Oriole Records (UK)
Encyclopedia
Oriole Records was the first British
record label
founded in 1925 by the London
-based Levy Company, which owned a gramophone record subsidiary called Levaphone Records.
that also sold bicycles and sewing machines at 19 High Street, Whitechapel
, and later moved to 139 High Street. Oriole recorded popular music
in England
, and also issued masters from the United States
Vocalion Records
in May and June 1927. The original label was discontinued in 1935.
Jacques Levy produced records starting in 1931 at the West End studios at Rosslyn House, 94-98 Regent Street
, London
, where they stayed until 1937 when they moved to 73 New Bond Street, with chief engineers
Ted Sibbick and Bill Johnson, built into what was once an art gallery. In 1949, they segregated the work and the label, with Oriole Records Ltd moving into 101 New Bond Street, London, and with Levy moving out to a factory at Aston Clinton
, near Aylesbury
. From 1938 or 1939, David Morris Levy lived nearby at Flat 98, Clarence Gate Gardens, near Baker Street
until his 1971 death, and also maintained a residence in Birchington, Kent
.
The owner, David Morris Levy, and his brother Jacques (no relation to his Roulette Records
namesake) revived the Oriole label in 1950. For a few years (ending in 1955) it was the exclusive UK licensee for the American
Mercury Records
label, with releases by artists
such as Frankie Laine
, Vic Damone
and Patti Page
. These releases appeared first on the Oriole label itself, and later on the Mercury label.
in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including the Chas McDevitt
skiffle
group's version of "Freight Train" (featuring Nancy Whiskey
on vocals); "Like I Do" by Maureen Evans
(based on the same music as Allan Sherman
's "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh
" – Amilcare Ponchielli
's Dance of the Hours
– and the label's biggest hit
), Russ Hamilton
's "We Will Make Love", which reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart
, and the B-side
of which ("Rainbow") reached #4 in the US
Billboard Hot 100
on Kapp Records
. The label also had successes with tracks licensed from Europe
an labels, notably Domenico Modugno
's original recording of Volare
and recordings by the Swedish
instrumental group the Spotnicks
. In the 1960s Oriole licensed several productions by Joe Meek
, performed by the Dowlands, Alan Klein and Screaming Lord Sutch
. It also distributed several American hits from Columbia Records in the US.
s of the hits of the day, which it released on its cut-price Embassy Records
label, sold exclusively in Woolworths
stores. The repertoire consisted of cut-price cover versions of British pop hits, first released in November 1954. It later included session cover performances by such future stars as Elton John
(then singing as Reg Dwight).
manager John Schroeder, Oriole was the first UK label (after the odd release on London
and Fontana
) to license recordings on a regular basis from the US Tamla and Motown catalogues, but none of the releases charted (it was not until a few years later, and on EMI
's Stateside
label, that the Detroit-based label would begin its run of hits in the UK). Nonetheless, several of the singles have since come to be highly regarded, with famous recordings including "Do You Love Me
" (The Contours
), "You've Really Got a Hold on Me
" (The Miracles
), and "Fingertips" (Little Stevie Wonder
). Oriole released nineteen Motown releases on their black and white Oriole American label, whilst seven albums appeared on the normal black and yellow Oriole label. The company was known as Tamla Motown outside the US, and these were some of its rarest releases.
. It lasted until 21 September 1964, when it was bought by CBS
, parent of the American Columbia Records
, who were looking to set up their own manufacturing facility in the UK. The result was CBS Records, and with its coming the Oriole label would be phased out. The company was officially renamed CBS Records in 1965. David Morris Levy originally stayed on as managing director, but severed all ties with CBS in 1967.
David Morris Levy's sons, John Jacob, an attorney
at Nicholas Morris in London, and Edward Frederick, principal of Chelsea Music Publishing in London, are still active in the music industry.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
record label
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,...
founded in 1925 by the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-based Levy Company, which owned a gramophone record subsidiary called Levaphone Records.
History
The Levy family founded a record shopRecord shop
A record shop or record store is an outlet that sells recorded music. Although vinyl records and audio cassettes are no longer sold in the majority of music stores, in favour of compact discs and home video recordings products, people in some countries, like the UK, still use the term "record...
that also sold bicycles and sewing machines at 19 High Street, Whitechapel
Whitechapel
Whitechapel is a built-up inner city district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, England. It is located east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by the Bishopsgate thoroughfare on the west, Fashion Street on the north, Brady Street and Cavell Street on the east and The Highway on the...
, and later moved to 139 High Street. Oriole recorded popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and also issued masters from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Vocalion Records
Vocalion Records
Vocalion Records is a record label active for many years in the United States and in the United Kingdom.-History:Vocalion was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Piano Company of New York City, which introduced a retail line of phonographs at the same time. The name was derived from one of their...
in May and June 1927. The original label was discontinued in 1935.
