Liberty Records
A History of the Recording Company and Its Stars, 1955–1971
$49.95
In stock
About the Book
The birth of rock ’n’ roll brought with it the formation of many small, independent record labels. These labels helped the fledgling music gain mainstream acceptance. One of the most prominent was Liberty Records.
The interviews with artists, producers, engineers, arrangers, executives, and composers presented herein are fascinating: Jan and Dean, Bobby Vee, the Ventures, and many more. A complete discography of the label’s releases (both 45s and LPs) as well as those of its Dolton and Imperial subsidiaries are provided.
About the Author(s)
Bibliographic Details
Michael “Doc Rock” Kelly
Format: softcover (6 x 9 in 2 vols.)
Pages: 798
Bibliographic Info: 218 photos, appendices, discography, index
Copyright Date: 2014 [1993]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-9472-9
Imprint: McFarland
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Foreword xiii
Preface xv
Part one: Anatomy of a Record Label
1. Rock ‘n’ Roll Record Labels 3
2. Liberty in the Beginning 7
3. 1955 The Liberty Girl, Julie London 13
4. 1956 The Little Liberty Girls, Patience and Prudence 19
5. 1957 Eddie Cochran, Snuff Garrett, Sharon Sheeley, and Margie Rayburn 23
6. 1958 “Witch Doctor” and the Chipmunks 43
7. 1959 Martin Denny, Bobby Vee, Dolphin Records, the Fleetwoods, the Frantics, and Little Bill and the Blue Notes 52
8. 1960 Johnny Burnette, Buddy Knox, Ernie Freeman, and the Ventures 77
9. 1961 Avnet, Gene McDaniels, Timi Yuro, Vic Dana, Troy Shondell, and Dick and DeeDee 101
10. 1962 The Crickets, Jan & Dean, the Marketts, the Rivingtons, Danny and Gwen, Walter Drennan, Jackie DeShannon, Willie Nelson, and Vikki Carr 131
11. 1963 Ricky Nelson, Fats Domino, and More from Bobby Vee, Jan & Dean, Jackie De Shannon, the Fleetwoods, and the Crickets 164
12. 1964 Matt Monro, Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas, the Searchers, the Beatles, Irma Thomas, Johnny Rivers, the Swinging Blue Jeans, and the Hollies 199
13. 1965 Gary Lewis and the Playboys, P.J. Proby, T-Bones, Hal Blaine, O’Jays, Jimmy McCracklin, and Cher 222
14. Liberty Stereo Little LPs, EPs, 78s, and Picture Sleeves 261
15. 1966 Bob Lind and Del Shannon 267
16. Liberty Acquisitions, Special Series, and Subsidiaries 282
17. 1967 Nitty Gritty Birt Band, Bikki Carr, Hardtimes, Love Generation, Sunshine Company, Classics IV, and the Fifth Dimension 313
18. 1968 Canned Heat and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick, and Tich 326
19. 1969 The Fifth Dimension and Also-Rans 332
20. 1970 Ike and Tina Turner and Sugarloaf 334
21. 1971 Liberty in the End 336
Part Two: Making Liberty Hit Records
22. Music Publishing —Metric Music 341
23. Record Producing 348
24. Recording Music 356
25. Engineering a Hit 363
26. Picturing Music 375
27. Promoting Records 378
28. Publicity 396
29. Selling Records 399
30. Distributing Records 402
31. Merchandising Records 405
32. Radio Airplay 407
Part Three: Four Liberty Superstars
33. Bobby Vee 415
34. The Ventures 442
35. Jackie DeShannon 457
36. Jan & Dean 470
Part Four: The End of Liberty
37. Selling Liberty… and Selling It and Selling It 515
38. Life After Liberty 522
39. Overview 526
40. Epilogue: Where Did They Go? 528
Appendices
1. #1 Hits 551
2. Artists in the Top 200 553
3. Liberty, Dolton, Imperial, and Soul City Top Rankings 554
4. The Top Liberty, Dolton, and Imperial Hit Makers 556
5. The Top Twenty Liberty Family Artists 558
6. Percentage of Success 559
7. Chronological Hit Lists 560
8. Graphs of Hits Per Year 565
9. Top 100 Hits by Artists 568
10. Top 100 Hits Listed by Month and Year 589
11. Singles Discography 603
12. Liberty LP and EP Discography 726
13. Liberty Family 45 Sleeves and Libels 750
Index 757
Book Reviews & Awards
“a thoroughly fascinating account”—Association for Recorded Sound Collections Journal; “features an amazing amount of research”—Goldmine.
