GTO Records
Encyclopedia
GTO Records is a British Record label which released many hits during the 1970s. It ran from 1974 to 1981 and mainly concentrated on pop music
and disco.
over the past two years. The label signed mainly pop and disco acts such as Billy Ocean
, The Dooleys
, Heatwave
and released Donna Summer
's records in the UK, all of which proved to be successful. The biggest hit released by the label was Donna Summer's "I Feel Love
", which reached No.1 in 1977.
In 1978, the label was sold to CBS Records
after achieving a high level of hits for a new label. From this time, the Donna Summer records moved to Casablanca Records
, while the hits for other acts began to dry up over the next two years. The label was wrapped up in late 1981 when its roster of acts were either dropped or moved onto Epic Records
- also owned by CBS. Prior to the sell and transfer of artists, Epic distributed many of GTO albums, namely Heatwave's output.
The GTO back catalogue is currently owned by Sony Music.
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...
and disco.
Background
The record label was founded by Laurence Myers in 1974, after he had set up GTO Films and Arcade RecordsArcade Records
Arcade Records was a Dutch multimedia concern, which started off as a record label specialized in compilations.-History:The label itself was founded in 1972 by Herman Heinsbroek, who followed the example of its UK division. Seeing the huge success of their releases the company grew enormously and...
over the past two years. The label signed mainly pop and disco acts such as Billy Ocean
Billy Ocean
Billy Ocean is a Trinidad-born English Grammy Award winning popular music performer who had a string of rhythm and blues international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British-based R&B singer / songwriter of the early to mid-1980s...
, The Dooleys
The Dooleys
The Dooleys were a United Kingdom male–female pop group comprising eight members — six of them family members — at their peak. They achieved several UK chart hits between 1977 and 1981 including top-ten hits "Wanted", "Love of My Life" and "The Chosen Few"....
, Heatwave
Heatwave (band)
Heatwave was an international funk/disco musical band featuring Americans Johnnie Wilder, Jr. and Keith Wilder of Dayton, Ohio, Englishman Rod Temperton , Swiss Mario Mantese , Czechoslovak Ernest "Bilbo" Berger , Jamaican Eric Johns and Briton Roy Carter .They were known for their successful...
and released Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
's records in the UK, all of which proved to be successful. The biggest hit released by the label was Donna Summer's "I Feel Love
I Feel Love
"I Feel Love" is a song by Donna Summer, taken from her 1977 concept album I Remember Yesterday.The song constituted the "future" segment of the album, which represented a stylistic progress through time...
", which reached No.1 in 1977.
In 1978, the label was sold to CBS Records
CBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
after achieving a high level of hits for a new label. From this time, the Donna Summer records moved to Casablanca Records
Casablanca Records
Casablanca Records was an American record label started by Neil Bogart, who partnered with Cecil Holmes, Larry Harris, and Buck Reingold in 1973, and based in Los Angeles. The label was formed after all of them had left Buddah Records and secured financing by Warner Bros. Records to start the venture...
, while the hits for other acts began to dry up over the next two years. The label was wrapped up in late 1981 when its roster of acts were either dropped or moved onto Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
- also owned by CBS. Prior to the sell and transfer of artists, Epic distributed many of GTO albums, namely Heatwave's output.
The GTO back catalogue is currently owned by Sony Music.
Hit singles
Top 40 singles:- "Only You Can" - FoxFox (band)Fox was a British-based pop band popular in the mid 1970s. Led by American songwriter and record producer Kenny Young, the band was perhaps best known for its charismatic Australian lead singer Susan Traynor, who performed under the name Noosha Fox....
(1975 UK #3) - "Imagine Me Imagine You - Fox (1975 UK #15)
- "Play Me Like You Play Your Guitar" - Duane EddyDuane EddyDuane Eddy is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he had a string of hit records, produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel Rouser", "Peter Gunn", and "Because They're Young"...
