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| Jubilee Records | |
|---|---|
| Parent company | Warner Music Group |
| Founded | 1946 (1946) |
| Founder | Herb Abramson |
| Defunct | 1971 (1971) |
| Genre | Rhythm and blues,novelty |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
| Location | New York City |
Jubilee Records was an Americanindependent record label, specializing inrhythm and blues and novelty records. It was founded inNew York City in 1946 byHerb Abramson. His partner wasJerry Blaine. Blaine bought Abramson's half of the company in 1947, when Abramson went on to co-foundAtlantic Records withAhmet Ertegun.[1][2] The company name was Jay-Gee Recording Company, a subsidiary of the Cosnat Corporation. Cosnat was a wholesale record distributor.
Jubilee was the firstindependent record label to reach the white market with a black vocal group, whenthe Orioles' recording of "Crying in the Chapel" reached the Top Twenty on thePop chart in 1953.[3]
The Four Tunes started recording for Jubilee in 1953. The biggest early hit for Jubilee was "Crying in the Chapel" bythe Orioles. A subsidiary label,Josie Records, was formed in 1954 and issued more uptempo material. Hits on Josie included "Speedoo" by theCadillacs (number 3 R&B, number 17 pop) and "Do You Want to Dance" byBobby Freeman (number 2 R&B, number 5 pop). The biggest success was the million-seller "Last Kiss", by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers, which reached number 2 on theBillboard Hot 100 in 1964. In the late 1960s,The Meters, a group of New Orleans session musicians, released a series of R&B instrumental hits, including "Cissy Strut", which reached number 4 R&B and number 23 pop. The label's lastrock-and-roll hit was therhythm-and-blues instrumental "Poor Boy"/"Wail!" by the Royaltones (number 17, 1957).[3]
Of the label's novelty recordings, releases by theblooper compilerKermit Schaefer, and the comedianRusty Warren were successful.
Jubilee/Josie also had a custom label, Gross Records, whose only artist wasDoug Clark and the Hot Nuts; their material was so off-color that the Jubilee and Josie names appeared nowhere on their albums.[4]
In 1970, Jubilee/Josie, in financial difficulties, was sold to Viewlex, which ownedBuddah Records, and Blaine left the company.[5] The catalog was eventually taken over byRoulette Records.[1] The label was declared bankrupt in 1971.[6]
In the late 1980s, Roulette was sold jointly toRhino Records andEMI, and in the 1990s, Rhino was sold toTime Warner. The rights to the Jubilee Records archives in North America are now owned by Warner Music, with EMI holding the rights in the rest of the world until 2013.
Warner Music Group now has worldwide rights to the Roulette/Jubilee catalogue as a result of acquiringParlophone in 2013.
This is a list ofrecording artists who have had at least onerecording released on the Jubilee Records label.
This is a list ofrecording artists who have had at least onerecording released on theJosie Records label.
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