Jacques Levy produced records starting in 1931 at the West End studios at Rosslyn House, 94-98 Regent Street
Regent Street
Regent Street is one of the major shopping streets in London's West End, well known to tourists and Londoners alike, and famous for its Christmas illuminations...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where they stayed until 1937 when they moved to 73 New Bond Street, with chief engineers
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
Ted Sibbick and Bill Johnson, built into what was once an art gallery. In 1949, they segregated the work and the label, with Oriole Records Ltd moving into 101 New Bond Street, London, and with Levy moving out to a factory at Aston Clinton
Aston Clinton
Aston Clinton is a village and civil parish close to the main A41 road in Buckinghamshire, England between Tring and Aylesbury. The parish covers and is about east of Aylesbury. The village is at the foot of the chalk escarpment of the Chiltern Hills at the junction of the pre-historic track the...
, near Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
. From 1938 or 1939, David Morris Levy lived nearby at Flat 98, Clarence Gate Gardens, near Baker Street
Baker Street
Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid the street out in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, who lived at a fictional 221B...
until his 1971 death, and also maintained a residence in Birchington, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
.
The owner, David Morris Levy, and his brother Jacques (no relation to his Roulette Records
Roulette Records
Roulette Records is an American record label, which was founded in late 1956, by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Khals, with creative control given to producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Levy was appointed as director...
namesake) revived the Oriole label in 1950. For a few years (ending in 1955) it was the exclusive UK licensee for the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
label, with releases by artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
such as Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
, Vic Damone
Vic Damone
Vic Damone is an American singer and entertainer.- Early life :Damone was born Vito Rocco Farinola in Brooklyn, New York to French-Italian immigrants based in Bari, Italy—Rocco and Mamie Farinola. His father was an electrician; and his mother taught piano. His cousin was the actress and singer...
and Patti Page
Patti Page
Clara Ann Fowler , known by her professional name Patti Page, is an American singer, one of the best-known female artists in traditional pop music. She was the best-selling female artist of the 1950s, and has sold over 100 million records...
. These releases appeared first on the Oriole label itself, and later on the Mercury label.
First hits
Oriole achieved a few home-made hitsHit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including the Chas McDevitt
Chas McDevitt
Chas McDevitt is a British musician, one of the leading lights of the skiffle genre which was highly influential and popular in the United Kingdom in the mid-to-late 1950s....
skiffle
Skiffle
Skiffle is a type of popular music with jazz, blues, folk, roots and country influences, usually using homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a term in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, it became popular again in the UK in the 1950s, where it was mainly...
group's version of "Freight Train" (featuring Nancy Whiskey
Nancy Whiskey
Nancy Whiskey was a Scottish folk singer, best known for the 1957 hit song, "Freight Train".She was born Anne Alexandra Young Wilson, at Bridgeton, Glasgow, Scotland...
on vocals); "Like I Do" by Maureen Evans
Maureen Evans
Maureen Evans is a Welsh pop singer who achieved fame briefly in the 1960s.-Career:Evans career began as a singer with Waldini's Gypsy Band in the mid 1950s, mainly doing summer seasons at UK holiday resorts such as Llandudno.She released her first singles in 1958 on the Embassy Records label....
(based on the same music as Allan Sherman
Allan Sherman
Allan Sherman was an American comedy writer and television producer who became famous as a song parodist in the early 1960s. His first album, My Son, the Folk Singer , became the fastest-selling record album up to that time...
's "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh
Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh
"Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh " is a Grammy Award-winning novelty song by Allan Sherman, based on letters of complaint he received from his son Robert while Robert attended Camp Champlain in Westport, New York. The song is a parody that complains about the fictional "Camp Granada" and is set to the...
" – Amilcare Ponchielli
Amilcare Ponchielli
Amilcare Ponchielli was an Italian composer, largely of operas.-Biography:Born in Paderno Fasolaro, now Paderno Ponchielli, near Cremona, Ponchielli won a scholarship at the age of nine to study music at the Milan Conservatory, writing his first symphony by the time he was ten years old.Two years...
's Dance of the Hours
Dance of the Hours
Dance of the Hours is a short ballet from Act 3, Scene 2 of the opera La Gioconda composed by Amilcare Ponchielli. It depicts the hours of the day through solo and ensemble dances. The opera was first performed in 1876 and was revised in 1880...
– and the label's biggest hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
), Russ Hamilton
Russ Hamilton (singer)
Russ Hamilton was an English singer and songwriter.-Biography:Born as Ronald Hulme in Everton, Liverpool, he was one of the first singer-songwriters of pop music to have come out of the city, and he was the first Liverpool artist to hit the United States music scene with his song "Rainbow" several...
's "We Will Make Love", which reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, and the B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of which ("Rainbow") reached #4 in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
on Kapp Records
Kapp Records
Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp . David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca Records and RCA Victor Records. Kapp licensed its records to London Records for release in the UK.In 1967, David Kapp sold his label to MCA Inc...
