George Paxton

George Paxton

George Paxton was an American big band leader, saxophonist, composer, publisher, and arranger of swing jazz music from the 1930s to the late 1940s; as well as president and producer of Coed Records, primarily a doo-wop label, from the late 1950s to the mid 1960s.-Early career:He was born in...

 and Marvin Cane formed Coed Records, Inc. in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 in 1958, and had offices at 1619 Broadway in the Brill Building

Brill Building

The Brill Building is an office building located at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, just north of Times Square and further uptown from the historic musical Tin Pan Alley neighborhood...

. George Paxton produced many of the songs on this label, most of which were of the East Coast Doo-wop

Doo-wop

The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...

 group style, and some of these became hit songs of the day. Between 1958 and 1965, Coed's biggest acts included the Crests

The Crests

The Crests were a New York R&B doo-wop group of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Their most popular song was "16 Candles", which rose to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1959. It sold over one million copies, earning a gold disc. The interracial group had three black members , one Puerto...

, the Rivieras, the Duprees

The Duprees

The Duprees is an American musical group of doo-wop style which had a series of hit records in the early 1960s.-Career:The group originated in the early 1960s in Jersey City, New Jersey, and comprised William L. Dickinson High School students Michael Arnone, Joe Santollo, John Salvato, Tom...

, the Harptones

The Harptones

The Harptones are an American doo-wop group, which formed in Manhattan in 1953.The group never had a top forty pop hit, or even a record on the national R&B charts, yet they are still considered one of the most influential doo-wop groups, both for their lead singer, Willie Winfield and their...

, Trade Martin

Trade Martin

Trade Martin is an American musician, songwriter, and producer.Martin worked with Johnny Power in the late 1950s, recording as Johnny & the Jokers and together launching the label Rome Records, active from 1960 to 1962. The label signed the groups The Earls, Del & the Escorts, and The Glens...

 and Adam Wade, among others.

Frequently working with arranger

Arrangement

The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...

 & songwriter Fred Weismantel, Paxton's big-band background came in particularly handy with the Duprees

The Duprees

The Duprees is an American musical group of doo-wop style which had a series of hit records in the early 1960s.-Career:The group originated in the early 1960s in Jersey City, New Jersey, and comprised William L. Dickinson High School students Michael Arnone, Joe Santollo, John Salvato, Tom...

, who combined group vocals with deliberately nostalgic swing orchestra backing on hits like "You Belong to Me

You Belong to Me (1952 song)

"You Belong to Me" is a pop music ballad from the 1950s. The singer reminds his/her lover that, whatever exotic locales and sights he/she experiences, "you belong to me." It is credited to three writers: Pee Wee King, Chilton Price, and Redd Stewart...

" and "Why Don't You Believe Me

Why Don't You Believe Me?

"Why Don't You Believe Me?" is a popular song written by Lew Douglas, King Laney, and Roy Rodde and published in 1952.A recording by Joni James reached #1 on the Billboard charts in 1952...

." Other highlights include the Crests

The Crests

The Crests were a New York R&B doo-wop group of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Their most popular song was "16 Candles", which rose to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1959. It sold over one million copies, earning a gold disc. The interracial group had three black members , one Puerto...

' "Sixteen Candles" and three songs from the group's so-called "angel series," "The Angels Listened In," "Pretty Little Angel," and "Trouble in Paradise". Coed Records' final singles were released in 1965.

Future co-founder of A&M Records

A&M Records

A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...

, Jerry Moss

Jerry Moss

Jerome S. "Jerry" Moss is an American recording executive, best known for being the co-founder of A&M Records, along with trumpeter and bandleader Herb Alpert....

, began his music career promoting the Crests

The Crests

The Crests were a New York R&B doo-wop group of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Their most popular song was "16 Candles", which rose to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1959. It sold over one million copies, earning a gold disc. The interracial group had three black members , one Puerto...

' "Sixteen Candles" record for Coed.

In April of 2010, the Coed Records catalogue was acquired by Los Angeles-based rights-management firm Beach Road Music, LLC. In January of 2011, Beach Road released the album From The Vault: The Coed Records Lost Master Tapes Volume 1.