Los Angeles & West Coast

Selective was a Los Angeles label set up in 1949 by John Blackburn. It lasted less than a year but put out around twenty singles in that short...

Nate McCoy was a Black singer, songwriter, and record producer, who established five record labels in Los Angeles, starting with SotoPlay in 1958. He recorded Blues artists and...

Header Photo: Michael Jackson 1992 (Wikimedia Commons): Daniele Dalledonne

Elko Records was originally called Echo Records. The company was formed in 1949 by John R. Fulbright and Jack Jackson in Los Angeles. Not much is known about...

SAR was founded by Sam Cooke and J.W. Alexander in 1959, based at 3710, West 27th Street in Los Angeles. In 1961, the label’s office moved to 6425,...

Whitney Houston’s signature recording “I Will Always Love You” was the singer’s biggest hit. Written by Dolly Parton in 1973, the song was originally released on 2nd November...

Header Photo: Curtis Mayfield 1972 Source: Beeld en Geluidwiki - Gallery: Curtis Mayfield (programma) Wikimedia Commons

Header Photo: Diana Ross Source: City of Boston Archives (Wikimedia Commons)

Johnny Otis was born in Vallejo, California, in 1921. His parents Alexander J. Veliotes and Irene Veliotes (nee Kiskakes) were from Greece; they named him Ioannis Alexandres. He...