. The label also had successes with tracks licensed from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an labels, notably Domenico Modugno
Domenico Modugno
Domenico Modugno was an Italian singer, songwriter, actor, and later in life, a member of the Italian Parliament. He is known for his 1958 international hit song "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu "...
's original recording of Volare
Volare (song)
"Nel blu dipinto di blu" , popularly known as "Volare" , is Domenico Modugno's signature song....
and recordings by the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
instrumental group the Spotnicks
The Spotnicks
The Spotnicks is an instrumental rock group from Sweden, who were formed in 1961. They were famous for wearing "space suit" costumes on stage, and for their innovative electronic guitar sound...
. In the 1960s Oriole licensed several productions by Joe Meek
Joe Meek
Robert George "Joe" Meek was a pioneering English record producer and songwriter....
, performed by the Dowlands, Alan Klein and Screaming Lord Sutch
Screaming Lord Sutch
David Edward Sutch , also known as "Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow", or simply "Screaming Lord Sutch", was a musician from the United Kingdom...
. It also distributed several American hits from Columbia Records in the US.
Embassy Records
Oriole also produced cover versionCover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s of the hits of the day, which it released on its cut-price Embassy Records
Embassy Records
Embassy Records was originally a UK budget record label that produced cover versions of current hit songs that were sold exclusively in Woolworths shops at a cheaper price than the original recordings. As such, Embassy can be seen as the UK equivalent of U.S. labels such as Hit and Bell Records...
label, sold exclusively in Woolworths
Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
stores. The repertoire consisted of cut-price cover versions of British pop hits, first released in November 1954. It later included session cover performances by such future stars as Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
(then singing as Reg Dwight).
Tamla Motown on Oriole American
During the tenure of A&RA&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
manager John Schroeder, Oriole was the first UK label (after the odd release on London
London Records
London Records, referred to as London Recordings in logo, is a record label headquartered in the United Kingdom, originally marketing records in the United States, Canada and Latin America from 1947 to 1979, then becoming a semi-independent label....
and Fontana
Fontana Records
Fontana Records is a record label which was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records; when Philips restructured its music operations it dropped Fontana in favor of Vertigo Records. In the seventies PolyGram acquired the dormant label....
) to license recordings on a regular basis from the US Tamla and Motown catalogues, but none of the releases charted (it was not until a few years later, and on EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
's Stateside
Stateside Records
Stateside Records is a British record label which initially released licenced American recordings and is now a reissue label....
label, that the Detroit-based label would begin its run of hits in the UK). Nonetheless, several of the singles have since come to be highly regarded, with famous recordings including "Do You Love Me
Do You Love Me
"Do You Love Me" is a 1962 hit single recorded by The Contours for Motown's Gordy Records label. Written and produced by Motown CEO Berry Gordy, Jr., "Do You Love Me?" was the Contours' only Top 40 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. Notably, the record achieved this feat...
" (The Contours
The Contours
The Contours were one of the early African-American soul singing groups signed to Motown Records.The group is best known for its Billboard Top 10 hit, "Do You Love Me," a million-selling song that peaked twice in the Top 20....
), "You've Really Got a Hold on Me
You've Really Got a Hold on Me
"You've Really Got a Hold on Me" is a 1962 Top 10 hit single by The Miracles for the Tamla label. One of the group's most covered tunes, this million-selling song is a 1998 Grammy Hall of Fame inductee...
" (The Miracles
The Miracles
The Miracles are an American rhythm and blues group from Detroit, Michigan, notable as the first successful group act for Berry Gordy's Motown Record Corporation . Their single "Shop Around" was Motown's first million-selling hit record, and the group went on to become one of Motown's signature...
), and "Fingertips" (Little Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
). Oriole released nineteen Motown releases on their black and white Oriole American label, whilst seven albums appeared on the normal black and yellow Oriole label. The company was known as Tamla Motown outside the US, and these were some of its rarest releases.
Takeover by US Columbia
The Oriole record company had two record pressing factories, one situated in Aston Clinton and the other in ColnbrookColnbrook
Colnbrook is a large village in the unitary authority of Slough, in Berkshire, England. It is situated southeast of central Slough, east of Windsor and west of central London....
. It lasted until 21 September 1964, when it was bought by CBS
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
, parent of the American 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...
, who were looking to set up their own manufacturing facility in the UK. The result was CBS Records, and with its coming the Oriole label would be phased out. The company was officially renamed CBS Records in 1965. David Morris Levy originally stayed on as managing director, but severed all ties with CBS in 1967.
David Morris Levy's sons, John Jacob, an attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
at Nicholas Morris in London, and Edward Frederick, principal of Chelsea Music Publishing in London, are still active in the music industry.
See also
- List of record labels
- Oriole Records (US)Oriole Records (US)Oriole Records was a record label of the 1920s and 1930s based in the United States. The label was sold exclusively at the McCrory chain of stores ....