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| Gallo Record Company | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parent company | Arena Holdings |
| Founded | 1926 |
| Founder | Eric Gallo (Gallo Records),Arnold Golembo (Gramophone Record Company) |
| Distributor(s) | Gallo Music South Africa (South Africa) Gallo Music International /Warner Music (international) |
| Genre | All |
| Country of origin | South Africa |
| Official website | gallo |
Gallo Record Company is the largest (and oldest independent)record label in South Africa.[1] It is based inJohannesburg, South Africa, and is owned by Arena Holdings.[2] The current Gallo Record Company is a hybrid of two South African record labels, rivals between the 1940s and 1980s: the original Gallo Africa (1926–85) and G.R.C. (Gramophone Record Company, 1939–85). In 1985 Gallo Africa acquired G.R.C.; as a result, Gallo Africa became known as Gallo-GRC. Five years after the acquisition, the company was renamed Gallo Record Company.
Eric Gallo set up a one-man business, theBrunswick Gramophone House, in 1926. The record shop was originally devised to distribute records from the US-basedBrunswick Records into South Africa. However, noticing the lack of recording facilities (as well as the amount of local talent) in the country, Gallo decided to form a recording studio in 1932 and, borrowing equipment (and a sound engineer) from the then just-defunct Metropole company in the United Kingdom, Gallo opened the "Gallo Recording Studios" under the auspices ofGallo Africa (using a red rooster as the company's symbol, which remains today). Gallo was South Africa's first recording company and became home to a number of classic recordings, including "Mbube" (recorded in 1939 bySolomon Linda and his "Original Evening Birds"). A wealth of local artists had recordings released on Gallo's many labels, including "Singer", "Gallotone", "Gallo New Sound", "USA", and many more. African music (or "black music", as it was then known) was produced byGriffith Motsieloa, a local talent scout whom Gallo had recruited to his fold.
Throughout the 1950s, Gallo remained successful, though it was competing against the South African branch ofEMI. EMI's African music division, led by black talent scoutRupert Bopape, prospered well into the early 1960s withmarabi and African jazz recordings by theDark City Sisters and others. Gallo lost sales in its own black music unit, led by saxophonist-producerReggie Msomi and scoutWalter Nhlapo, and so, in 1964, the company poached Bopape to join Gallo. Bopape formed the Mavuthela Music Company division of Gallo Africa, recording famous and localmbaqanga and jive artists, and was promoted as "South Africa'sMotown" (the acclaimed Mavuthela quintet, theMahotella Queens, was perhaps the South African equivalent to Motown's trio of stars,The Supremes). Dozens of recordings were issued on labels such as "Motella", "Gumba Gumba", "CTC Star Records", "FGB", "Gallotone", "USA", and many more. Also in the 1950s they started producing theGallotone guitar.
Arnold Golembo founded theGramophone Record Company in Johannesburg in 1939. GRC obtained the South African franchise for theCapitol Records label in 1946 (later moved toEMI Brigadiers), and the franchise forCBS Records in 1956.
In 1985, G.R.C. was incorporated into Gallo Africa. The company was named Gallo-GRC, and incorporated Gallo's production stable, Mavuthela, and GRC's production stable, Isibaya Esikhulu. These stables had been fierce rivals from around the mid-1960s up to Gallo's take-over of G.R.C. The company was renamed Gallo Record Company in 1990.
Producers at Gallo includedWest Nkosi, who was an influential and intimidating figure at the company from 1964 until his death in 1997. Nkosi was a member of theMakgona Tsohle Band, which backed up all of Mavuthela's (1964–1985) mbaqanga artists such as theMahotella Queens,Abafana Baseqhudeni,Mahlathini, and many others. Nkosi introduced to Gallo some of its most well-known artists – these includedLadysmith Black Mambazo (1972),The Green Arrows (1974),Mpharanyana and the Cannibals (1976), andAmaswazi Emvelo (1978).
Other figures at Gallo over the years have included talent scoutsRupert Bopape andLouis Abel Petersen as well as musician-composer-arrangers such asShadrack Piliso,Marks Mankwane,Hilda Tloubatla,Lucky Monama,Joseph Shabalala,Simon Mahlathini Nkabinde andThandi Nkomo, in addition to figures such asEric Gallo, Peter Gallo, and others.
In 2006, Johnnic Communications (Gallo's parent company, which changed its name to Avusa in November 2007) entered a joint venture with the South African division ofWarner Music International, forming Warner Music Gallo Africa, making Gallo Record Company's entire music archive digitally available for the first time. These include rare pressings as well as classic hits by artists such asLadysmith Black Mambazo,Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens,Miriam Makeba,Hugh Masekela,Letta Mbulu,Spokes Mashiyane,Lucky Dube,Yvonne Chaka Chaka and others.
The Warner/Gallo joint venture ended in December 2013.[3]
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