Abbott Records
Encyclopedia
Abbott Records was an American record label operated by music promoter and producer Fabor Robison (1911-1986) from 1951 to about 1958. Abbott Records released mainly Country and Western Music, Rockabilly and -- towards the end of its existence -- mainstream Pop vocal selections, enjoying considerable chart success for a label of its modest means.
, who had lately won a talent contest in Texas and had returned to his native Los Angeles, bought Western clothes, and was looking for a gig. Robison placed Horton on Cliffie Stone
's Hometown Jamboree
program, based out of Pasadena, California, which aired on KXLA on radio and KCOP (later KLAC) on television. Robison also set up a recording deal for Horton with the tiny Cormac Records label, but that concern soon folded. Disgusted, Robison decided to found his own record label and found an investor in pharmacist Sid Abbott; Robison subsequently named the label after his partner. At first, Abbott Records existed solely to record Horton, and the label's first ten releases were devoted to him, though some were duets with Billy Barton. None of the initial slate of releases attracted much in the way of attention, and in mid-1952 Robison sold Horton's recording contract to Mercury Records
, based in Chicago though it had a division in Shreveport, Louisiana.
, based out of KWKH in Shreveport, an association Horton would enjoy the rest of his days. Likewise, Robison discovered the talent pool at the Louisiana Hayride and began to record their artist roster extensively. Robison took a special interest in singer Jim Reeves
, to such extent that Johnny Horton became aggravated with Robison and dropped him as manager; Robison countered by representing Reeves instead. Reeves' records of "Mexican Joe" and "Bimbo (song)
" became the first chart hits on the Abbott Label.
, The Browns
, Smiley Burnette
, Dorsey Burnette
and Mitchell Torok
, whose "Caribbean" was Abbott's next chart hit in 1953. Many of these recordings featured members of the Louisiana Hayride house band as accompanists and were recorded at KWKH studios in Shreveport. However, Robison also used the Sun Studio
in Memphis on occasion, in addition to continuing to record in Los Angeles; in one instance he is known to have accepted a master submitted through the mail directly from an artist. Early Abbott issues bear an address in Malibu, and by the mid-1950s the label is listed as located in Hollywood, but the later Fabor Records releases revert to a Malibu address.
In 1955, Jim Reeves broke with Fabor Robison and signed with RCA Victor. The previous year, Robison had signed The DeCastro Sisters
, whom to that point had largely functioned as the Cuban response to The Andrews Sisters
. To facilitate the change of genre, Robison created a 3000 series within Abbott to cover popular, non-country music acts, and the DeCastros quickly delivered Abbott's biggest ever hit, "Teach Me Tonight," which went to Number Two on the Billboard pop charts. However, the incursion of rock n' roll into the music business was swiftly becoming unavoidable, and around 1958 Robison dropped both the Abbott and Fabor imprints and founded Radio Records, exclusively a rock n' roll label, with only Billy Barton held over from the previous Abbott and Fabor rosters. Radio was not a success and folded after just 25 releases in 1959.
Fabor Robison revived the Fabor imprint once more in 1962 to record Ned Miller
's hit "From a Jack to a King." He kept this second Fabor label going until 1966; one of its last releases was a record by English actress Hermione Baddeley
. Robison's record companies were strictly singles-only outfits; the only LP released by any of these companies was Jim Reeves Sings, issued in 1955 as Abbott 15001.
; he reached a similar agreement with RCA Victor in the wake of Jim Reeves' untimely death in 1963. Even when the Abbott family of labels was still a going concern, Robison was not above offering masters to other labels; an outtake of Mitchell Torok's 1953 recording of "Caribbean" became a hit again when it was released on the Guyden label in 1959. Robison had recorded much more material than he ever released, and there are large blocks of numbers in the Abbott catalogue that are apparently unused, slated for records that were planned, but never issued. Over the years to come, Robison would license Abbott and other material he had recorded to countless labels, many of them small and cheap, until he finally sold the vault to the Shelby Singleton
Corporation sometime in the 1970s or 80s. And it is said that this sale contained some masters that had already been brokered to other labels.
Despite the confusion regarding the ultimate legacy of Abbott and its various subsidiaries as a legal entity, its artistic legacy is secure. Abbott was the first label to introduce the major artists listed above -- in addition to Billie Jo Spears
-- to records, and it also brought to recordings many lesser known figures of interest, such as Rudy Grayzell, Bonnie Guitar
, Ginny Wright
, Wink Lewis, Bob Stegall, and Bobby Hart. As such, more obscure titles -- particularly Rockabilly items -- on Abbott and its kin have long remained popular with record collectors. Robison has not been fondly remembered by several of the artists who had business dealings with him, but he had an unerring eye for talent, and it is with some irony that all of the talent that worked with him established their best work and greatest successes with labels other than his.
