Lanor Records
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Lanor Records is an American record label based in the
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
region of Louisiana. It is known for its issues of
Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the US state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states. Whi ...
and
zydeco Zydeco ( ; ) is a music genre that was created in rural Southwest Louisiana by French speaking, Afro-Americans of Creole heritage. It blends African and Caribbean rhythms, blues and rhythm and blues with music indigenous to the Louisiana ...
music. Lee Lavergne began to record musicians local to his home in
Church Point, Louisiana Church Point () is a town in Acadia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,560 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Crowley Micropolitan Statistical Area. Church Point is known as the Buggy Capital of the World as it used to ...
after he was returned from army service in Korea. The label was formed in 1960 as a secondary endeavor to Lavergne's job as a grocery clerk. Lavergne deeply wanted to be in the music business, but didn't think he could make it as a performer or a
disk jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music festivals), mobile ...
. He became a fan of local cajun and
rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
musicians, and decided he wanted to produce and release records. Initially he was discouraged from entering the record business by those he first worked with, but Lavergne decided to begin even if prospects were poor. Lanor's first release was by Shirley Bergeron in May 1960, its entire run of 2000 copies sold and immediately established Lanor as a viable ongoing entity. He supervised his own recording sessions that took place at Crowley and
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
, gaining experience and better technical results as time passed. The first Lanor album was also by Shirley Bergeron, entitled "The Sounds Of Cajun Music". This first album was successful, but a second album by Bergeron had disappointing sales. While promoting Bergeron's discs, Lavergne became acquainted with individuals in the
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
and rhythm and blues promotion, and he began recording those genres. The label's first true hit was 1962's "Life Problem" by
Elton Anderson Elton Anderson (February 9, 1930 – November 13, 1984) was an American singer and swamp pop pioneer who had a chart hit on Mercury Records. Anderson was born in Ville Platte, Louisiana, United States. From 1956 to 1957, Anderson was the featured ...
.
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 ...
picked up the record for national distribution, and signed with Lanor for further recordings, but the agreement lasted only a short while, and then Anderson unexpectedly quit altogether. Recordings by Charles Mann, who sold very well in Louisiana and Texas, and Billy Matte provided further profitability. Lanor moved into the
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
field briefly, but found the climate for a purer form of blues in Louisiana to be difficult with sales rarely exceeding 100 copies, and exited that market by 1963. Lanor entered the
southern soul Southern soul or country soul is a type of soul and country music that emerged from the Southern United States. The music originated from a combination of styles, including blues (both 12 bar and jump), country, early R&B, and a strong gospel ...
field in the late 1960s, to disappointing results. Lavergne opened a retail music store in 1972, and in 1975 moved Lanor into a location that was previously a restaurant and bar., but the label was in hiatus for most of the 1970s. Lanor came back in 1980 when it released an album of new Charles Mann material named ''She's Walking Towards Me''. In 1982, as Lavergne experienced increasing studio costs, he built his own small studio consisting of an inexpensive mixing board and a single
reel-to-reel Reel-to-reel audio tape recording, also called open-reel recording, is magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording tape is spooled between reels. To prepare for use, the ''supply reel'' (or ''feed reel'') containing the tape is plac ...
recording unit. The label focused primarily on 45rpm singles until the 1990s, at which time it began to issue albums in cassette and
compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...
formats. Later the label was owned and operated by Bobby and Pat Murray, and relocated to
Jennings, Louisiana Jennings is a city in, and the parish seat of, Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana, United States, near Lake Charles. The population was 10,383 at the 2010 census, a small decline from the 2000 tabulation. Jennings is the principal city of the ...
. The label has been highly sought-after by fans of Cajun and zydeco, who often travel to Louisiana seeking releases. The label has also issued material in the bluegrass and blues genres.


Notable artists

*
Elton Anderson Elton Anderson (February 9, 1930 – November 13, 1984) was an American singer and swamp pop pioneer who had a chart hit on Mercury Records. Anderson was born in Ville Platte, Louisiana, United States. From 1956 to 1957, Anderson was the featured ...
* Dale Houston *
Beau Jocque Beau Jocque (born Andrus Espre; November 1, 1953 – September 10, 1999) was a Louisiana French Creole zydeco musician and songwriter active in the 1990s. Beau Jocque is known for his gruff vocals, his fusion of many musical styles into zyde ...
* Charles Mann *
Phil Phillips John Philip Baptiste (March 14, 1926 – March 14, 2020), known as Phil Phillips, was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his 1959 song, " Sea of Love". Biography Baptiste was encouraged to pursue a career as a singer after a scho ...


References

{{Authority control Record labels established in 1960 Cajun music Blues record labels Rock record labels Record labels based in Louisiana 1960 establishments in Louisiana American independent record labels