Old Town Records was a

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, ...

set up by

Hy Weiss Hyman Y. "Hy" Weiss (February 12, 1923 – March 20, 2007) was an American record producer of pop and rhythm and blues music in the 1950s and 1960s, and the founder of Old Town Records. Biography Born to a Jewish family in Cuca, Argeș Count ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It operated between 1953 and 1966, and was responsible for several R&B and

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

hit records. Weiss, who was born in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, lived in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

from the 1920s, and began working as a

furrier Fur clothing is clothing made from the preserved skins of mammals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing and is thought to have been widely used by people for at least 120,000 years. The term 'fur' is often used to refer to a specific item ...

. In the mid-1940s, with his brother Sam, he started distributing records produced in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Leon René Leon René (February 6, 1902 – May 30, 1982) was an American music composer of pop, R&B and rock and roll songs and a record producer in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. He sometimes used the songwriting pseudonym Jimmy Thomas or Jimmie Thomas. He ...

, soon expanding into distributing records by other companies including

Modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

and

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

. In 1953, he set up his own label, Old Town, taking its name, and its early stationery, from that of a wholesale paper business in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

for whom Weiss worked.Marv Goldberg, "Old Town Records", ''UncaMarvy.com'', 2009
Retrieved 31 March 2019
Retrieved 31 March 2019 Weiss took sole control of the label in 1956. He was primarily a producer of vocal groups, as well as

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 ...

music.Sisario, Ben
"Hy Weiss, 84, Music Executive From Rock 'n' Roll's Early Days, Dies"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', March 31, 2007. Accessed November 26, 2007. Old Town had its first

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...

with the 1958

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

We Belong Together "We Belong Together" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her tenth studio album, '' The Emancipation of Mimi'' (2005). The song was released on March 15, 2005, through Island Records, as the second single from the album. ...

" by

Robert & Johnny Robert & Johnny were an American doo-wop duo from The Bronx, composed of Robert Carr and Johnny Mitchell. Biography The duo released about a dozen singles for Old Town Records in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Two of them charted: "We Belong ...

, and had further hits by Billy Bland (" Let the Little Girl Dance"),

the Solitaires The Solitaires were an American doo-wop group, best known for their 1957 hit single " Walking Along". Although they never had a national chart hit, they were one of the most popular vocal groups in New York in the late 1950s. History The Solit ...

(" Walking Along "), the Fiestas (" So Fine"),

the Capris The Capris are an American doo wop group who became a one-hit wonder in 1961 with " There's a Moon Out Tonight." They experienced a popularity and performing resurgence in the 1980s, when three members reformed and The Manhattan Transfer reco ...

There's a Moon Out Tonight "There's a Moon Out Tonight" is a song originally released in 1958 by The Capris. The initial release on the Planet label saw very limited sales, and the Capris disbanded. In 1960, after a disk jockey played the song on air, the public interest in ...

"),

the Earls The Earls, often credited as Larry Chance and the Earls, is an American popular music group formed in The Bronx, New York. In a career spanning over 60 years they formed in the early 1960s, though their roots can be traced back to 1957 in a gro ...

(" Remember Then"), and others.

Arthur Prysock Arthur Prysock Jr. (January 1, 1924 According to his obituary in ''The New York Times'', "his heavy, deep voice projected a calm, reassuring virility." Life and career Prysock was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Many sources give his birt ...

was the label's primary album artist, and the label also recorded blues musicians including

Sonny Terry Saunders Terrell (October 24, 1911 – March 11, 1986), known as Sonny Terry, was an American Piedmont blues and folk musician, who was known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers and occas ...

. In addition, Old Town released many vocal records that were successful in the New York area, but did not break nationally or internationally. The Old Town catalog was sold by Weiss to

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

in 1970.''Billboard'', "Atlantic Buys Old Town Line", 12 September 1970, p.8
/ref> The label re-emerged between 1973 and 1978, issuing several albums by Arthur Prysock. Weiss died in 2007.

References

External links

1953 establishments in New York City American record labels Defunct record labels of the United States Record labels established in 1953 Record labels disestablished in 1966 Rock and roll record labels {{US-record-label-stub