Early History
After serving a stint in the U.S. Army during World War II, Arkansas native Fabor Robison settled in Southern California and began to work as a talent scout. In late 1949 or early 1950, Robison discovered singer Johnny HortonJohnny Horton
John Gale "Johnny" Horton was an American country music and rockabilly singer most famous for his semi-folk, so-called "saga songs" which began the "historical ballad" craze of the late 1950s and early 1960s...
, who had lately won a talent contest in Texas and had returned to his native Los Angeles, bought Western clothes, and was looking for a gig. Robison placed Horton on Cliffie Stone
Cliffie Stone
Cliffie Stone , born Clifford Gilpin Snyder, was an American country singer, musician, record producer, music publisher, and radio and TV personality who was pivotal in the development of California’s thriving country music scene after World War II during a career that lasted six decades...
's Hometown Jamboree
Hometown Jamboree
Hometown Jamboree was an American country music radio and television show broadcast each Saturday night by KXLA radio, Pasadena, California and KTLA-TV, Los Angeles, California. The show was hosted by Cliffie Stone and first held at the American Legion Stadium in El Monte, California, and later at...
program, based out of Pasadena, California, which aired on KXLA on radio and KCOP (later KLAC) on television. Robison also set up a recording deal for Horton with the tiny Cormac Records label, but that concern soon folded. Disgusted, Robison decided to found his own record label and found an investor in pharmacist Sid Abbott; Robison subsequently named the label after his partner. At first, Abbott Records existed solely to record Horton, and the label's first ten releases were devoted to him, though some were duets with Billy Barton. None of the initial slate of releases attracted much in the way of attention, and in mid-1952 Robison sold Horton's recording contract to Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
, based in Chicago though it had a division in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Louisiana Hayride
Also in 1952, Johnny Horton joined the cast of Louisiana HayrideLouisiana Hayride
Louisiana Hayride was a radio and later television country music show broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, that during its heyday from 1948 to 1960 helped to launch the careers of some of the greatest names in American music...
, based out of KWKH in Shreveport, an association Horton would enjoy the rest of his days. Likewise, Robison discovered the talent pool at the Louisiana Hayride and began to record their artist roster extensively. Robison took a special interest in singer Jim Reeves
Jim Reeves
James Travis Reeves , better known as Jim Reeves, was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well-known for being a practitioner of the Nashville sound...
, to such extent that Johnny Horton became aggravated with Robison and dropped him as manager; Robison countered by representing Reeves instead. Reeves' records of "Mexican Joe" and "Bimbo (song)
Bimbo (song)
Bimbo was a popular song written in either 1948 or 1949 by Glenn O'Dell, but credited to Rodney Morris or "Pee Wee" King. The song was recorded by Gene Autry and originally released on vinyl as a 78rpm single in 1954. It can also be found on the 1998 album, Always Your Pal, Gene Autry...
" became the first chart hits on the Abbott Label.
Subsidiaries and Later Years
In 1953, Abbott was doing well enough that Fabor Robison was able to buy out the share of his partner, Sid Abbott. In order to diversify the label's offerings, Robison founded the Fabor Records imprint as a subsidiary of Abbott, though at first these records carried the same artist pool -- drawn from the Louisiana Hayride -- as featured on the parent. These artists included pianist Floyd CramerFloyd Cramer
Floyd Cramer was an American Hall of Fame pianist who was one of the architects of the "Nashville sound." He popularized the "slip note" piano style where an out-of-tune note slides effortlessly into the correct note...
, The Browns
The Browns
The Browns were an American country and folk music vocal trio best known for their 1959 Grammy-nominated hit, "The Three Bells". The group, composed of Jim Ed Brown and his sisters Maxine and Bonnie Brown, had a close, smooth harmony characteristic of the Nashville sound, though their music also...
, Smiley Burnette
Smiley Burnette
Lester Alvin Burnett , better known as Smiley Burnette, was a popular American country music performer and a comedic actor in Western films and on radio and TV, playing sidekick to Gene Autry and other B-movie cowboys. He was also a prolific singer-songwriter who could play as many as 100 musical...
, Dorsey Burnette
Dorsey Burnette
Dorsey Burnette was an early Rockabilly singer. With his younger brother, Johnny Burnette, and a friend named Paul Burlison, he was a founder member of The Rock and Roll Trio.-Background and early career:Dorsey Burnett was born on December 28, 1932 to Willie May and Dorsey Burnett Sr...
and Mitchell Torok
Mitchell Torok
Mitchell Torok is an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known for his 1953 hit, "Caribbean".-Biography:...
