Felsted Records was the name of two record labels. The UK version began as a subsidiary of

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

in July 1954 with music mainly in the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and dance band genres and recordings leased from the French Blue Star, Riviera, and Classique labels. The label took its name from the village where Sir Edward Lewis, the head of UK Decca, lived. The British label's only release of note was "Smokie", the first single by

Bill Black William Patton Black Jr. (September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader who is noted as one of the pioneers of rock and roll. He played in Elvis Presley's early trio, The Blue Moon Boys. Black later formed Bill ...

's Combo, Black having been

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

's bassist, licensed from Hi Records. Late in 1957, Felsted Records US opened, operating from

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

' office in New York and was marketed as a pop label. Releases included

Kathy Linden Kathy Linden (born 1938) (died 2024) is an American pop singer from Moorestown Township, New Jersey. She grew up in Burlington, New Jersey. Biography Linden scored two big hits on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 late in the 1950s. The first w ...

's "

Billy Billy may refer to: * Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name) * Billy (surname), a surname (and list of people with the surname) Animals * Billy (dog), a dog breed * Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945 * Billy ( ...

" and " Goodbye Jimmy, Goodbye"; Jimmy Wisner's 1961 instrumental "Asia Minor", credited to "Kokomo, his Piano and Orchestra" on the London label in the UK; and The Flares' 1961 release "Foot Stompin' Part 1", which reached No. 20 on the Black Singles chart and No. 25 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 In 1958 Felsted was reinstated in the UK leasing US material contracted through its US office. Neither label had much commercial success; the UK label was closed in 1964 and its roster transferred to London Records. During 1958 and '59, British producer

Stanley Dance Stanley Frank Dance (15 September 1910 in Braintree, Essex – 23 February 1999 in Vista, California) was a British jazz writer, business manager, record producer, and historian of the Swing era. He was personally close to Duke Ellington over ...

supervised albums for Felsted in New York by

Buster Bailey William C. "Buster" Bailey (July 19, 1902 – April 12, 1967) was an American jazz clarinetist. Career history Early career Buster Bailey was taught clarinet by classical teacher Franz Schoepp, who also taught Benny Goodman. Bailey gained his st ...

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first ...

Budd Johnson Albert J. "Budd" Johnson III (December 14, 1910 – October 20, 1984) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist who worked extensively with, among others, Ben Webster, Benny Goodman, Big Joe Turner, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke ...

, Rex Stewart,

Buddy Tate George Holmes "Buddy" Tate (February 22, 1913 – February 10, 2001) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. Biography Tate was born in Sherman, Texas, United States, and first played the alto saxophone. According to the website All Ab ...

, and

Dicky Wells William Wells (June 10, 1907 or 1909 – November 12, 1985), known professionally as Dicky Wells (sometimes Dickie Wells), was an American jazz trombonist. Early life Wells was born in Centerville, Tennessee. Early in his life, he lived in Cent ...

Discography

7500 Popular Series

7000 Jazz Series

45 rpm singles, New York

References

External links