All Platinum Records was a record company started in 1967 by singer/writer/producer

Sylvia Robinson Sylvia Robinson (née Vanterpool; May 29, 1935 – September 29, 2011), known mononymously as Sylvia, was an American singer and record producer. Robinson achieved success as a performer on two R&B chart toppers: as half of Mickey & Sylv ...

and her husband, businessman Joe Robinson, who had previously worked in the recording industry. All Platinum and its subsidiary labels, including Stang, Vibration, Turbo and Astroscope, specialized in soul and R&B music. Many of the company's releases were recorded at its Soul Sound Studios, using the company's in-house musicians, at its

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...

base. The company released four singles that reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart but failed to top the Hot 100 pop chart.

Background

The label started as Platinum Records but the prefix of 'All' was added to avoid confusion with a Miami label. The company, with Sylvia helming the creative operations as well as producing or co-producing many releases, racked up a series of R&B and Pop hits during the 70s, despite being only a small independent concern. The company's mainstay act was the all-male group, The Moments (later

Ray, Goodman & Brown Ray, Goodman & Brown is an American R&B human voice, vocal band (music), group. The group originated as the Moments, who formed in the mid-1960s and whose greatest successes came in the 1970s with chart-topper, hits including "Love on a Two-Way S ...

) whose first hit at the end of 1968 launched the Stang label, "Not On The Outside" (#13 Billboard R&B, #57 pop). The group, with a few early personnel changes, stayed with the company for ten years, resulting in over 25 R&B hits and 15 Hot 100 entries. These included the million-seller, "

Love on a Two-Way Street "Love on a Two-Way Street" is a soul ballad written by Sylvia Robinson and Bert Keyes in 1968. The song was originally recorded by Lezli Valentine, an artist signed to All Platinum, the record label that Sylvia Robinson co-owned with her husba ...

" in 1970 (#1 R&B, #3 pop) and another R&B chart-topper, "

Look at Me (I'm in Love) "Look at Me (I'm in Love)" is a 1975 single written by Al Goodman, Walter Lee Morris, and Harry Milton Ray, and performed by The Moments. The Moments would later change their name to Ray, Goodman & Brown. Background According to the liner notes of ...

", which also reached #39 on the pop chart in 1975. The group's Harry Ray and

Al Goodman Alfred Goodman (August 12, 1890 – January 10, 1972) was a conductor, songwriter, stage composer, musical director, arranger, and pianist. Early years Goodman was born in Nikopol, Ukraine, (another source says that he was born in Odessa, Ukrai ...

branched out as writers and producers in their later years at the company. Other major hits for the All-Platinum labels included Sylvia's own million-selling "

Pillow Talk ''Pillow Talk'' is a 1959 American romantic comedy film in CinemaScope directed by Michael Gordon and starring Rock Hudson and Doris Day. The supporting cast features Tony Randall, Thelma Ritter, Nick Adams, Allen Jenkins, Marcel Dalio and ...

" in 1973 (#1 R&B, #3 pop);

Shirley & Company Shirley & Company was an American disco group, consisting of Shirley Goodman (1936–2005), Jason Alvarez, Walter Morris, Bernadette Randle, Seldon Powell, Jonathan Williams, Kenny Jeremiah, and Clarence Oliver. They topped the U.S. Dance char ...

's " Shame, Shame, Shame" in 1975 (#1 R&B, #12 pop);

Donnie Elbert Donnie Elbert (May 25, 1936 – January 26, 1989) was an American soul singer and songwriter, who had a prolific career from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s. His U.S. hits included " Where Did Our Love Go?" (1971), and his reputation as a No ...

's version of "Where Did Our Love Go" in 1971 (#6 R&B, #15 pop); Brother To Brother's "

In The Bottle "The Bottle" is a song by American soul artist Gil Scott-Heron and musician Brian Jackson, released in 1974 on Strata-East Records in the United States. It was later reissued during the mid-1980s on Champagne Records in the United Kingdom. "The ...

" in 1974 (#9 R&B, #46 pop);

Linda Jones Linda Jones (December 14, 1944 – March 14, 1972) was an American soul singer with a strong gospel-influenced style who had the 1967 top 10 R&B hit single, "Hypnotized". Biography Jones was born in Newark, New Jersey, United States. She start ...

' "Your Precious Love" in 1972 (#15 R&B, #74 pop); and

The Whatnauts The Whatnauts were an American soul group from Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 c ...

' 1971 hit, "I'll Erase Away Your Pain" (#14 R&B, #71 pop). The Moments also had considerable success in the UK with three Top 10 hits including "Girls" (#3) in 1975 and All Platinum also had its own label in the UK for a few years during the mid-1970s.