, whose "Caribbean" was Abbott's next chart hit in 1953. Many of these recordings featured members of the Louisiana Hayride house band as accompanists and were recorded at KWKH studios in Shreveport. However, Robison also used the Sun Studio
Sun Studio
Sun Studio is a recording studio opened by rock pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 3, 1950. It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the same building with the Sun Records label business...
in Memphis on occasion, in addition to continuing to record in Los Angeles; in one instance he is known to have accepted a master submitted through the mail directly from an artist. Early Abbott issues bear an address in Malibu, and by the mid-1950s the label is listed as located in Hollywood, but the later Fabor Records releases revert to a Malibu address.
In 1955, Jim Reeves broke with Fabor Robison and signed with RCA Victor. The previous year, Robison had signed The DeCastro Sisters
The DeCastro Sisters
The DeCastro Sisters were a female trio singing group: originally they consisted of Peggy DeCastro , Cherie DeCastro and Babette DeCastro . When Babette retired in 1958, a cousin, Olgita DeCastro Marino replaced her and when Peggy later left the group to go solo, Babette re-joined Cherie and Olgita...
, whom to that point had largely functioned as the Cuban response to The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters were a highly successful close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews , soprano Maxene Angelyn Andrews , and mezzo-soprano Patricia Marie "Patty" Andrews...
. To facilitate the change of genre, Robison created a 3000 series within Abbott to cover popular, non-country music acts, and the DeCastros quickly delivered Abbott's biggest ever hit, "Teach Me Tonight," which went to Number Two on the Billboard pop charts. However, the incursion of rock n' roll into the music business was swiftly becoming unavoidable, and around 1958 Robison dropped both the Abbott and Fabor imprints and founded Radio Records, exclusively a rock n' roll label, with only Billy Barton held over from the previous Abbott and Fabor rosters. Radio was not a success and folded after just 25 releases in 1959.
Fabor Robison revived the Fabor imprint once more in 1962 to record Ned Miller
Ned Miller
Henry Ned Miller is an American country music artist. Active as a recording artist from 1956 to 1970, he is known primarily for his hit single, "From a Jack to a King", a crossover hit in 1962 which reached Top 10 on the country music, adult contemporary, and Billboard Hot 100 charts...
's hit "From a Jack to a King." He kept this second Fabor label going until 1966; one of its last releases was a record by English actress Hermione Baddeley
Hermione Baddeley
Hermione Baddeley was an English character actress of theatre, film and television. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Room at the Top and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here...
. Robison's record companies were strictly singles-only outfits; the only LP released by any of these companies was Jim Reeves Sings, issued in 1955 as Abbott 15001.
Legacy
Two years after the success of "From a Jack to a King," Robison sold Ned Miller's contract and all of his recordings to CapitolCapitol
Capitol may refer to:**the Capitoline Hill in Rome **a Capitolium, the temple for the Capitoline Triad in many cities of the Roman Empire...
; he reached a similar agreement with RCA Victor in the wake of Jim Reeves' untimely death in 1963. Even when the Abbott family of labels was still a going concern, Robison was not above offering masters to other labels; an outtake of Mitchell Torok's 1953 recording of "Caribbean" became a hit again when it was released on the Guyden label in 1959. Robison had recorded much more material than he ever released, and there are large blocks of numbers in the Abbott catalogue that are apparently unused, slated for records that were planned, but never issued. Over the years to come, Robison would license Abbott and other material he had recorded to countless labels, many of them small and cheap, until he finally sold the vault to the Shelby Singleton
Shelby Singleton
Shelby Singleton was an American record producer and record label owner.-Early Life:...
Corporation sometime in the 1970s or 80s. And it is said that this sale contained some masters that had already been brokered to other labels.
Despite the confusion regarding the ultimate legacy of Abbott and its various subsidiaries as a legal entity, its artistic legacy is secure. Abbott was the first label to introduce the major artists listed above -- in addition to Billie Jo Spears
Billie Jo Spears
Billie Jo Spears is an American country music singer. She reached the top-10 of the Country music charts five times between 1969 and 1977, her biggest hit being "Blanket on the Ground", which, in 1975, became her only number one...
-- to records, and it also brought to recordings many lesser known figures of interest, such as Rudy Grayzell, Bonnie Guitar
Bonnie Guitar
Bonnie Guitar is an American Country-Pop Singer. She is best remembered for her 1957 Country-Pop crossover hit "Dark Moon"...
, Ginny Wright
Ginny Wright
Ginny Wright is an American country music singer. She was born in Twin City, Georgia during the 1930s, first sang in glee clubs, and studied opera. She began performing country music in the early 1950s...
, Wink Lewis, Bob Stegall, and Bobby Hart. As such, more obscure titles -- particularly Rockabilly items -- on Abbott and its kin have long remained popular with record collectors. Robison has not been fondly remembered by several of the artists who had business dealings with him, but he had an unerring eye for talent, and it is with some irony that all of the talent that worked with him established their best work and greatest successes with labels other than his.