Del-Fi Records was an American

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

based in Hollywood, California, founded in 1958 and owned by

Bob Keane Robert Verrill Kuhn (January 5, 1922 – November 28, 2009), professionally known as Bob Keane, and also sometimes known as Bob Keene, was an American musician, producer and the founder and owner of the record label Del-Fi Records. He was the ...

. The label's first single released was "Caravan" by Henri Rose in 1958, but the label was most famous for signing

Ritchie Valens Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), better known by his stage name Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens died i ...

. Valens' first single for the label was " Come On Let's Go", which was a hit. His next single, " Donna"/" La Bamba", was an even bigger hit, and brought national notoriety to the label.

Johnny Crawford John Ernest Crawford (March 26, 1946 – April 29, 2021) was an American actor and singer. He first performed before a national audience as a Mouseketeer. At age 12, Crawford rose to prominence playing Mark McCain in the series ''The Rifleman ...

, the co-star of the television series ''

The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television series starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show ...

'', was the Del-Fi artist who recorded the most hit singles.

History

In 1966, legal action was taken against Del-Fi by attorney Al Schlesinger for Anthony Music, which filed a $122,000 suit over breach of contract, fraud and money owed. The principal stockholder of the company,

Anthony Hilder Anthony J. Hilder (November 30, 1934 - April 26, 2019) was an American author, film maker, talk show host, broadcaster, news correspondent and former actor. In the late 1950s to the mid-1960s he was also a record producer, producing music mainl ...

, claimed the dispute was over royalties not being paid as per an alleged agreement for the masters of albums by

the Centurians The Centurians were an instrumental surf rock band started by Dennis Rose from Newport Beach, California. They were active in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Their music has been used in at least two films. They reformed as The Centurions in 1995 ...

Dave Myers and The Surftones Dave Myers and The Surftones were a Southern California surf group who are most likely remembered for the few singles they recorded in the 1960s which include their cover of The Revels hit " Church Key" and their time at the Rendezvous Ballroom ...

, and the Sentinels, and the LP ''Battle of the Surf Bands''.

Sister labels

Keane soon launched Stereo-Fi Records and Donna Records as sister labels. Donna Records was started in 1959, named after Ritchie Valens' hit of the same name. By 1965, Bob Keane felt the Del-Fi and Donna labels were aging, so the Bronco Records and Mustang Records labels were started in their place, capitalizing on their new, exciting themes. The Mustang label achieved fame through Bobby Fuller Four (previously on Donna Records), producing their biggest hit, "

I Fought the Law "I Fought the Law" is a song written by Sonny Curtis of the Crickets and popularized by a cover by the Bobby Fuller Four, becoming a top-ten hit for the band in 1966. Their version of the song was ranked No. 175 on the ''Rolling Stone'' li ...

" in 1965. Their fame continued into 1966, with assistance from the then A&R man

Barry White Barry Eugene White (né Carter; September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003) was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and ...

, but Fuller's death later that year brought a halt to the label, and Mustang Records closed down in 1967.

Legacy

Del-Fi was briefly revived in 1987 for 7" and 12" releases of "La Bamba '87", featuring remixes of the Richie Valens classic, capitalizing on the success of the film '' La Bamba''. Keane resurrected the Del-Fi label in 1995 and reissued many original recordings on CD (some under the Donna label), and signed some new acts as well. In September 2003, Bob Keane sold the Del-Fi and its subsidiaries to the

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Record label#M ...

. Today it is run under

Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company (formerly Rhino Records Inc.) is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded ...

and reissues some of its older material.

Various artist compilations

In 1999, the label released ''Del-Fi Girl Groups: Gee Baby Gee''. Compiled and annotated by Steve Stanley, the CD featured 21 vintage tracks from the Del-Fi label. They were by girl groups and singers such as the Ladybugs,

Brenda Holloway Brenda Holloway (born June 26, 1946) is an American soul singer who was a recording artist for Motown Records during the 1960s. Her best-known recordings are the hits " Every Little Bit Hurts", " When I'm Gone", and " You've Made Me So Very H ...

, Pippy Shannon, Lori Martin, Pierre And Anne-Lyse, Desda, Mary Sawrey, and seven tracks by The Sisters, a group that featured Ersi Arvizu.

New recordings

One band that has recorded for the label is

the El Caminos The El Caminos are a Japanese surf music band who were formed in the 1990s. They had an album that charted in the late 1990s. Background They have been described as a band that peruses the sounds of surf music from the 1960s without limits. They ...

, a Japanese surf music band who had their 1997 album ''Reverb Explosion'' released on Del-Fi. It got to number 12 on the

CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

Core Radio chart.''CMJ New Music Report'', September 8, 1997
Page 9 CORE RADIO
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Artists

* Addrisi Brothers * Eden Ahbez *

The Centurians The Centurians were an instrumental surf rock band started by Dennis Rose from Newport Beach, California. They were active in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Their music has been used in at least two films. They reformed as The Centurions in 1995 ...

Bobby Curtola Robert Allen Curtola, CM (April 17, 1943 – June 4, 2016) was a Canadian rock and roll singer and teen idol. History Curtola was born in Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada. He began performing at age 15 with a band called Bobby and the Bobcats, si ...

* Bobby Fuller Four (Donna & Mustang) *

Roy Gaines Roy James Gaines (August 12, 1937 – August 11, 2021) was an American Texas blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He wrote and recorded the song "A Hell of a Night", which was first issued on his 1982 album ''Gainelining''. ...

* The Gallahads * Ron Holden (Donna) *

* The Impacts *

Bruce Johnston Bruce Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin; June 27, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter and musician who is a member of the Beach Boys. He also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher (his bandmate in Bruce & Terry, the Rip Chords, and ...

Little Caesar & the Romans Little Caesar & the Romans were an American musical group from Los Angeles, California, United States, active briefly in the 1960s. The Romans minus Little Caesar began recording in 1959 as The Cubans, but changed their name to The Upfronts after ...

The Lively Ones The Lively Ones were an American surf music band from USA, active in Southern California in the 1960s. They played live mostly in California and Arizona. They recorded for Del-Fi records with production from Bob Keane. They recorded mostly c ...

Outrageous Cherry Outrageous Cherry was an American psychedelic pop / power pop and punk band from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Outrageous Cherry formed in 1991, and soon expanded to a four-piece after performing live in 1993. The group has released 13 album ...

* Josephine Roberto aka 'Banig' *

Chan Romero Robert Lee "Chan" Romero (July 7, 1941 – April 21, 2024) was an American rock and roll performer, best known for his 1959 song " Hippy Hippy Shake". Early life Romero was born in Billings, Montana. His father was of Spanish and Apache de ...

*Spider Webb and the Insects (

Tom Fogerty Thomas Richard Fogerty (November 9, 1941 – September 6, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist for Creedence Clearwater Revival. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. Biography ...

) *

(Bronco) *

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

* Ersi Arvizu

Later artists

The El Caminos The El Caminos are a Japanese surf music band who were formed in the 1990s. They had an album that charted in the late 1990s. Background They have been described as a band that peruses the sounds of surf music from the 1960s without limits. They ...

Kari Wuhrer Kari Samantha Wuhrer (born April 28, 1967) is an American actress, model, and singer. She is known for her time as hostess of the MTV game show ''Remote Control (game show), Remote Control'' (1988–1989), her portrayals of Abby Holland, Abigail ...

References

{{Authority control Ritchie Valens Record labels based in California Rock and roll record labels Record labels established in 1958 Record labels disestablished in 2003 1958 establishments in California Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles Warner Music labels Labels distributed by Warner Music Group 2003 disestablishments in California