Laurie Records was a

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

established in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

in 1958 by brothers Robert and Gene Schwartz, and Allan I. Sussel. Among the recording artists on Laurie's roster were

Dion and the Belmonts Dion and the Belmonts were an American vocal trio prominent throughout the 1950s. All of its members were from the Bronx, New York City. In 1957, Dion DiMucci joined the vocal group the Belmonts. The established trio of Angelo D'Aleo, Carlo ...

(both together and as separate acts),

The Chiffons :''The Chiffons also briefly recorded under the name The Four Pennies; for the British band of the latter name see The Four Pennies.'' The Chiffons are an American girl group originating from the Bronx, a borough of New York City, in 1960. H ...

The Jarmels The Jarmels was an American doo wop rhythm and blues group formed in 1959 in Richmond, Virginia best known for their only 1961 hit, " A Little Bit of Soap". Career The start of their big break came in 1960 when they were at a local (Richmond ...

The Mystics The Mystics are an American rock and roll group that began in Brooklyn, New York, United States, in the late 1950s. The group was known as The Overons, a quintet that, when signed to Laurie Records, consisted of Phil Cracolici (born 1937, lea ...

Bobby Goldsboro Robert Charles Goldsboro (born January 18, 1941) is an American pop and country singer and songwriter. He had a string of pop and country hits in the 1960s and 1970s, including his signature No. 1 hit "Honey", which sold over 1 million copies in ...

, and The Royal Guardsmen.

History

Sussel's earlier record company,

Jamie Records Jamie Records is a record label founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1956 by Harold Lipsius (1913–2007) and Allan Sussel (1924–2003). Their first 45rpm single, "It's Great to Fall in Love"/"Truly" by Marian Caruso, was issued in 1956. T ...

(named after his elder daughter), had been unsuccessful, and as a result, Sussel (1924–2003) joined forces with Gene Schwartz (1920–1999) to found Laurie Records, named after his other daughter, Laura Sue Sussel. By the early 1960s, Elliot Greenberg, an arranger and friend of Schwartz's, gained a 12% ownership of the company, and Gene's younger brother Bob Schwartz also became involved. Songwriter Ernie Maresca also played an active role in the company.Mike Callahan and David Edwards, ''The Laurie Story'', ''BSN'', 2009
Retrieved 2 July 2020 The company grew to include subsidiary labels, most notably

Andie Records Laurie Records was a record label established in New York City in 1958 by brothers Robert and Gene Schwartz, and Allan I. Sussel. Among the recording artists on Laurie's roster were Dion and the Belmonts (both together and as separate acts), ...

, named after Sussel's youngest daughter, Andrea Jo Sussel; it later changed its name to Rust Records. Dion and the Belmonts were responsible for the first of Laurie's

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

s with their 1958

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

song, " I Wonder Why". Using top New York session musicians in leading

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large en ...

s, and produced by Gene Schwartz, Dion and the Belmonts had several national hits on Laurie. When Dion started a solo career, the hits on Laurie continued with "

Runaround Sue "Runaround Sue" is a rock and roll song (in a modified doo-wop style), originally a US No. 1 Hot 100 hit (No. 4 on the Hot R&B chart) for the singer Dion during 1961, after he split with the Belmonts. It was written by Dion with Ernie Mares ...

" and " The Wanderer". The label had continuing success especially with

the Chiffons :''The Chiffons also briefly recorded under the name The Four Pennies; for the British band of the latter name see The Four Pennies.'' The Chiffons are an American girl group originating from the Bronx, a borough of New York City, in 1960. H ...

He's So Fine "He's So Fine" is a song written by Ronnie Mack. It was recorded by The Chiffons who topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for four weeks in the spring of 1963. One of the most instantly recognizable golden oldies with its ''doo-lang doo-lang doo-l ...

" and " One Fine Day", both 1963), and the Royal Guardsmen (" Snoopy vs. the Red Baron", 1966). Then, with Dion's return to the company after several years with

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

, he had further success with " Abraham, Martin and John" (1968). The company also licensed English records during the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on ...

period, including " Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" (1964) and " Ferry Cross the Mersey" (1965) by

Gerry and the Pacemakers Gerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin. Their early successes alongsid ...

. Jo Siopis, a well known

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and wife of Gerry & the Pacemakers'

bass player A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low b ...

, Les Chadwick, was instrumental in the distribution of Laurie Records

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s in the United States. Being a small

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

, Laurie's chart successes usually occurred one at a time and, for the most part, with one-off hits, as was the case with

the Mystics The Mystics are an American rock and roll group that began in Brooklyn, New York, United States, in the late 1950s. The group was known as The Overons, a quintet that, when signed to Laurie Records, consisted of Phil Cracolici (born 1937, lea ...

