Scepter Records
Encyclopedia
Scepter Records is a record company founded in 1959
by Florence Greenberg
. She had just sold Tiara Records
with The Shirelles
for $4000 to Decca Records
. When The Shirelles didn't produce any hits for Decca, they were given back to Greenberg, who promptly signed them. By 1961 Greenberg launched a subsidiary Wand Records
. Another related label was Citation Records, "a Scepter Records subsidiary/series that featured a fake gold record on every cover, advertising the 'best of' (Joe) Tex, Flip Wilson, Deep Purple, Wilson Pickett, the Isley Brothers, and anything else they could lease (or own the rights to)." In 1976 Florence Greenberg decided to retire from the business and sold her record labels to Springboard International. When Springboard went bankrupt, Gusto Records
acquired the catalog.
Scepter Records was one of the earliest record labels to release 12-inch single
s intended for the nascent disco market. (Vince Aletti, 1975)
at Manhattan
(a building now famous for housing the legendary Studio 54
disco). The building included warehouse space and its own recording studio
. Though few albums of note were recorded at Scepter Studios, one was the influential, avant-garde
rock and roll
album The Velvet Underground & Nico, recorded in April 1966 by engineer John Licata under the supervision of Andy Warhol
and Norman Dolph.
In 1961 and 1962 Wally Roker was the promotion man for Scepter Records that promoted all the Shirelles hit records.
1959 in music
-Events:*January 5 – The first sessions for Ella Fitzgerald's George and Ira Gershwin Songbook are held.*January 12 – Tamla Records is founded by Berry Gordy Jr. in Detroit, Michigan....
by Florence Greenberg
Florence Greenberg
Florence Greenberg was an American record label owner, music executive and a record producer.- Life and career :...
. She had just sold Tiara Records
Tiara Records
Tiara Records was a record label, started in 1958 by Florence Greenberg. When she had a local hit with I Met Him on a Sunday by The Shirelles, she sold the group with the label to Decca Records for $4000. With that money she started Scepter Records in 1959....
with The Shirelles
The Shirelles
The Shirelles were an African-American girl group that achieved popularity in the early 1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens , Doris Coley , Addie "Micki" Harris , and Beverly Lee...
for $4000 to Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
. When The Shirelles didn't produce any hits for Decca, they were given back to Greenberg, who promptly signed them. By 1961 Greenberg launched a subsidiary Wand Records
Wand Records
Wand Records was started by Florence Greenberg in 1961 as a subsidiary of Scepter Records. In 1976 Florence Greenberg decided to retire from the business and sold her record labels to Springboard International. When Springboard went bankrupt, Gusto Records acquired the catalog.Artists on Wand...
. Another related label was Citation Records, "a Scepter Records subsidiary/series that featured a fake gold record on every cover, advertising the 'best of' (Joe) Tex, Flip Wilson, Deep Purple, Wilson Pickett, the Isley Brothers, and anything else they could lease (or own the rights to)." In 1976 Florence Greenberg decided to retire from the business and sold her record labels to Springboard International. When Springboard went bankrupt, 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....
acquired the catalog.
Scepter Records was one of the earliest record labels to release 12-inch single
12-inch single
The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...
s intended for the nascent disco market. (Vince Aletti, 1975)
Scepter Studios
In 1965, Scepter moved its offices to 254 West 54th Street54th Street (Manhattan)
54th Street is a two-mile-long, one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan.-West Side Highway:*The route begins at the West Side Highway . Opposite the intersection is the New York Passenger Ship Terminal and the Hudson River...
at Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
(a building now famous for housing the legendary Studio 54
Studio 54
Studio 54 was a highly popular discotheque from 1977 until 1991, located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan, New York, USA. It was originally the Gallo Opera House, opening in 1927, after which it changed names several times, eventually becoming a CBS radio and television studio. In 1977 it...
disco). The building included warehouse space and its own recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
. Though few albums of note were recorded at Scepter Studios, one was the influential, avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
album The Velvet Underground & Nico, recorded in April 1966 by engineer John Licata under the supervision of Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
and Norman Dolph.
In 1961 and 1962 Wally Roker was the promotion man for Scepter Records that promoted all the Shirelles hit records.
Scepter & subsidiary label artists (also see Wand Records)
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)