Empire Records and HEG Records were established in 1956 by George Motola, Helen Krinitt, and Emil Bailey, at 1614, North Argyle in Hollywood, California. The two labels later moved to 1107, North El Centro Avenue.
Motola was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1919, but it was in Los Angeles that he built his career as a songwriter, record producer, sound engineer, and label owner. He worked at Modern as an A&R man and producer, overseeing the recordings of Young Jessie , Jesse Belvin, and others. His best-known composition is probably “Goodnight My Love”, which was recorded by Belvin at Modern in 1956. He often co-wrote with his wife Ricky Page.
The first recording at Empire was “I Hear A Melody” by the White vocal group the Jacks and Jills. The remaining artists on the roster were Bixie Crawford, Ricky, and the Preludes, otherwise called the Youngsters, or the Tempters. These four acts saw nine singles released in 1956. There was a tenth, Jimmie Belden’s Rockabilly “Darling Ann”, which was probably licenced from Pla Me Records in Oklahoma.
Selected Artists at Empire
Bixie Crawford was born in Oklahoma. She was an accomplished musician and singer, who studied music at Fisk and Lincoln Universities. During the forties and early fifties she joined a number of orchestras, working with Benny Carter, Jimmie Luncford, Count Basie, and Louis Jordan, before becoming a teacher in Los Angeles. In 1951, she recorded “Please Let Me Be”/ “Tonight Of All Nights” with the Ernie Freeman Orchestra for RCA Victor. Crawford’s background in Jazz is evident but rocking R&B is no problem.
Her Empire single pairs “How Big A Fool” and “Rock And Roll Wedding”. The A-side is a strong R&B ballad, with an arrangement by Ernie Freeman, whose combo provides the backing. The B-side is an up-tempo dance track. Both songs were co- written by Motola and Brandt. The songs give a good indication of how R&B was developing in Los Angeles in the mid-fifties.
Ricky is the well-known singer Richard Berry. He started out at Flair in 1953 with the Bihari brothers, switched to the brothers’ RPM label in 1955, and then left to make singles at Empire and Class Records in 1956. By the end of 1956, he was at Flip, recording with the Pharaohs and the Lockettes.
Berry’s Empire single pairs “Baby Please Come Home” and “Tender Love”, both co-written by Berry with Jesse Belvin and George Motola. The Doo-Wop influence is still clear at Empire, but just a few years later he was to record his two best songs “Have Love Will Travel” and “Louie Louie” at Flip.
The final act covered here is a vocal group with multiple names. The five teenagers who formed the Preludes in 1955 were Homer Green (lead), Donald Miller (first tenor), Charles Everidge, (second tenor), Harold Murray (baritone), and James Monroe Warren (bass). Thanks to an introduction from Jesse Belvin, they were picked up by George Motola, who recorded four of his songs with them, probably in early 1956. In April, Motola decided to issue all four tracks, with the first single credited to the Preludes and the second credited to the Youngsters, a name that Montola had come up with. All four songs are good R&B Pop songs, with Donald Miller on lead for the first single, “Don’t Fall In Love Too Soon”/ “I Want Your Arms Around Me”, and Charles Everidge on lead for the second, “Shattered Dreams”/ “Rock’n Roll’n Cowboy”.
A different version of “Shattered Dreams” was released on the HEG subsidiary label in May 1956, with “I’m Sorry Now” on the B-side. It was credited to Them. Montola doesn’t make it easy for music fans!
During the following month, the boys left high school. Homer Green and Donald Miller decided to leave; they were replaced by Herman Pruitt and Robert Johnson. Montola released another single that month, renaming the group the Tempters this time! “I’ll See You Next Fall”, co-written by Montola and Dick Sherman, is backed by “I’m Sorry Now”, co-written by Montola and Eddie Brandt. Both are slow, Doo-Wop ballads, aimed at the teen market.ij@3
The Youngsters were credited on Empire’s last two releases; only two more Doo-Wop inspired romantic ballads though, as “I’m Sorry Now” was used again, and “Dreamy Eyes” appeared on both discs.
Empire was shut down in early 1957. A compilation CD was issued, consisting of sixteen tracks.
In 1958, Motola started another label, Contender, at 1309, North Highland Avenue, Hollywood. Just five singles were issued before the label closed down in 1959. Artists on the roster were the Saxons, Bert Convy, Micki Grant, Frankie Ervin, and Morton Downey Jr. Motola used three different label designs across the five singles, which were all 45rpm 7” vinyl discs.
The Saxons was a vocal harmony group from Los Angeles. The five members were Tommy “Buster” Williams (lead), Jesse Belvin (second tenor), Eugene Church (baritone), Gaynel Hodge (piano and vocals), and Johnny “Guitar” Watson (guitar and bass vocals). They recorded one single for Robert Scherman’s Tampa label, issued in February 1958, and one for George Motola on Contender, issued in June 1958. The Contender tracks, “Is It True”/ “Rock And Roll Show”, were co-written by Motola, Mack Lewis, and Margie Orwig. The A-side is a powerful Doo-Wop ballad, backed by an up-tempo R&B dance track.
Bert Convy’s Pop single had already appeared on the Storm label, so was probably licenced. Micki Grant’s Pop single also doesn’t hit any R&B buttons. Morton Downey Jr. offers an MOR orchestral ballad.
Frank Ervin’s “Annie Laurie”/ “Wilhemina” are strong R&B Pop songs with a driving saxophone solo. Both are Motola compositions, the A-side with Ricky Page, and the B-side with Hal Winn.
Frank Ervin
Alongside Contender, Motola also set up Tender Records with Imogene Fadely. The label’s base was again at 1309, North Highland Avenue in Hollywood. The company issued around a dozen singles, in 1958 and 1959. The target market was again young teenagers, with a mixture of Doo-Wop, Pop, and R&B songs.
Several of the singles are pure Pop, but three vocal groups were waving the R&B flag. The Shields released two singles on the Tender label in 1958. “You Cheated” is a slow Doo-Wop ballad; more interesting is the B-side “That’s The way It’s Gonna Be”, which has a good up-tempo piano driving the R&B beat. “Nature Boy” is an R&B arrangement of the old Nat King Cole hit, with a Doo-Wop ballad “I’m Sorry Now” on the reverse.
The 5 Trojans only ever made two singles, one for Edison International in 1959 and one for Tender in 1958. The Edison recording doesn’t stand out, but the Tender single is an absolute classic. “Alone In This World” is top-of-the-range Doo-Wop.
The third group arrived at Tender calling themselves the Saxons! Motola had already recorded a Saxons group for the Contender label, so he came up with a new name, the Capris. Members were Stan Beverly (lead), Charles Taggart (first tenor), Maudice Giles (second tenor), Joe Lewis (baritone), and Nathaniel “Buster” Wilson (bass).
They recorded “Endless Love” in late 1958, a close harmony ballad co-written by K.C. Reeth and Robert Hofner. That became the B-side of their 1959 single, credited to the Capris. The A-side is “Beware”, credited to Jesse Belvin & the Capris. However, the track had been recorded in 1957 by Jesse Belvin in 1957 for John Dolphin’s Cash label and Dolphin also wrote the song. The backing group for the recording was made up of Tommy “Buster” Williams, Eugene Church, Alex Hodge, and Johnny Watson, three out of the four Contender Saxons, plus the brother of the fourth. One single, lots of Saxons, and two groups with different personnel credited as the Capris. George Motola really doesn’t make it easy. Thanks to Marv Goldberg for clarifying all of the above on his website Marv Goldberg’s R&B Notebooks.
The final Tender release was in 1959. George Motola continued to write songs and to create record labels into the sixties.
