [[Collectables Records]] has been remastering and reissuing Vee-Jay albums on audio CD since 2000. A compilation which contains a Best of Vee-Jay box set as well as individual "Best of the Vee-Jay Years" CDs is released by [[Shout! Factory]].<ref>[http://www.shoutfactorystore.com/prod.aspx?pfid=3325291&sid=9F7C038B701F47F599285E71626EB518] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807163044/http://www.shoutfactorystore.com/prod.aspx?pfid=3325291&sid=9F7C038B701F47F599285E71626EB518|date=August 7, 2007}}</ref> In July 2014 its catalogue was acquired by [[Concord Music Group]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/concord-music-buys-vee-jay-catalogue/ |title=Concord Music buys Vee-Jay catalogue |publisher=Completemusicupdate.com |date=2014-07-09 |access-date=2015-03-18}}</ref> The sale was facilitated by Minneapolis film producer, Scott McLain.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Trakin|first1=Ron|title=Concord Music Group Acquires Famed Soul Label Vee Jay Records|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/concord-music-group-acquires-famed-717250|access-date=25 September 2014|publisher=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref> The Vee-Jay Records story is featured on the documentary series ''[[Profiles of African-American Success]]''. ==Subsidiaries== {{Unreferenced section|date=March 2018}} Abner Records was a subsidiary of Vee-Jay Records. It was originally named Falcon Records, but the name was changed in 1958 since there already existed a [[Falcon Records (Texas)|Falcon Records]].<ref>{{cite journal|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=BwsEAAAAMBAJ&q=falcon+label+now+abner%2F&pg=PA7-IA3 |title=Falcon Label Now Abner |journal=The Billboard |page=4 |date=1958-06-09 |access-date=2022-09-10}}</ref> The label was named after [[Ewart Abner]] who was general manager at Vee-Jay, 1955–1961. Falcon Records Scotland (2011–present) is a sub-label of [[Jilted Generation Inc]]. Falcon Records launched October 2011 in partnership with "Music Media Management" owned by Diania Elliott Tomlin Perkins & Eric Bryce, "In Hoodz We Trust (IHWT)" owned by Jay Supa & "Make Noise Fife" owned by Alex Herbert. Exodus Records was also a subsidiary of Vee-Jay, focusing largely on [[gospel music]] releases (such as early [[Billy Preston]] recordings) as well as being the label for some reissues of blues and jazz records. ==See also== * [[List of record labels]] * [[:Category:Vee-Jay Records albums]] * [[:Category:Vee-Jay Records artists]] ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * [http://www.globaldogproductions.info/v/vee-jay.html Discography for Vee-Jay Records] * [http://www.bsnpubs.com/veejay/veejaystory1.html The Vee-Jay Story - ''Both Sides Now'' website] *[https://archive.org/details/georgeblood?and%5B%5D=publisher:vee-jay Vee-Jay Records] on the Internet Archive's [http://great78.archive.org/ Great 78 Project] {{The Beatles|state=collapsed}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Record labels established in 1953]] [[Category:Record labels disestablished in 1966]] [[Category:Record labels established in 1982]] [[Category:Record labels disestablished in 1986]] [[Category:Record labels established in 1998]] [[Category:Record labels based in Illinois]] [[Category:Re-established companies]] [[Category:History of Gary, Indiana]] [[Category:American jazz record labels]] [[Category:Blues record labels]] [[Category:Rhythm and blues record labels]] [[Category:Rock and roll record labels]] [[Category:Concord Music Group]] [[Category:1953 establishments in Indiana]]
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