Bobbin Records was an American,

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

–based

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 ...

, founded by blues musician

Little Milton James Milton Campbell Jr. (September 7, 1934 – August 4, 2005), better known as Little Milton, was an American blues singer and guitarist, best known for his List of number-one R&B singles of 1965 (U.S.), number-one R&B single "We're Gonna Ma ...

and KATZ-AM disc jockey Bob Lyons in 1958. The label was instrumental in exposing Milton and other local artist to wider audiences. As the head of A&R, Milton recruited

Albert King Albert King ( Nelson; April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps best known for his popular and ...

Oliver Sain Oliver Sain Jr. (March 1, 1932 – October 28, 2003) was an American saxophone, saxophonist, songwriter, bandleader, drummer and record producer, who was an important figure in the development of rhythm and blues music, notably in St Louis, Mi ...

, and

Fontella Bass Fontella Marie Bass (; July 3, 1940 – December 26, 2012) was an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter best known for her number-one R&B hit " Rescue Me" in 1965. She was nominated for a Grammy Award twice. Early life Fontella Bass was bor ...

to record for Bobbin. Bobbin was eventually distributed by the

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 ...

. The Bobbin catalog consists of 44 records between 1958 and 1963. The first release on the label was Milton's "I'm A Lonely Man" in 1958 which sold 60,000 copies. Altogether Milton released seven singles on the label, including two that were released after

Leonard Chess Leonard Samuel Chess (born Lejzor Szmuel Czyż; March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969) was a Polish-American record company executive and the founder of Chess Records alongside his brother Phil. He was influential in the development of the recor ...

bout out Lyons and signed Milton and other artists on Bobbin to his

Checker Records Checker Records is a defunct record label that was started in 1952 as a subsidiary of Chess Records in Chicago, Illinois. The label was founded by the Chess brothers, Leonard and Phil, who ran the label until they sold it to General Recorded T ...

label. In October 1961, Bobbin released Albert King's " Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong" which featured musician

Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and ...

on piano. The single did well enough locally that King Records leased the recording from Bobbin and released it as a single the next month. It became King's first hit, peaking No.14 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart. In 1996, Ace Records released the compilation CD ''St. Louis Blues Revue: The Classic Bobbin Sessions''.

Discography highlights

References

American record labels Rhythm and blues record labels Pop record labels Rock and roll record labels Record labels established in 1958 Vanity record labels Music of St. Louis Blues record labels Defunct record labels of the United States 1958 establishments in Missouri {{US-independent-record-label-stub