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 Rose. It is a reworking of a Duke Ellington Jazz classic from 1936.
The label’s second release was an R&B up-tempo dance track entitled “Hey Then, There Now”, sung by Jackie Burns. Bob Keane was happy to record all kinds of popular music! Most of Del-Fi’s output was aimed at the Pop chart, with Keane taking on Rock & Roll instrumentals and Surf music.
The roster included White Rockabilly singer Jericho Brown, teen idol Johnny Crawford, and the Mexican American Rock & Roller Ritchie Havens. Havens and Crawford notched up several significant chart successes. There were also a significant number of groups, some of which were Black Doo-Wop quartets, and a few solo female singers. During the sixties, Keane turned his attention to R&B with the signing of Brenda Holloway.
Keane set up recording sessions at Gold Star Studios, often using session musicians from the Wrecking Crew. Backing vocals came courtesy of the Blossoms.
The arrival of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and other British groups made it much harder for small independents like Del-Fi to compete in the main Pop market. Added to that, Keane was sued for fraud and breach of contract by Anthony Music in 1966. The company was slowly wound down, until its closure in 1967.
Selected Artists at Del-Fi
Earl Davis may have only one single to his name, “In The Middle Of The Night”/ “Walk With Me” from 1960, but it is a very good one! Both tracks are slow, Blues-based ballads, sung with feeling.
Charles Trent was a little more prolific, recording three singles as a solo performer and one as a member of the duo Eunice and Eddy. All four issues were on Los Angeles labels, with one each on Tender, Tide, Star-A-Fire, and Del-fi.
Trent’s 1960 single for Bob Keane is “Old Man Mose”/ “Cool And Windy”. The B-side is a MOR Pop ballad, but the A-side has an up-tempo Gospel flavour.
Del-Fi released two singles by the Gallahads in 1960, both Doo-Wop ballads, “Lonely Guy” and “I’m Without A Girl Friend”. The group was formed in Seattle by a group of teenagers at Edmond Meaney Junior High School, who made their first single for Nite Owl in Seattle in 1959, before coming to Los Angeles to record two singles at Del-Fi, one on the Donna label, and one at Rendezvous. Their Doo-Wop style harmonies are smooth and complex.
Little Caesar and the Romans also brought Doo-Wop harmonies to their songs. The group had started their recording career at Flash in 1959, calling themselves the Cubans, and had then become the Upfronts, when they moved to Lummtone Records in 1960. A year later, they switched to Del-Fi, with another new name! Little Caesar and the Romans made five singles with Bob Keane, all released in 1961. The group members were Carl Burnett (Lead), David “Caesar” Johnson (Lead / Baritone), Johnny O’Simmons (Tenor), Early Harris (Tenor), and Leroy Sanders (Bass). Their most successful release was “Those Oldies but Goodies (Remind Me of You)”, which reached number twenty-eight on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart and number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. The group disbanded in 1962.
Two more names, well-known on the West Coast, also made recordings at Del-Fi in 1960. René Hall & his orchestra recorded “La Cubalibra”/ “The Untouchables”, and Hal Davis recorded “You’re Playing with Me”/ “Read The Book Of Love”. Both became outstanding musicians, producing and arranging for a host of famous names, as well as playing on many hits. However, these instrumentals and romantic ballads didn’t make much of an impression.
Bob Keane also set up a subsidiary label alongside Del-Fi. Donna Records was established in 1959, taking its name from Ritchie Valens’ famous song. The aim was to provide an opportunity for new performers to break into the music industry, and, as at Del-Fi, the roster was multi-racial.
Selected artists on the Donna label
Ron Holden was born in Seattle, Washington, in 1939. His family were all very musical, including his parents who were both professional Jazz musicians. Holden played trombone, but he is known as a singer. He formed his first group, the Playboys, while still a teenager and in 1958 began touring with some high-quality artists, such as Etta James, James Brown, the Coasters, Big Joe Turner, and the Moonglows.
He came to Los Angeles in 1959 to record his first Donna single with his backing group the Thunderbirds and added two more in 1960. The most successful of the three was “Love You So” (1959), which made it into the charts, reaching number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart and number eleven on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart in May 1960. Ron Holden died in 1997.
Donna put out a few R&B instrumental dance tracks played by Gary “Spider” Webb (“Drum City”) and Don Markham & the Marksmen (“The Shuck” and “Goose”).
The Pharaos added a touch of smooth Doo-Wop with “The Tender Touch”, as did the Rookies with “Blabbermouth.
The Pentagons followed suit with two 1961 Doo-Wop singles, the first of which charted. “To Be Loved (Forever)” reached number forty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. “I Wonder” also sold well. The group had formed in San Bernadino in 1958, with six members. They later adopted a variety of different names and moved towards Pop ballads.
One of the best singles issued by Donna is Kittie Doswell’s “Marchin’ On In”/ “Need Your Love So Bad” from 1961. The same recordings had already appeared on the Soul label in June 1961, following which Bob Keane bought the master from Soul. The A-side is an up-tempo Soul arrangement of the spiritual “When The Saints Go Marching In” written by Benny Carter, who was associated with the Soul label.
Doswell was a Jazz singer from Houston, Texas, who turned to Southern Soul. In the early sixties, she sang with the Ray Johnson Combo, who backed her on these tracks. Ray Johnson was the brother of saxophonist Plas Johnson, who also played in the combo. It is a fine single, with the B-side featuring a cover of Little Willie John’s “Need Your Love So Bad”.
Brenda Holloway made her first recording for Donna in 1961, when she was fifteen years old. “Echo” is a romantic ballad, with a better song on the B-side. “Hey Fool”, written by Jesse James, is better than most of the songs put out by Motown that year. After two more singles at Donna, “I’ll Give My Life” and “Game of Love”, (both backed by renamed versions of “Echo”, her first Donna release), she switched to Del-Fi to record half a dozen tracks in 1963, including “Gee Baby Gee”, “All Grown Up”, and “Ooh Poo Pa Do”, as a member of the Sisters, working with producer Hal Davis.
Holloway moved to Catch Records, with one single issued in 1964, just before she signed for Tamla Records and joined the Motown family.
Donna had no chart entries after 1962 but stayed afloat until 1965. Bob Keane had launched a third label, Selma, in 1963, to explore novelty dance tracks, but by 1965, Bob Keane could see other possibilities, recording popular Rock music. To do that, he launched two new labels in 1965, Mustang and Bronco. Soul and R&B took a back seat.
In 1991, Ace Records (UK) issued a compilation of thirty-one tracks from the recordings made by Bob Keane at Del-Fi and Donna.
