Quality Records was a Canadian entertainment company which released music albums in Canada on behalf of American record labels. They also released recordings by Canadian artists. The company operated between 1950 and 1985 with offices in Toronto. The company also ran from 1990 to 1998 as "Quality Special Products" with Offices both in Canada and the United States.

History

In the 1950s and 1960s it was commonplace for American labels without Canadian branches to lease their recordings out to Canadian-based labels that would release the songs on their behalf north of the border. Quality was one of the largest and most visible of these companies; aside from the Quality brand itself, several other sister labels such as Reo were employed for this purpose. US labels distributed via Quality included Essex Records,

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock a ...

and Sun Records. As a result, it was through Quality that Canadian audiences first heard the music of Bill Haley and His Comets,

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis mad ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...

and other early rock and roll artists. Bobby Gimby's song "

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

" as sung by the Young Canada Singers was released in 1967 as a 45 rpm single by Quality on behalf of Canada's Centennial Commission. It set a sales record for Canadian single releases.

Stompin' Tom Connors Charles Thomas "Stompin' Tom" Connors, OC (February 9, 1936 – March 6, 2013) was a Canadian country and folk singer-songwriter. Focusing his career exclusively on his native Canada, he is credited with writing more than 300 songs and has re ...

recordings made by CKGB radio in 1967 were pressed by Quality Records and distributed by Connors himself. The company won in the category of Best Company for Canadian Content at the Gold Leaf Awards of 1970 and the Juno Awards of 1971. In the mid-80s, Quality Records replaced K-tel International as a distributor of various artist compilations in Canada, most notably with the Rock series (Rock '85, Rock '86, etc.) and 'This is Music' series. It closed down in 1985. However, in 1990, it revived as Quality Music & Video for new recordings, notably Dan Hill's 1991 album ''Dance of Love'' and

Timmy T Timmy Torres (born September 21, 1967, in Fresno, CaliforniaFred Bronson, Bronson, Fred (2003). ''The Billboard Book of #1 Hits'', 5th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 781.), professionally known as Timmy T, is a Freestyle music, freestyle ...

's number 1 pop hit " One More Try". However, it folded again in 1997 & a selection of the US catalog rights were sold to Warlock Records, a New York-based record label that acquired the catalog numbers of

Sleeping Bag Records Sleeping Bag Records is a defunct New York City-based independent record label founded by musician Arthur Russell and entrepreneur Will Socolov. It was active between 1981 and 1992, and specialized in dance music and hip hop. Background and ...

. Quality also had some of its domestic artist releases distributed through Critique Records and Popular Records in the United States for their compilations, including the "Dance Mix USA" series. In the 90's Quality Records rebranded as Quality Special Products, Quality Records along with

MuchMusic Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31, ...

put out the Dance Mix series from 1990 to 1997. Quality Records folded in 1997 in Canada shortly before their American branch folded in 1998. The Dance Mix series was rebranded

MuchDance ''MuchDance'' is a series of pop/dance albums featuring various artists compiled, mixed and released by the Canadian television station MuchMusic, beginning in 1997. It continues a similar series released in association with Quality Records from ...

in late 1997 after Much's contract with Quality Records expired.

Artists

Quality Records released recordings by the following music artists: *

2 Unlimited 2 Unlimited are a Belgian/Dutch dance music act, founded by Belgian producers/songwriters Jean-Paul De Coster and Phil Wilde in 1991 in Antwerp, Belgium. From 1991 to 1996, Dutch rapper Ray Slijngaard and Dutch vocalist Anita Doth fronted the ...

Bananarama Bananarama are an English pop duo from London, formed as a trio in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. T ...

(" Every Shade of Blue") * Barry Allen * Bentwood Rocker *

Bill Haley & His Comets Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band founded in 1947 that continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...

* BKS * Canadian Sweethearts * Carol Medina * Carol Williams * CB Milton *

* Crewz Control * Dan Hill * Dea * DJ Ricky Dee * Donn Reynolds * Double You * Fireballs * Gary Cooper / Gary Andrews * Ghetto Concept * Harmonium * Hennie Bekker *

Herman's Hermits Herman's Hermits are an English beat, rock and pop group formed in 1964 in Manchester, originally called Herman and His Hermits and featuring lead singer Peter Noone. Produced by Mickie Most, the Hermits charted with number ones in the UK ...

* Jack Hennig *

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

* J.K. *

* Kairene * Kenny Marco * Kiss *

Link Wray Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s. ''Rolling Stone'' placed Wray at No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. In 2013 ...

* Los Del Mar * Lucille Starr * Maxx * MC Mario * Meddy's People * Mighty Dub Katz * New System * Perfect World * Planet Soul *

Playahitty Playahitty was an Italian Eurodance group, best known for the 1994 summer hit "The Summer Is Magic", and also for other popular club tracks, such as " 1-2-3! (Train with Me)". Lipsync was performed on stage and in the videos by models called Mari ...

* The Regents * Richard Clayderman *

Riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

Ronn Metcalfe Ronn Metcalfe (July 20, 1930May 18, 1969) was a Canadian big band leader from St. Catharines and music industry leader. He released an LP named after the title track " Twistin' at the Woodchopper's Ball" which garnered him a gold record. He used ...

* Secret Life * Skip Prokop * DJ Supreme * Steve Plunkett * Strike * The Beau-Marks * The Guess Who/Chad Allan and the Expressions * The Lisa Hart Band *

The Paris Sisters The Paris Sisters were a 1960s American girl group from San Francisco, California, United States, best known for their work with producer Phil Spector. Career The group consisted of lead singer Priscilla Paris (January 4, 1941 – March 5, 2 ...

* Robbie Rae * Tijuana Brass *

* Ultra Naté * Wes Dakus & the Rebels *

Whigfield Whigfield is an Italian dance act fronted by Danish singer, songwriter and record producer Sannie Charlotte Carlson (born 11 April 1970), known by her various stage names including Whigfield, Naan, or simply Sannie. She is best known for her 1993 ...

* Yakoo Boyz

References

External links

*
Discogs: Quality Records Limited
Record labels established in 1950 Record labels disestablished in 1985 Record labels established in 1990 Record labels disestablished in 1997 Re-established companies Defunct record labels of Canada Juno Award winners {{Canada-record-label-stub