(1975 UK #9) - "Please Tell Him That I Said Hello" - DanaDana Rosemary ScallonDana Rosemary Scallon , known in her singing career simply as Dana, is an Irish singer and former Member of the European Parliament ....
(1975 UK #8) - "It's Gonna Be a Cold Cold Christmas" - Dana (1975 UK #4)
- "No RegretsNo Regrets (Tom Rush song)"No Regrets" is a song by folk and blues singer/songwriter Tom Rush. It is the final song on his 1968 album The Circle Game.His 1968 composition has become an acknowledged standard, with numerous cover versions having been recorded...
" - The Walker BrothersThe Walker BrothersThe Walker Brothers were an American 1960s and 1970s pop group, comprising Scott Engel , John Walker , and Gary Leeds...
(1976 UK #7) - "S-S-S-Single Bed" - Fox (1976 UK #4)
- "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" - Dana (1976 UK #31)
- "Fairytale" - Dana (1976 UK#13)
- "Love Really Hurts Wthout You" - Billy OceanBilly OceanBilly Ocean is a Trinidad-born English Grammy Award winning popular music performer who had a string of rhythm and blues international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British-based R&B singer / songwriter of the early to mid-1980s...
(1976 UK #2) - "L.O.D. (Love on Delivery)" - Billy Ocean (1976 UK #19)
- "Stop Me (If You've Heard it All Before)" - Billy Ocean (1976 UK #12)
- "Love to Love You BabyLove to Love You Baby (song)"Love to Love You Baby" is a song by American singer Donna Summer released in 1975 . It became one of the first ever disco hits to also be released in an extended form.-Song information and original release:...
" - Donna SummerDonna SummerLaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
(1976 UK #4) - "Winter MelodyWinter Melody"Winter Melody" is a song by Donna Summer released as a single in late 1976 from her Four Seasons of Love album. It became a top 30 hit in the UK, where it peaked at #27....
" - Donna Summer (1976 UK #27) - "Red Light Spells Danger" - Billy Ocean (1977 UK #2)
- "I Feel LoveI Feel Love"I Feel Love" is a song by Donna Summer, taken from her 1977 concept album I Remember Yesterday.The song constituted the "future" segment of the album, which represented a stylistic progress through time...
" - Donna Summer (1977 UK #1) - "I Remember YesterdayI Remember Yesterday-Charts:AlbumSingle-Certifications:...
" - Donna Summer (1977 UK #14) - "Love's UnkindLove's Unkind"Love's Unkind" is a single by Donna Summer from her album, I Remember Yesterday, which combined modern disco beats with sounds of previous decades. "Love's Unkind" has stories of high school crushes and love triangles. It became one of her biggest hits in the UK, peaking at number three, while it...
" - Donna Summer (1977 UK #3) - "Boogie NightsBoogie Nights (song)"Boogie Nights" is a 1976 single by the British-based funk-disco group Heatwave. It was the group's debut single and was written by Rod Temperton. It was included on Heatwave's debut album, Too Hot to Handle...
" - HeatwaveHeatwave (band)Heatwave was an international funk/disco musical band featuring Americans Johnnie Wilder, Jr. and Keith Wilder of Dayton, Ohio, Englishman Rod Temperton , Swiss Mario Mantese , Czechoslovak Ernest "Bilbo" Berger , Jamaican Eric Johns and Briton Roy Carter .They were known for their successful...
(1977 UK #2) - "Too Hot to Handle" - Heatwave (1977 UK #15)
- "I Can Prove It" - Tony Etoria (1977 UK #21)
- "Think I'm Gonna Fall in Love With You" - The DooleysThe DooleysThe Dooleys were a United Kingdom male–female pop group comprising eight members — six of them family members — at their peak. They achieved several UK chart hits between 1977 and 1981 including top-ten hits "Wanted", "Love of My Life" and "The Chosen Few"....
