Era Records
Era Records | |
---|---|
Parent company | K-tel |
Founded | 1955 |
Founder | Herb Newman Lou Bedell |
Defunct | 1990 |
Distributor(s) | Happy Tiger K-tel |
Genre | Pop, country, rockabilly, jazz |
Country of origin | United States |
Location | Hollywood, California |
Era Records was an independent American record label in Hollywood, California. It was founded by Herb Newman and Lou Bedell in 1955 as a pop, country and western, and jazz label.[1] In 1959 Bedell sold his interest in the label to Newman. Era had a No. 1 hit in 1956 with Gogi Grant's "The Wayward Wind" written by Newman. Musicians with hits on Era include Ketty Lester ("Love Letters"), Larry Verne ("Mr. Custer"), Donnie Brooks ("Mission Bell"), Dorsey Burnette ("Tall Oak Tree"), Art & Dotty Todd ("Chanson D' Amour"), and The Castells ("So This Is Love"). Era distributed other labels, including Monogram, Gregmark, and Eden. From 1969 to 1971, Era was associated with Happy Tiger, which reissued and distributed some of Era's oldies. In 1972, Newman added the RTV label which released the psychedelic album Mu. In the mid-1970s Newman sold the Era label and catalog to K-tel. In 1993, K-tel began reissuing some of the early Era material using the original Era label and logo.[2]
Notable artists[]
- Jewel Akens
- Donnie Brooks
- Dorsey Burnette
- The Castells
- The Crescents
- Gogi Grant
- Ketty Lester
- Colleen Lovett
- The Moments
- Johnny Rivers
- The Sentinals
- Mike Smith
- Larry Verne
- Bob Wilson
Other labels[]
- Dore Records (Teddy Bears, Jan & Dean, Hudson & Landry)
- Happy Tiger Records (Mason Proffit, Them)
- Monogram Records (Chris Montez, Kathy Young)
- RTV
- Trey Records
- Zen Records ()
See also[]
- List of record labels
References[]
- ^ Edwards, David; Callahan, Mike (July 27, 1998). "Era Album Discographies". Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ Morris, Chris (March 13, 1993). "K-tel Begins New Imprint Era". Billboard: 52.
- Record labels established in 1955
- Defunct record labels of the United States
- Pop record labels
- American country music record labels
- Jazz record labels
- American independent record labels
- Companies based in Los Angeles County, California
- 1955 establishments in California
- United States record label stubs