Challenge Records (1950s)
Encyclopedia
Challenge Records was founded in Los Angeles
in 1957 by cowboy singer Gene Autry
and former Columbia Records
A & R representative Joe Johnson. Autry's involvement with the label was short lived as he sold his interest to the remaining partners in October 1958. The label's first success came with instrumental group The Champs
, who had their biggest hit in 1958 with "Tequila
". They also had a series of hits with pop
singer Jerry Wallace
("Primrose Lane") and country
singer Wynn Stewart
("Wishful Thinking"). Other recording artists with the label included Jan and Dean
, Gary Usher
, The Knickerbockers
, and singer-songwriter Jerry Fuller
. The first Challenge label was blue with silver print, followed after the first half dozen releases by a short-lived light blue label with red print, then a maroon colored label with silver print.
Finally around late 1959, the company issued their singles on a green label with silver print.
The company went out of business in the late 1960s. Sony/ATV Music Publishing
owns the catalog today.
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1957 by cowboy singer Gene Autry
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
and former Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
A & R representative Joe Johnson. Autry's involvement with the label was short lived as he sold his interest to the remaining partners in October 1958. The label's first success came with instrumental group The Champs
The Champs
The Champs were an American rock and roll band, most famous for their Latin-tinged instrumental "Tequila". Formed by studio executives at Gene Autry's Challenge Records to record a B-Side for the Dave Burgess single, the intended throwaway track became more famous than its A-Side, "Train to...
, who had their biggest hit in 1958 with "Tequila
Tequila (song)
"Tequila" is a 1958 Latin-flavored rock and roll song recorded by the group, the Champs. The title of the song constitutes the entirety of the lyrics, and is spoken a total of three times during the course of the song. "Tequila" became a #1 hit on both the pop and R&B charts at the time of its...
". They also had a series of hits with pop
Pop 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...
singer Jerry Wallace
Jerry Wallace
Jerry Wallace was an American country and pop singer. Between 1958 and 1964, Wallace charted nine hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including the #8 "Primrose Lane." He made his debut on the country music charts in 1965, entering it thirty-five times between then and 1980. In that timespan, Wallace...
("Primrose Lane") and country
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...
singer Wynn Stewart
Wynn Stewart
Winford Lindsey Stewart , better known as Wynn Stewart, was an American country music performer. He was one of the progenitors of the Bakersfield sound...
("Wishful Thinking"). Other recording artists with the label included Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean were a rock and roll duo, popular from the late 1950s through the mid 1960s, consisting of William Jan Berry and Dean Ormsby Torrence...
, Gary Usher
Gary Usher
Gary Usher was an American surf rock musician, songwriter, and record producer.-Biography:Usher's early life was spent in Grafton, Massachusetts. He attended Norcross Grammar School with his sister, Sandra, who was in the same class and was likely his twin. Gary was kiddingly called "Chicken Feed"...
, The Knickerbockers
The Knickerbockers
The Knickerbockers were an American pop/rock music group, best remembered for their 1965 Beatles sound alike hit single, "Lies."-Formation:The band was formed in 1962 in Bergenfield, New Jersey by brothers Beau Charles and John Charles with fluctuating personnel until 1964, when they met...
, and singer-songwriter Jerry Fuller
Jerry Fuller
-Biography:Jerry Fuller was born in Fort Worth, Texas to a musical family, his father having been a singer with Bob Wills' Light Crust Doughboys. Jerry Fuller and his brother Bill performed as a duo in their home state, recording for the local Lin label, before Jerry branched out on his own and...
. The first Challenge label was blue with silver print, followed after the first half dozen releases by a short-lived light blue label with red print, then a maroon colored label with silver print.
Finally around late 1959, the company issued their singles on a green label with silver print.
The company went out of business in the late 1960s. Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Sony/ATV Music Publishing is a music publishing company co-owned by The Michael Jackson Family Trust and Sony. The organisation was originally founded as Associated TeleVision in 1955 by Lew Grade. In 1957, ATV acquired Pye Records as a wholly owned subsidiary...
owns the catalog today.
Challenge Records artists
- The Kuf-Linx
- Jan & DeanJan and DeanJan and Dean were a rock and roll duo, popular from the late 1950s through the mid 1960s, consisting of William Jan Berry and Dean Ormsby Torrence...
- Johnny & Jonie
- Marty BalinMarty BalinMarty Balin is an American musician. He is best known as the founder and one of the lead singers of the psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane.-Early life:Martyn Buchwald was born in Cincinnati, Ohio...
- Bob Morris
- Bobby Austin
- The BroguesThe BroguesThe Brogues was a Merced, California band formed in 1964 by Eddie Rodrigues , Rick Campbell , Greg Elmore and Bill Whittington...
- The ChampsThe ChampsThe Champs were an American rock and roll band, most famous for their Latin-tinged instrumental "Tequila". Formed by studio executives at Gene Autry's Challenge Records to record a B-Side for the Dave Burgess single, the intended throwaway track became more famous than its A-Side, "Train to...
- Jan HowardJan HowardLula Grace Johnson , known professionally as Jan Howard, is an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry star. She attained moderate success as a country female vocalist during the 1960s and early 1970s...
- The KnickerbockersThe KnickerbockersThe Knickerbockers were an American pop/rock music group, best remembered for their 1965 Beatles sound alike hit single, "Lies."-Formation:The band was formed in 1962 in Bergenfield, New Jersey by brothers Beau Charles and John Charles with fluctuating personnel until 1964, when they met...
- Baker KnightBaker KnightBaker Knight was an American songwriter and musician from Birmingham, Alabama.He was born Thomas Baker Knight Jr. in Birmingham, Alabama to Thomas Baker Knight Sr. and his wife Mary Knight. His father died in 1939 at the age of 32, and because of his mother's poor health Knight was raised mainly...
- Donna LorenDonna LorenDonna Loren is a singer and actress. A very prolific performer in the 1960s, commenciong while still attending Venice High School in western Los Angeles, she was the Dr Pepper spokesperson from 1963–1968, prolific vocalist on ABC-TV’s Shindig, and a cast member of the American International...
- Darnell Miller
- The Peanut Butter ConspiracyThe Peanut Butter ConspiracyThe Peanut Butter Conspiracy was an American psychedelic pop/rock group in the 1960s.They formed in Los Angeles in August 1966 out of the folk-rock group "The Ashes", who included John Merrill , Barbara "Sandi" Robison , Alan Brackett , Spencer Dryden , and Jim Cherniss...
- We The PeopleWe the People (band)We the People were an American garage rock band from Orlando, Florida that were formed in late 1965 and professionally active between 1966 and 1970. Although none of their singles charted nationally in the U.S., a number of them did reach the Top 10 of the local Orlando charts...
- Wynn StewartWynn StewartWinford Lindsey Stewart , better known as Wynn Stewart, was an American country music performer. He was one of the progenitors of the Bakersfield sound...
- Gene VincentGene VincentVincent Eugene Craddock , known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rock and roll and rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-A-Lula", is considered a significant early example of rockabilly...
- Jerry WallaceJerry WallaceJerry Wallace was an American country and pop singer. Between 1958 and 1964, Wallace charted nine hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including the #8 "Primrose Lane." He made his debut on the country music charts in 1965, entering it thirty-five times between then and 1980. In that timespan, Wallace...
- The Falling LeavesThe Falling Leaves__NOEDITSECTION__The Falling Leaves is a poem written by Margaret Postgate-Cole in November 1915 about World War I. Cole was an English atheist, feminist, pacifist, and socialist; her pacifist views influenced her poetry. Her brother was jailed for refusing to obey conscription. She wrote poems...