History

In 1971, the label was handling the distribution for Maple Records. One record was the ''Two Great Experiences Together!'' album by

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

Lonnie Youngblood Lonnie Thomas (born August 3, 1941 in Augusta, Georgia), known as Lonnie Youngblood, is an American saxophonist and bandleader best remembered for playing with Jimi Hendrix. Biography Youngblood's main influence is King Curtis, although his earli ...

which made the ''Billboard'' Top LPs chart. A group called

Calender A calender is a series of hard pressure rollers used to finish a sheet of material such as paper, textiles, rubber, or plastics. Calender rolls are also used to form some types of plastic films and to apply coatings. Some calender rolls are ...

had a single "

Hypertension Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a Chronic condition, long-term Disease, medical condition in which the blood pressure in the artery, arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms i ...

" released on All Platinum 6146 308 in the UK. Making its first appearance in the ''Record Mirror'' UK disco chart on August 9, 1975 "Hypertension" got to no. 10, spending a total of four weeks in the chart. It made it into the ''Cash Box'' R&B chart, peaking at no. 94 on August 30,''Cash Box'', September 6, 1975
Page 26 CASH BOX TOP 100 R&B, 96 HYPERTENSION Calendars (Buddah BDA 488) 94
/ref> spending a total of four weeks in the chart. It also made the ''Billboard'' Soul chart in 1975. Retta Young had a hit with " Sending Out An S.O.S." which made its debut in the UK chart at no. 50. It peaked at no. 28 at the end of June, spending a total of seven weeks in the chart. All Platinum purchased

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 an ...

with assistance from the European record concern, PolyGram in 1975, after Chess fell into

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

. However, the move was not a success as All Platinum was unable to keep steadily releasing material from Chess's roster of artists. The Robinsons launched a new subsidiary label, Sugar Hill Records in 1979 to concentrate on the fast-emerging rap/hip hop music scene. Sylvia switched her efforts to the new label completely, following early major success with "Rapper's Delight" (1979) and then "The Message" (1982), as the company's other labels went quiet. Sugar Hill as a label came to an end in 1986 after a disagreement with distributors MCA resulted in protracted litigation.

Later years

The Robinsons maintained their studio operation through to 2002 when the Englewood studios (by then, renamed Sugar Hill Studios) burned down in a fire. Joe Robinson had died two years earlier and then Sylvia died in hospital in 2011 at the age of 75.

Artists

*Jesus Alvarez *

Hank Ballard Hank Ballard (born John Henry Kendricks; November 18, 1927 – March 2, 2003) was an American singer and songwriter, the lead vocalist of the Midnighters and one of the first rock and roll artists to emerge in the early 1950s. He played an inte ...

Brook Benton Benjamin Franklin Peay (September 19, 1931 – April 9, 1988), known professionally as Brook Benton, was an American singer and songwriter whose music transcended rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and pop music genres in the 1950s and 1960s, with ...

*Brother to Brother *

Dorian Corey Dorian Corey (June 6, 1937 – August 29, 1993) was an American drag performer and fashion designer. She appeared in ''Wigstock'' and was featured in Jennie Livingston's 1990 documentary '' Paris Is Burning''. Early life and education ...

and the Pearl Box Review *

Dave "Baby" Cortez David Cortez Clowney (born August 13, 1938), known by the stage name Dave "Baby" Cortez, is an American pop and R&B organist and pianist, best known for his 1959 hit, "The Happy Organ". He is the oldest living performer to have a solo #1 hit o ...

* First Class *

Chuck Jackson Charles Benjamin Jackson (July 22, 1937 – February 16, 2023) was an American R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and Hal David successfully. He performed with moderate success starting in 1961. Hi ...

*George Kerr *

Derek Martin Derek Martin (born Derek William Rapp; 11 April 1933) is a retired English actor. Beginning his career as a stuntman, he moved into acting and played many roles on UK television. One of his most widely known roles is Charlie Slater on the BBC ...

*Eleanore Mills *

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American Rhythm and blues, R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in summer 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appea ...

* The Good Rats ( One Album only- "Ratcity in Blue") * Bobby Patterson *

Ponderosa Twins Plus One Ponderosa Twins Plus One was an American soul music, soul vocal group formed in 1970 in Cleveland, Ohio. The group featured two sets of identical twins, Alfred and Alvin Pelham, and Keith and Kirk Gardner, along with Ricky Spicer. The group rele ...

* The Moments *Irene Reed *

The Rimshots The Rimshots were an United States, American funk and disco band, popular in the late 1970s Background The group started out as the house band for the record labels All Platinum Records and in particular, All Platinum Records, Stang Records in t ...

*Larry Saunders *Spoonbread * Sylvia *Lezli Valentine *

*Willie & The Mighty Magnificents *

Timothy Wilson Timothy DeCamp Wilson is an American social psychologist and writer. He is the Sherrell J. Aston Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia and teaches public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. He ...

* Retta Young *

References

{{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 1967 Record labels disestablished in 1974 1967 establishments in the United States Virtual reality companies

Background

History

Later years

Artists

See also

References