Offices of record companies: are they still there?

[Peter99]

Great thread and fantastic posts, pictures, memories and stories. I'm going to try and take a better look at this.

Thanks everyone.

Peter

[Fish Fingers]

On 08/12/2022 at 17:14, Peter99 said:

Great thread and fantastic posts, pictures, memories and stories. I'm going to try and take a better look at this.

Thanks everyone.

Peter

Agreed. Really interesting thread. 

It gives you  more of a flavour of what the music was about when you see whereabouts it came from.

 

[Roburt]

On 28/11/2022 at 20:13, Chalky said:

Done some digging.

Number 3 Thomas Circle, Washington.  In 1968 it was a radical centre, it was previously the home of Shrine Records.

Seems Mable John was working there in 1965 ... she got to know Al Bell of WUST radio. He was recruited by Stax and a few months later, he signed her to Stax. 

Edited March 8, 2023 by Roburt

[Amsterdam Russ]

Next up is the former location of Don Robey's Peacock-Duke labels: 2809 Erastus Street, Houston, Texas.

Robey moved his labels here from Lyons Avenue, Houston, in 1953 after acquiring Duke. The location was home to Robey's Bronze Peacock nightclub, from which Peacock got its name. According to the excellent Texas State Historical Association website: 

Quote

[Robey] constructed his own studio facility there, though it served primarily as a rehearsal and demo studio. Robey used Houston’s ACA Studios to cut many of his finished recordings, and he often sent out recordings for mastering to Bill Quinn’s Gold Star Studios in the city.

Source: https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/duke-peacock-records

Nothing to see there now, except an empty plot of land and a local church on the horizon. Must admit I always thought the address would be in a more commercial/ business location, although having said that, looking at the map it appears there's a massive freight terminal to the left and across the road.

[Amsterdam Russ]

Shreveport, LA - 728 Texas St: the location of Stan 'The Record Man' Lewis's record shop and home to the labels he founded - Jewel, Ronn and Paula. Now a soulless car park for the First United Methodist Church.

How it originally looked 'back in the day':

Stan died July 15th 2018 aged 91. Here's a link to his obituary in the local Shreveport Times. It's well worth a read.

https://eu.shreveporttimes.com/story/entertainment/2018/07/16/stan-record-man-lewis-tribute/787990002/

 

 

 

Edited March 8, 2023 by Amsterdam Russ
Tidy up

[Amsterdam Russ]

From Shreveport to New York and 545 Fifth Avenue, a 14 storey building and prestigious location for the Big Wheel label. Obviously the label wouldn't have had the whole building – just an office or two at best.

Here's a Big Wheel trade ad from Billboard magazine dated 3rd December 1966.

[Amsterdam Russ]

And now to Florida and Henry Stone's TK Productions in Miami-Dade County at 495 SE, 10th CT, Hialeah. TK Productions, formed by Stone and Steve Alaimo, included labels such as Alston (Alaimo/Stone), Glade and others.

The name TK came from sound engineer Terry Kane "who built a recording studio in the attic of Stone's office in Hialeah." Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TK_Records

The image below is of the street where the offices and studio were based, but there are only single storey buildings here, the street/building numbers follow no logical sequence, and the place seems like a rather dodgy backstreet neighbourhood; something that's reinforced when you look at Google's street view images from earlier years.

Presumably the original buildings, including the one housing TK and its studio, were demolished and these small business units put in their place. There really is no indication that this little street was once the global heart of the Miami sound. Sad.

 

 

 

Edited March 8, 2023 by Amsterdam Russ
Tidy up

[Neil Austin]

18 hours ago, Amsterdam Russ said:

Shreveport, LA - 728 Texas St: the location of Stan 'The Record Man' Lewis's record shop and home to the labels he founded - Jewel, Ronn and Paula. Now a soulless car park for the First United Methodist Church.

How it originally looked 'back in the day':

Stan died July 15th 2018 aged 91. Here's a link to his obituary in the local Shreveport Times. It's well worth a read.

https://eu.shreveporttimes.com/story/entertainment/2018/07/16/stan-record-man-lewis-tribute/787990002/

 

 

 

Wow it would have been great to be there in the day

[Kenb]

Airtown Record Enterprises ( Airtown records,  Airtown Custom Records, & a small tape recording studio ), 723 North Tenth St, Richmond, Indiana.

Owned and managed by Tommy Wills who lived on Beechwood Trailer Court. He was born in Middletown, Ohio. He travelled the East Coast and Canada and moved from Decatur, Ill (where he was up to 1966) to Richmond in 1969. Air Town's birth was 1st May 1968.

He would take his tapes to Rusty's Jewel Recording Studio (Ohio).

Not quite sure why the label logo switched from Airtown to Juke.

I think the building is gone, but it was on this corner T-Junction (pic).

