FiFo Records was an American record label established by singer-songwriters
Bob Markley and
Baker Knight in Los Angeles, California, in 1961. Following Markley's unsuccessful stint with
Warner Bros. Records as a solo artist, he teamed up with Knight, a co-writer on both of Markley's two singles, to found the label, which recorded a variety of pop,
R&B, and
folk musical acts. FiFo is best-known, however, as the label that released the debut album by the
psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
group
the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band (The WCPAEB) in 1966.
All the recordings issued on FiFo were licensed through RHM (Robert H. Markley) Publishing. Aside from the WCPAEB, another notable artist on the label was
Sonny Knight, a seasoned musician who had a national hit in 1956 with "Confidential". Although not particularly successful, the
doo wop group the Triangles recorded the single "My Oh My", which has become a valuable collector's item that sells for as much as $700. Markley produced all the sessions, provided his "trademark"
bongos
Bongos (Spanish language, Spanish: ''bongó'') are an Afro-Cubans, Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. The pair consists of the larger ''hembra'' () and the smaller ''macho'' ...
, and carries a writing credit for all the singles released (often in collaboration with Baker Knight).
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s of popular songs and some original material by the Laughing Wind, the group that developed into the WCPAEB. The "FiFo fan" imprinted on some of the releases was a caricature of Markley that was later revived for the compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...
'' The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band Companion'' in 2011.
References
{{Authority control
Record labels established in 1961
Record labels based in California