Los Angeles & West Coast

Bettye Jean Champion was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1944, one of fourteen children. Her family were sharecroppers. She grew up listening to Sam Cooke and sang in...

Del-Fi Records was set up by Bob Keane in Hollywood in 1957, following his departure from Keen Records. It issued its first single in 1958, “Caravan” by Henri...

Rendezvous Records was Leon René’s third label, following Exclusive (1943/4) and Class (1951). It was established in Los Angeles in 1958 by René with his partners Rod Pierce and...

Many people know the names Leiber and Stoller and associate the two songwriters with Elvis Presley’s 1956/7 hits “Hound Dog” and “Jailhouse Rock”, which they wrote. Their names...

Ollie T. Hunt was born in 1917 in Los Angeles. He was a Black entrepreneur with an unusual approach to making his way in the music industry. During...

A dozen new acts joined Motown in 1969, most of whom didn’t make a breakthrough. The majority of the newcomers were actually added to the roster when Berry...

Mambo Records was set up by Larry Mead and Mike Gradney in 1955 in Pasadena, California. Mead owned a record pressing plant called Perfection Plastic Products situated at...

Jaxyson Records was founded by Black entrepreneur Jesse Jaxyson in 1948 in Oakland, California, at 1606, 7th Street. He and his wife owned a radio repair shop in...

Norman Whitfield’s career merits a special mention. He has been credited as one of the creators of the Motown Sound and as an instrumental figure in the development of the...

Jimmy Liggins decided in 1958 to set up his own label, Duplex Records, with a few partners. He had been with Specialty from 1947 to 1954, when he...