Edited March 9, 2023 by Kenb
Numpty- called it Airtime, now Airtown

[Rick Cooper]

On 08/03/2023 at 15:01, Amsterdam Russ said:

And now to Florida and Henry Stone's TK Productions in Miami-Dade County at 495 SE, 10th CT, Hialeah. TK Productions, formed by Stone and Steve Alaimo, included labels such as Alston (Alaimo/Stone), Glade and others.

The name TK came from sound engineer Terry Kane "who built a recording studio in the attic of Stone's office in Hialeah." Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TK_Records

The image below is of the street where the offices and studio were based, but there are only single storey buildings here, the street/building numbers follow no logical sequence, and the place seems like a rather dodgy backstreet neighbourhood; something that's reinforced when you look at Google's street view images from earlier years.

Presumably the original buildings, including the one housing TK and its studio, were demolished and these small business units put in their place. There really is no indication that this little street was once the global heart of the Miami sound. Sad.

 

 

 

These are some photos from our visit (me and Terry Thomas) to Tone/TK in 1977. The first shows the main frontage, going down to the right was the warehouse and going left was the office and recording studios. We were being shown around by the lady in charge of promotion and she let us go in the offices. Here we met Betty Wright and shown the studio. Outside we bumped into Steve Alaimo who was just leaving. 

We got to go in the warehouse and allowed to sort through the stock. However after less than an hour it was obvious we weren't going to find any old records. All the stock was less than a year old which could have included some titles that would go on to fetch good prices but at the time wouldn't have been worth buying. The people we met at TK were all really friendly and welcoming.

 

 

 

[Amsterdam Russ]

2 hours ago, Rick Cooper said:

These are some photos from our visit (me and Terry Thomas) to Tone/TK in 1977. The first shows the main frontage, going down to the right was the warehouse and going left was the office and recording studios. We were being shown around by the lady in charge of promotion and she let us go in the offices. Here we met Betty Wright and shown the studio. Outside we bumped into Steve Alaimo who was just leaving. 

We got to go in the warehouse and allowed to sort through the stock. However after less than an hour it was obvious we weren't going to find any old records. All the stock was less than a year old which could have included some titles that would go on to fetch good prices but at the time wouldn't have been worth buying. The people we met at TK were all really friendly and welcoming.

Absolutely fantastic! Thanks for sharing!

[Kenb]

although you see 690 Hunter St address on The Naturals Quadran label, Quadran actually started at ( with The Contacts). 101 Ollie St, Atlanta G.A., the Westside Branch of the YMCA. It was in the basement.

[Amsterdam Russ]

1025 Taney St, Gary, Indiana - the home of Steeltown records, famous, among other things, for releasing the first recordings by the Jackson 5.

According to the Wikipedia entry for Steeltown, a film is being made about the label and is due for release some time this year. Anyone have more info?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steeltown_Records

 

[David Meikle]

I’ve got the two pre-Motown 45’s on Dynamo/Steeltown and must admit to being very surprised at their quality. It’s not often that I miss credits on 45’s but I had no idea that “Gordon Keith” was involved.

45’s came in one John Anderson’ Soul Packs in early 70’s.

 

[Robbk]

I only remember seeing the local, silver-coloured Steeltown issues back during the late 60s.  I never saw nationally-distributed issues.  I wonder if those Atco and Musicor issues were 1969 or early 1970s issues, based on deals Keith made AFTER the group hit it big with Motown, getting all that national exposure.

[Tlscapital]

4 hours ago, Robbk said:

I only remember seeing the local, silver-coloured Steeltown issues back during the late 60s.  I never saw nationally-distributed issues.  I wonder if those Atco and Musicor issues were 1969 or early 1970s issues, based on deals Keith made AFTER the group hit it big with Motown, getting all that national exposure.

The Atco presses and distributed copies for national promotion were licensed directly after the first local copies were made. So prior their Motown deal and breakthrough. But the Dynamo press dates from 1971 and likely aimed to cash on their then growing success.

[Kenb]

8 hours ago, Robbk said:

I only remember seeing the local, silver-coloured Steeltown issues back during the late 60s.  I never saw nationally-distributed issues.  I wonder if those Atco and Musicor issues were 1969 or early 1970s issues, based on deals Keith made AFTER the group hit it big with Motown, getting all that national exposure.

 

4 hours ago, Tlscapital said:

The Atco presses and distributed copies for national promotion were licensed directly after the first local copies were made. So prior their Motown deal and breakthrough. But the Dynamo press dates from 1971 and likely aimed to cash on their then growing success.

I remembered...and just checked that in Boba's interview with Delroy Bridgeman (he) said The Valiants, 'Tell me Tell me what you gonna do' (Gordon Keith produced)  was licensed to Destination Records. I wonder if it ever ventured out on Steel Town. Also, Delroy & Soloman Art was on background overdubs of Big Boy, after the Jacksons had recorded it.

[The Yank]

   Atco scooped up the "Big Boy" master while the song was a big local hit. See #8 on the WVON survey-