Finley Duncan (died 1989) ran independent record companies in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

.Finley Duncan
recordings DiscogsSoul to soul
Various Artists: Soul Resurrection Volume One Label: Southern Americana Format: Compilation Media: CD Genre: Soul by Michael Hurtt 8/8/2007 Metro Times Duncan began in the music business as a

jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that plays a user-selected song from a self-contained media library. Traditional jukeboxes contain records, compact discs, or digital files, and allow user ...

operator. He distributed jukeboxes and was a

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

owner on Florida's

Emerald Coast The Emerald Coast is an unofficial name for the coastal area in the US state of Florida on the Gulf of Mexico that stretches about through five counties—Escambia County, Florida, Escambia, Santa Rosa County, Florida, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa Co ...

. He also worked at a variety of small record labels for almost 30 years beginning in the 1950s. Duncan's labels included Minaret Records and Playground Records. Among those he recorded to his labels were Kim Jones of

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

in 1973 who signed an exclusive recording contract with his Minaret Records. He also worked with former Motown artist Reuben Howell, Doris Allen, Big John Hamilton,

Len Wade European Aquatics (formerly , , popularly known by its acronym LEN) is the European governing body for aquatic sports affiliated to World Aquatics — it is the Continental Association for Europe. It was formally organized in 1927 in Bologna, a ...

, Leroy Lloyd and the Dukes, Count Willie and Jimmie Nelson. Other artists at his labels included Roger Binninghof, Tiny Watkins, Krankies, Paul Martin, Benninghoff,

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), better known by her stage name Patti Page, was an American singer. Primarily known for Pop music, pop and Country music, country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and b ...

, Genie Brooks,

Johnny Adams Laten John Adams Jr. (January 5, 1932 – September 14, 1998), was an American blues, jazz and gospel singer, known as "The Tan Canary" for the multi-octave range of his singing voice, his swooping vocal mannerisms and falsetto. His biggest ...

Josh Hamilton Joshua Holt Hamilton (born May 21, 1981) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 2007 to 2015, most prominently as a member of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers teams ...

, and Trooper Jim Foster. Allen's recordings were to be distributed by the

Shelby Singleton Shelby Sumpter Singleton, Jr. (December 16, 1931 – October 7, 2009) was an American record producer and record label owner. Early life He was born Shelby Sumpter Singleton, Jr. in Waskom, Texas. His parents were Shelby Sumpter Singleton, Sr. an ...

Corporation. Herb Shucher founded Minaret before leaving to join

's SSS organization, which took over the label a few years later in 1967.Record Makers and Breakers
Voices of the Independent Rock 'n' Roll Pioneers By John Broven pages 292, 294, 522

Jim Lancaster Jim or JIM may refer to: Names * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy People and horses * Jim, the nickname of Yelkanum Seclamatan (died April 1911), Na ...

from Memphis worked with Duncan beginning in 1970. After Duncan died he rereleased many of his recordings, including on ''Soul Resurrection Volume One''. Duncan established Playground Records with Shelby Singleton in

Valparaiso, Florida Valparaiso is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Crestview, Florida, Crestview–Destin, Florida, Fort Walton Beach–Destin, Florida Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin, Florida ...

on the

Florida Panhandle The Florida panhandle (also known as West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida. It is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long, bordered by Alabama on the west and north, Georgia (U.S. state ...

near

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

in 1969. The studio recorded singles for Duncan's Minaret Records label

Mike Quinn Michael Patrick Quinn (born April 15, 1974) is an American former professional football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans, and Denve ...

recorded with Duncan's Emerald Coast Records.
Seville Quarter Duncan's recordings did not sell well in their era, but many have been rerecorded and rediscovered among fans of the Southern genres.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Finley Year of birth missing 1989 deaths Record producers from Florida Nightclub owners