(1977 UK #13) - "Love of My Life" - The Dooleys (1977 UK #9)
- "The Groove Line" - Heatwave (1978 UK #12)
- "Mind Blowing Decisions" - Heatwave (1978 UK #12)
- "Always and ForeverAlways and Forever (Heatwave song)"Always and Forever" is a R&B song written by Rod Temperton and first recorded by the British-based multinational funk-disco band Heatwave in 1976...
" - Heatwave (1978 UK #9) - "A Rose Has to Die" - The Dooleys (1978 UK #11)
- "From East to West" - VoyageVoyage (band)Voyage was a European eurodisco group consisting of lead vocalist Sylvia Mason-James, along with Slim Pezin , Marc Chantereau , Sauveur Mallia and Pierre-Alain Dahan ....
(1978 UK #13) - "Honey I'm Lost" - The Dooleys (1979 UK #24)
- "Wanted" - The Dooleys (1979 UK #3)
- "The Chosen Few" - The Dooleys (1979 UK #7)
- "Love Patrol" - The Dooleys (1980 UK #29)
- "Living By Numbers" - New Musik (1980 UK #13)
- "This World of Water" - New Musik (1980 UK #31)
- "Sanctuary" - New Musik (1980 UK #31)
- "Gangsters of the Groove" - Heatwave (1981 UK #19)
Hit albums
- FoxFox (album)Fox is the debut album by the band of the same name released in 1975. The cover photography was by Gered Mankowitz.-Track listing:All songs by Kenny Young unless noted.#"Love Letters" #"Imagine Me, Imagine You"...
- Fox (1975 UK #7) - No RegretsNo Regrets (The Walker Brothers album)- Personnel :* Acoustic Guitar - John Walker, Judd Procter, Len Walker, Scott Walker* Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar - Alan Parker* Backing Vocals - Suzanne Lynch, Bones* Bass - Darryl Runswick* Conductor - Steve Grey* Drums - Barry Morgan...
- The Walker Brothers (1976 UK #49) - Love to Love You BabyLove to Love You BabyLove to Love You Baby is the second album by Donna Summer, and her first to be released internationally and in the US. Her previous album Lady of the Night was released only in the Netherlands. Love to Love You Baby was released in the US on August 27, 1975.-History:In the summer of 1975, Summer...
- Donna Summer (1976 UK #16) - A Love Trilogy - Donna Summer (1976 UK #41)
- Too Hot to Handle - Heatwave (1977 UK #46)
- I Remember YesterdayI Remember Yesterday-Charts:AlbumSingle-Certifications:...
- Donna Summer (1977 UK #3) - Central Heating - Heatwave (1978 UK #26)
- Greatest Hits - Donna Summer (1978 UK #4)
- Voyage - Voyage (1978 UK #59)
- The Best of The DooleysThe Best of The DooleysThe Best of The Dooleys is the second UK album by pop group The Dooleys. It is their first compilation album.- Background :By mid 1979, The Dooleys had scored six hit singles in the UK. The latest single, "Wanted" was the biggest hit of their career and so GTO Records released a compilation...
- The Dooleys (1979 UK #6) - The Chosen FewThe Chosen Few (The Dooleys album)The Chosen Few is a 1979 album by British pop group The Dooleys.The album contains the singles "Chosen Few" and "Wanted" - both of which were top 10 hits. "Wanted" had already appeared on the group's previous album, The Best of The Dooleys, but appeared here in a slightly extended version...
- The Dooleys (1979 UK #56) - Full HouseFull House (The Dooleys album)Full House is a 1980 album by British pop group The Dooleys.This was the group's third studio album and featured the singles "Love Patrol", "Body Language" and "In a Riddle". As well as this, top 10 hit "Chosen Few" was added to the album, despite it being featured on the group's previous album,...
- The Dooleys (1980 UK #54) - From A to BFrom A To BFrom A to B is the debut album from New Musik released on April 18, 1980. The CD version was first released on the GTO/Rewind label in 1996 with 3 bonus tracks...
- New Musik (1980 UK #35) - Candles - Heatwave (1981 UK #29)
- Anywhere - New Musik (1981 UK #68)