Los Angeles & West Coast

Greg Reeves was a young musician, born in 1950, who came to Motown’s attention at the age of twelve. Reeves had grown up in Warren, Ohio, and had...

Melvin Ragin was usually credited under his pseudonym of Wah Wah Watson. Like Dennis Coffey, he brought an up-date to Motown’s original guitar sound. Ragin was born in...

The “Recorded In Hollywood” label was founded in Los Angeles in 1948 by John Dolphin, a Black record store entrepreneur. The operation was centred on the Dolphin’s of...

Roy Milton was born in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, in 1907. His grandmother was a Chickasaw native American; Milton grew up on a reservation, later relocating to Tulsa. He joined...

R. Dean Taylor was a White Canadian musician who came to Motown in 1964 as a singer, songwriter, and then producer. His first three singles were released in...

Sam Cooke left Keen Records after three years to join RCA in January 1960. The obvious attraction was the opportunities offered by a big multi-national against those on...

During the two years following Sam Cooke’s tragic death in December 1964, RCA Victor released two studio albums, two compilation albums, and eight singles. Over subsequent years, the...

When Sam Cooke joined the Highway QCs in 1945, he was fourteen years old. He had been singing Gospel in church since the age of six! In 1950,...

In 1947, Jack Lauderdale founded Down Beat Records in Los Angeles. Two years later, the company name was changed to Swing Beat or Swing Records, and then in...

Keen Records was founded in April 1957 by two brothers, John and Alex Siamas. John ran a business manufacturing parts for the aircraft industry; he loved music but...