Laurie Records was an American

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

established in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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 quartet prominent throughout the late 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 ...

(both together and as separate acts), The Chiffons,

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

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, l ...

, Bobby Goldsboro, and The Royal Guardsmen.

History

Sussel's earlier record company, Jamie Records (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 Ernest Peter Maresca (August 21, 1938 – July 8, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter and record company executive, best known for writing or co-writing some of Dion's biggest hits, including " Runaround Sue" and " The Wanderer". Biog ...

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, 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 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 subgenre 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, ...

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

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...

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" and " The Wanderer". The label had continuing success especially with the Chiffons (" He's So Fine" 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, he had further success with "

Abraham, Martin and John "Abraham, Martin and John" is a 1968 song written by Dick Holler. It was first recorded by Dion, in a version that was a substantial North American chart hit in 1968–1969. Near-simultaneous cover versions by Smokey Robinson and the Mir ...

" (1968). The company also licensed English records during the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...

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 an English beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin. Their early successes helped make ...

. Jo Siopis, a well known

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

and wife of Gerry & the Pacemakers' bass player,

Les Chadwick Gerry and the Pacemakers were an English beat music, beat group prominent in the 1960s Beat music, Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin. Their early ...

, was instrumental in the distribution of Laurie Records

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

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 and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

, 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, l ...

, 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 hit, 1961’s " A Little Bit of Soap". Career The start of their big break came in 1960 when they were at a local (Richmon ...

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

songwriting A songwriter is a person who creates 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 genre and film scoring. ...

team of Lou Stallman and Bobby Susser and released by the duo in 1971 under the pseudonym

Think In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, and delibe ...

. 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 state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

-owned Dolphin/Dolton label). Laurie changed its name in the early 1980s to

3C Records Laurie Records was an American 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 separa ...

. 3C stands for Continental Communications Corporation and the

master recording Master recordings, or simply masters, are the original recordings—including post-recording mixes and production edits—of audio performances, from which all analog and digital copies of the audio are derived from. The term refers only to the r ...

s that 3C produced are owned by the

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

unit of

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

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 The Balloon Farm was an American musical group. Originally from New Jersey, the group took its name from a New York City nightclub. It is best known for its sole hit song, "A Question of Temperature," which made the ''Billboard'' charts in Fe ...

* Bill Sunkel (Laurie Records / 3C Records) * The Bon-Aires (Rust Records) * Jack Rainwater * The Barbarians * The Birdwatchers * Mara Lynn Brown * Jim Campbell * Carlo (Carlo Mastrangelo) * California (featuring Les Fradkin) * The Chiffons (who also recorded as The Four Pennies on Rust Records) *

The Clique A clique is a close social group. Clique or The Clique may also refer to: Math and computing * Clique (graph theory) ** Clique problem in computer science Business and brands * Clique (vodka), a Latvian vodka sold in the United States * Clique ...

* Church Street Five (Legrand Records) * Gary U.S. Bonds (Legrand Records) * Dean & Jean (Rust Records) *

* Dion *

The Equals The Equals are an English rock band. They are best remembered for their million-selling chart-topper " Baby, Come Back", though they had several other chart hits in the UK and Europe. Drummer John Hall founded the group with Eddy Grant, Pat L ...

(President Records) * The Fallen Angels * The Gap (1965–1972) – Ronnie Logue, Ronnie Banks and Ben Johnson * The New Gap (1971–1979) *

* Bobby Goldsboro * Rocco Granata * Heavy Breathing *

* Don Lombardi * Lou Monte *

The Music Explosion The Music Explosion was an American garage rock band from Mansfield, Ohio, discovered and signed by record producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz. The quintet is best known for their number two hit record, hit, "Little Bit O' Soul". The single ...

(band leader Jamie Lyons also recorded for Laurie) *

* Randy & the Rainbows (Rust Records) * Rats * Reparata and the Delrons *

Ivo Robić Ivo Robić (28 January 1923 – 9 March 2000) was a Croatian singer-songwriter. Domestic career Robić began his career as a soloist with the Radio Zagreb Orchestra, while studying at the same time in Zagreb. He performed during World War II o ...

* The Royal Guardsmen * The Gray ThingsThe Discography of Laurie Records show "Charity" by the "Gray Things" as record No. LR 3367 * The Sound Investment * Tom Selden * The Tropics * Uncalled For * Valerie Tyler * Don Benjamin * Wigren and Drago *

* Barbara M * New Hope * Montage * The Yellow Brick Road * The Outsiders (as The Soul Trippers on Providence Records) * Raven (Formerly The Ravens, from St. Petersburg, Florida)

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