Confessions of a Record Label Geek

You have to understand something right out of the chute: I’m writing about this because I’ve thought about these things over the years. When REBEAT appeared with its stunning old “stereophonic” headers inspired by vintage LPs, I knew upon first glance which record label most of them came from, since, back then, labels did have graphics standards. Even REBEAT‘s “R” logo is derived from the Imperial Records’ mid-’60s logo. But, before I motor right into a bit about Imperial, here’s my disclaimer…

I grew up in a household filled with music. My parents were already in their 20s when rock ‘n’ roll exploded in the U.S. as the first major cultural atom bomb in an anti-septic post-WWII world. My mom and dad were, in fact, beatniks — yes, true, first generation, jazz-loving, espresso-drinking, poetry-reading, pot-smoking visionaries. As the only child of these two wonderful people, I came along in the mid-’60s, when “I Feel Fine” by the Beatles was the #1 single in the United States (really), and was born into this parentage of coolness.

And that coolness began with their record collection.  Now, do not get me wrong, there was a lot of absolute shit in that collection, things that would make 49-year-old me still vomit if he heard them again. But even if the music and artists were not to my liking, many of their albums had spectacular artwork, at least to a small child who lived with a record store-sized collection of LPs in the basement of his home (singles, 45s, were kept upstairs).

I’d go through them all with an unbridled curiosity. Naturally, I gravitated toward what I assumed was rock ‘n’ roll. The early favorites were imprinted on me, not only sonically, but visually. “Walk, Don’t Run” by the Ventures is a perfect example of where my label fetish manifested itself: examining that blue label, reading “Distributed by Liberty Records Sales Corp” and the Seattle, Washington address. Oh, and the trio of fish.

There was something wonderfully mysterious about these record labels. Don’t ask me why; there just was. It intrigued me the way trains or cars or gas stations intrigue other kids. (I was actually healthily obsessed with those, too, but I was also music-crazy.)

Dolton spent several years under the Liberty Records umbrella and had some great successes with the Ventures and the Fleetwoods. When Liberty merged with United Artists in 1967, the label was discontinued. The fine folks at Sundazed resurrected the Dolton label for their spectacular Ventures vinyl and CD reissue program, so it has, once again, made its way onto disc players and turntables.

The REBEAT headers set off a chain of wonderful memories that I would like to share with you, and hopefully intrigue you. Hey, it did so much to me and for me as a child that I wound up spending 16 solid years working for record labels — some you will have heard of and some you will get a history lesson on. I also own my own label. And going into any industry already armed with a knowledge and background on that industry will give you a leg up. I’d like to think that my knowledge of Canadian American, Top Rank, Command, Blues Way, and others you’ve never heard of helped me in my previous life’s labors.

But for now, I’ll be happy to help turn you into record geeks. I think of it as enlightenment, but, hey, that’s my perspective. Labels have been my gospel.