, Randy & the Rainbows, and

the Jarmels The Jarmels was an American doo wop rhythm and blues group formed in 1959 in Richmond, Virginia best known for their only 1961 hit, " A Little Bit of Soap". Career The start of their big break came in 1960 when they were at a local (Richmond ...

. Another sizable hit for the label was the controversial song "Once You Understand", written and produced by the

songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

team of Lou Stalmman and Bobby Susser and released by the duo in 1971 under the pseudonym Think. In 1966, Laurie released a psychedelic single, "Charity" by the Gray Things, which appears on multiple compilation albums, including '' Mindrocker'', a 13-CD anthology of US 1960s psychedelic recordings released in Germany in 1982. "Charity" was issued in limited quantities. The label also distributed records under several subsidiary labels, including Rust, Legrand, Calico, President, Providence, Dolphin (not to be confused with the

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

-owned Dolphin/Dolton label). Laurie changed its name in the early 1980s to 3C Records. 3C stands for Continental Communications Corporation and the

master recording Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via met ...

s that 3C produced are owned by the

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

unit of

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

Label variations

The label variations for Laurie singles were of three types: First, a grey label with Laurie Records written across the top. This was used for first release only, #3013. It then changed to a sky blue label, with the same basic printing of Laurie Records, from #3013 thru #3020. After the first few singles had been released, it changed to the typically recognized label of four red corners with the black square at the hole punch, with Laurie written at the top, from #3021 onward. Of those earlier releases, only #3013 and #3015, both releases by Dion & the Belmonts, were regular re-issues as part of the more familiar label design.

Laurie Records artists

* Joe Allegro * The Balloon Farm * Bill Sunkel (Laurie Records / 3C Records) * The Bon-Aires (Rust Records) *

Jack Rainwater Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

* The Barbarians * The Birdwatchers * Mara Lynn Brown * Jim Campbell * Carlo (Carlo Mastrangelo) * California (featuring

Les Fradkin Les Fradkin (born 1951) is an American MIDI guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He is best known for being a member of the original cast of the hit Broadway show ''Beatlemania''. In addition to playing MIDI guitar, ...

) *

(who also recorded as The Four Pennies on Rust Records) * The Clique *

Church Street Five James Gene Barge (born August 9, 1926) is an American tenor and alto saxophonist, composer in several bands, and actor. Biography Born in Norfolk, Virginia in August 1926, he was a founding member of the 1960s band The Church Street Five, which ...

(Legrand Records) * Gary U.S. Bonds (Legrand Records) *

Dean & Jean Dean & Jean was the singing duo of Welton Young and Brenda Lee Jones. They recorded top 40 pop music hits "Hey Jean, Hey Dean" and "Tra La La La Suzy" which was covered in the 1970s by Price Mitchell and charted on the country charts. They appeared ...

(Rust Records) *

* Dion *

The Equals ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

(President Records) * The Fallen Angels *

The Gap (band) The Gap may refer to: Places Antarctica * The Gap (Antarctica), on Ross Lsland Australia * The Gap, New South Wales, a locality near Wagga Wagga, New South Wales * The Gap, Northern Territory, a suburb of Alice Springs, Northern Territory * The Ga ...

(1965–1972) – Ronnie Logue, Ronnie Banks and Ben Johnson *

The New Gap ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

(1971–1979) *

Rocco Granata Rocco Granata (born 16 August 1938) is an Italian-Belgian singer, songwriter, and accordionist. Granata was born in Figline Vegliaturo, Calabria, southern Italy; but his parents immigrated to Belgium when he was aged ten. Rocco's father was a co ...

* HEAVY BREATHING *

Don Lombardi Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

* Lou Monte * The Music Explosion (band leader Jamie Lyons also recorded for Laurie) *

* Randy & the Rainbows (Rust Records) * Rats *

Reparata and the Delrons Reparata and the Delrons were an American girl group. They are best known for their 1965 recordings "Whenever a Teenager Cries" and "Tommy", for the 1968 European hit " Captain of Your Ship" and for Reparata's 1975 solo hit "Shoes". History 1962 ...

* Ivo Robić * The Royal Guardsmen * The Gray ThingsThe Discography of Laurie records shows "Charity" by the "Gray Things" as record No. LR 3367 *

The Sound Investment ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

* Tom Selden * The Tropics (band) * Uncalled For * Valerie Tyler * Don Benjamin * Wigren and Drago * Think * Barbara M * New Hope * Montage *

The Yellow Brick Road ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

* The Outsiders (as The Soul Trippers on Providence Records) * Raven (Formerly The Ravens, from St. Petersburg, FL)

References

External links

The Laurie Story
{{Authority control 1958 establishments in New York City Defunct record labels of the United States Record labels established in 1958

History

Label variations

Laurie Records artists

See also

References

External links