Musicor Records
Encyclopedia
Musicor Records was a New York City based record label
, active during the 1960s and 1970s. The label was founded by songwriter Aaron Schroeder
and distributed by United Artists Records
. In 1965, UA employee and A&R man Art Talmadge (a co-founder of Mercury Records years earlier) started his own Talmadge Productions company and, along with fellow UA employee/A&R man Harold "Pappy" Daily, bought the Musicor label from UA.
The Musicor catalog is today owned by Gusto Records
.
star Gene Pitney
, who gave Musicor its biggest hit with "Only Love Can Break A Heart". Bert Berns
produced Jimmy Radcliffe's
recording of the Burt Bacharach
and Hal David
song "Long After Tonight Is All Over" in 1964 that proved to be one of Northern Soul music's most enduring anthems. After a few years with no hits, popular R&B vocal group The Platters
made a comeback on Musicor with the Northern Soul classics "I Love You 1000 Times" and "With This Ring". Other artists rounding out the Musicor stable included Kenny Dino
, Bethea Harmon, Steve Rossi
(of the comic duo Allen & Rossi), Puerto Rican
sensation Tito Rodriguez
, middle-of-the-road orchestra leader Hugo Winterhalter
, rock group Street People
, and country music
singers George Jones
and Melba Montgomery
.
Musicor also produced some of the earliest recordings featuring the Moog Synthesizer
. The one-hit wonder
, Hot Butter
, scored a Top 10 hit for the label in 1972 with the song "Popcorn
" (which was also Musicor's last big hit). The Electric Moog Orchestra was also on the Musicor roster, specializing in synthesized versions of John Williams
music.
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, active during the 1960s and 1970s. The label was founded by songwriter Aaron Schroeder
Aaron Schroeder
Aaron Schroeder was an American songwriter and music publisher.-Biography:Born Aaron Harold Schroder , he graduated from the school now known as the Fiorello H...
and distributed by United Artists Records
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...
. In 1965, UA employee and A&R man Art Talmadge (a co-founder of Mercury Records years earlier) started his own Talmadge Productions company and, along with fellow UA employee/A&R man Harold "Pappy" Daily, bought the Musicor label from UA.
The Musicor catalog is today owned by Gusto Records
Gusto Records
Gusto Records is a Nashville, Tennessee based record company specializing in reissuing and licensing recordings from its vast catalogue of music from acquired record labels and their own studio recordings....
.
Subsidiary and reissue labels
After Art Talmadge bought the Musicor label, he formed two budget subsidiary labels (MusicVoice and Music Disc/MusicO) as well as two short-lived commercial subsidiaries, Ariel and Dynamo. Reissued singles were released under the Musicor Startime Series label.Best-selling artists
Musicor's best-selling artists ran the gamut of genres. The label's most successful artist was popPop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
star Gene Pitney
Gene Pitney
Eugene Francis Alan Pitney, known as Gene Pitney , was an American singer-songwriter, musician and sound engineer. Through the mid-1960s, he enjoyed success as a recording artist on both sides of the Atlantic and was among the group of early 1960s American acts who continued to enjoy hits after the...
, who gave Musicor its biggest hit with "Only Love Can Break A Heart". Bert Berns
Bert Berns
Bertrand Russell Berns , most commonly known as Bert Berns as well as Bert Russell and Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s...
produced Jimmy Radcliffe's
Jimmy Radcliffe
James "Jimmy" Radcliffe was an American soul singer, composer, arranger, conductor and record producer.-Biography:James Radcliffe was born in New York City...
recording of the Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
and Hal David
Hal David
Harold Lane "Hal" David is an American lyricist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. David is best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach.-Career:...
song "Long After Tonight Is All Over" in 1964 that proved to be one of Northern Soul music's most enduring anthems. After a few years with no hits, popular R&B vocal group The Platters
The Platters
The Platters were a vocal group of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound was a bridge between the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the burgeoning new genre...
made a comeback on Musicor with the Northern Soul classics "I Love You 1000 Times" and "With This Ring". Other artists rounding out the Musicor stable included Kenny Dino
Kenny Dino
Kenneth J. Diono, known professionally as Kenny Dino was an American singer born in Astoria, Queens, New York....
, Bethea Harmon, Steve Rossi
Steve Rossi
Steve Rossi is an American stand-up comedian and actor.-Biography:Rossi gained a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication, arts and theater, Greek and Latin at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles and served as an officer in the United States Air Force. The comedian was discovered by Mae West...
(of the comic duo Allen & Rossi), Puerto Rican
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
sensation Tito Rodriguez
Tito Rodriguez
Tito Rodríguez was a popular 1950s and 1960s Puerto Rican singer and bandleader. He is known by many fans as "El Inolvidable" , a moniker based on his most popular interpretation, a song written by composer Julio Gutierrez.-Early years:Rodríguez , born in Santurce, Puerto Rico,...
, middle-of-the-road orchestra leader Hugo Winterhalter
Hugo Winterhalter
Hugo Winterhalter was an American musician.An easy listening arranger and composer, Winterhalter was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Mount St. Mary's near Emmitsburg, Maryland in 1931, where he played saxophone for the orchestra and sang in two of the choirs...
, rock group Street People
The Street People
The Street People was the name of two American groups to score hits on the US Billboard charts in the 1970s.A group called The Street People hit #35 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970 with the song "Jennifer Tomkins". The group's vocalist was Rupert Holmes....
, and country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singers George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
and Melba Montgomery
Melba Montgomery
Melba Montgomery is an American country music singer. She is best known for duet hit recordings in the 1960s with country music singer George Jones....
.
Musicor also produced some of the earliest recordings featuring the Moog Synthesizer
Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
. The one-hit wonder
One-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single.-Characteristics:...
, Hot Butter
Hot Butter
Hot Butter was an instrumental cover band fronted by the keyboard player Stan Free. The other band members were Dave Mullaney, John Abbott, Bill Jerome, Steve Jerome, and Danny Jordan. They are best known for their 1972 cover of the Moog synthpop instrumental, "Popcorn", originally recorded by its...
, scored a Top 10 hit for the label in 1972 with the song "Popcorn
Popcorn (instrumental)
"Popcorn" is an early electronic pop instrumental, originally composed by Gershon Kingsley in 1969 on his album Music to Moog By. The same year this tune was released and recorded at Audio Fidelity Records label in New York City....
" (which was also Musicor's last big hit). The Electric Moog Orchestra was also on the Musicor roster, specializing in synthesized versions of John Williams
John Williams
John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...
music.