Original Sound is a

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

-based

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, ...

. It was founded in the early 1950s by

KPOP K-pop (; an abbreviation of "Korean popular music") is a form of popular music originating in South Korea. It emerged in the 1990s as a form of youth subculture, with Korean musicians taking influence from Western Electronic dance music, danc ...

deejay 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 DJ ...

Art Laboe Art Laboe (born Arthur Egnoian; August 7, 1925 – October 7, 2022) was an American radio host, songwriter, record producer, and radio station owner. He was generally credited with coining the term "Oldies but Goodies". Early life and education ...

. It began as a small label that specialized in compiling and re-releasing "

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

" R&B and

rock 'n' roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

songs.

History

The label pioneered the concept of reissuing older pop and rock hits, and sold millions of records on his ''Oldies But Goodies'' compilation albums, several of which made the national ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' album charts. All 15 volumes of this series were later reissued on a best-selling CD series in the 1980s and 1990s, although track listings on each CD volume varied widely from the original LP issues with identical numbers, and some volumes contained none of the same songs as their original issues. Later on, the Double Shot Records catalog was purchased by Original Sound in ca. 1972. The label's biggest self-recorded hit as a single was "Teen Beat" by drummer

Sandy Nelson Sander Lloyd Nelson (December 1, 1938 – February 14, 2022) was an American drummer. Nelson, one of the best-known rock and modern jazz drummers of the late 1950s and early 1960s, had several solo instrumental Top 40 hits and released over 30 ...

, reaching number four on ''Billboard'' in 1959. Other successful Original Sound artists included: * Preston Epps ("Bongo Rock" and "Bongo, Bongo, Bongo") *

The Music Machine The Music Machine was an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1966. Fronted by chief songwriter and lead vocalist Sean Bonniwell, the band cultivated a dark and rebellious image reflected in their musical approach. Sometim ...

Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981 by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), Paul Webb (bass), and Simon Brenner (keyboards). Initially a synth-pop group, Talk Talk's first two albums, '' The Party's Over'' (198 ...

" and " The People In Me") *

Dyke & the Blazers Dyke or dike may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), formations of magma or sediment that cut through and across the layering of adjacent rocks * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess ...

("Funky Broadway") * Bobby Mac ("Walkin' Together" b/w "Keep On", OS-68) The first few "Oldies But Goodies" LPs were hugely successful (Volume 1 reached #12 on the Billboard Album charts and stayed on the chart for 183 weeks). Their success influenced other labels to put out compilations of their hits and near-hits, as well as helped validate the standing of songs like

The Five Satins The Five Satins are an American doo-wop group, best known for their 1956 million-selling song " In the Still of the Night." They were formed in 1954 and continued performing until 1994. When it was formed, the group consisted of six members, wh ...

' "In the Still of the Night", which only reached #24 on the pop charts in 1956.

Original Sound Recording Studios

In 1959 Laboe opened Original Sound Studios at 7120 West Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. Many prominent recording artists worked at the studio well into the 1980s, recording for Original Sound and other labels. In 1963, Paul Buff, who previously operated Pal Recording Studio became one of the principal recording engineers at Original Sound. Buff was responsible for many innovations added to the studio, including a unique custom built 10 track recording machine.https://idiotbastard.com/News/Buff.htm Producer

Frank Slay Frank Conley Slay Jr. (July 8, 1930 – September 30, 2017) was an American songwriter, A&R director, record producer, and record label owner. He wrote with Bob Crewe in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the partnership's most successful songs, incl ...

also recorded hit records at the studio.

List of artists who recorded at Original Sound Studios

Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born 'Don Glen Vliet'; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as the M ...

* The Music Machine *

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

- ''

End of the Century ''End of the Century'' is the fifth studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released on February 4, 1980, through Sire Records. The album was the band's first to be produced by Phil Spector, though he had offered the band his assis ...

'' *

Strawberry Alarm Clock Strawberry Alarm Clock is a psychedelic rock band formed in 1967, originating in Glendale, California, a city about ten miles north of downtown Los Angeles. The band is best known for its 1967 hit single " Incense and Peppermints." Their music ...

- '' Incense and Peppermints'' *

Sugarloaf A sugarloaf was the usual form in which refined sugar was produced and sold until the late 19th century, when granulated and cube sugars were introduced. A tall cone with a rounded top was the end product of a process in which dark molasses, ...

- ''

Green-Eyed Lady "Green-Eyed Lady" is a popular single by the American rock band Sugarloaf. Written by Jerry Corbetta, J.C. Phillips and David Riordan, it was featured on the band's debut album, ''Sugarloaf'' and was their first single. It peaked at number three ...

'' *

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 ...

References

External links

* American record labels Rhythm and blues record labels Reissue record labels {{US-record-label-stub

History

Original Sound Recording Studios

List of artists who recorded at Original Sound Studios

See also

References

External links