Meteor Records was a Memphis-based R&B

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

ran by Lester Bihari, one of the

Bihari brothers The Bihari brothers, Lester, Jules, Saul and Joe, were American businessmen of Hungarian Jewish origins. They were the founders of Modern Records in Los Angeles and its subsidiaries, such as Meteor Records, based in Memphis. The Bihari brothers w ...

, owners of

Modern Records Modern Records (Modern Music Records before 1947) was an American record company and label formed in 1945 in Los Angeles by the Bihari brothers. Modern's artists included Etta James, Joe Houston, Little Richard, Ike & Tina Turner and John Lee ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. Founded in 1952, the label was a bold experiment to broaden the talent base by focusing on signing and recording Southern regional talent by having recording studios locally available. The label's first release, "I Believe" / "I Held My Baby Last Night," by

Elmore James Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fa ...

in 1952 was their biggest success. By 1956 it was clear that the growing teenage rock 'n roll market was not buying Southern based blues. In 1957, Meteor Records issued its last recording and the Bihari brothers consolidated their labels in

. Although the label did not succeed economically, it was an innovative effort on the part of the Bihari brothers to broaden the musical base.

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Elmore James was the first artist signed to the label and recorded the first release followed by Bep Brown's "Round House Boogie" / "Kickin' The Blues Around." Essentially the label picked up artists who didn't have success at Sun Records, including James,

Rufus Thomas Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess ...

, Junior Thompson, Charlie Feathers, and

Malcolm Yelvington Malcolm Yelvington (September 14, 1918 – February 21, 2001) was an American rockabilly and country musician. Born in Covington, Tennessee, he released a record on Sun Records in 1954, just after Elvis Presley. Yelvington began performing in loc ...

. Bihari licensed some sides of jazz musician Al Smith from

Chance Records Chance Records was a Chicago-based label founded in 1950 by Art Sheridan. It specialized in blues, jazz, doo-wop, and gospel. Among the acts who recorded for Chance were The Flamingos, The Moonglows, Homesick James, J. B. Hutto, Brother John ...

in 1953. List of artists who recorded for Meteor included: *

* Bep Brown * Chicago Sunny Boy *

* Charlie Feathers *

* Earl Forest *

Smokey Hogg Andrew "Smokey" Hogg (January 27, 1914 – May 1, 1960) was an American post-war Texas blues and country blues musician. Life and career Hogg was born near Westconnie, Texas, and grew up on a farm. He was taught to play the guitar by his fathe ...

* Sunny Blair * Little Milton * Jimmy Haggett * The Velvatones * Minnie Thomas * The Del-Rios * Junior Thompson

References

American record labels Record labels established in 1952 Record labels disestablished in 1957 Blues record labels Rhythm and blues record labels Companies based in Memphis, Tennessee {{US-record-label-stub

Roster

See also

References