Paradise 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, ...

founded by

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock a ...

in 1976 in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

History

Paradise Records was the second record label company founded by Russell, the first being Shelter Records which Russell co-founded with

Denny Cordell Dennis Cordell-Lavarack (1 August 1943 – 18 February 1995), known as Denny Cordell, was an English record producer. He is notable for his mid-1960s and early 1970s productions of hit singles for The Moody Blues, Leon Russell, The Move, Proc ...

in 1969. Russell ran Shelter with Cordell until 1976, when the two had a falling out. In a settlement, Cordell became sole owner of the Shelter Records label, and Russell left to start his own label, Paradise Records. Paradise Records was learning place for

Steve Ripley Paul Steven Ripley (January 1, 1950 – January 3, 2019) was an American recording artist, record producer, songwriter, Audio engineering, studio engineer, guitarist, and inventor. He was also the leader/producer of country rock band The Tractor ...

and members of Concrete Blonde; Ripley later started the country retro group,

The Tractors The Tractors (formerly known as Uncle Steve & The Tractors) were an American country rock band composed of a loosely associated group of musicians headed by guitarist Steve Ripley. The original lineup consisted of Steve Ripley (lead vocals, gui ...

. Paradise Records are currently made and distributed by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

Paradise Studios

Paradise Records included Paradise Studios, a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...

complex with two audio

sound stage A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a large, soundproof structure, building or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or te ...

s and one television production stage, as well as a remote recording bus and a remote television production bus that could support the stages or travel. The studio aired a weekly

live television Live television is a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. In a secondary meaning, it may refer to streaming television where all viewers watch the same stream simultaneously, rather than watching vide ...

music show ''

New Wave Theatre ''New Wave Theatre'' is a television program that was broadcast locally in the Los Angeles area on UHF channel 18 and eventually on the USA Network as part of the late night variety show ''Night Flight'' during the early 1980s. The show was c ...

'' shown on

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

. The studio produced music videos for

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

and

Randy Meisner Randall Herman Meisner (March 8, 1946 – July 26, 2023) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and founding member of both Eagles and Poco. Throughout his professional musical career, both as group member and session musician, his main r ...

, and long-format videos for

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

, J.J.Cale,

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her Bonnie Raitt (album), self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed Americana (mu ...

and Leon Russell. Russell sold the complex in 1982, after which it was home to Alpha Studios and then Oracle Post. In 2014, the facility became Bang Zoom! Entertainment's second multi-room production facility.

J. J. Cale John Weldon "J. J." Cale (December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013) was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Neil Young, Mark Knopf ...

and Leon Russell recorded a live session at Paradise Studios in June 1979. The previously unseen footage was discovered in Nashville in 2001 and features several tracks from ''5'' album, including "Sensitive Kind", "Lou-Easy-Ann", "Fate of a Fool", "Boilin' Pot", and "Don't Cry Sister". Cale worked at Paradise Studios as an engineer. The footage was officially released in 2003 as ''J.J. Cale featuring Leon Russell: In Session at the Paradise Studios''.

Distribution history

* In 1976 Paradise Records released its first album, the '' Wedding Album'' by Leon and Mary Russell. It is a studio album with his then wife, Mary Russell, otherwise known as

Mary McCreary Mary McCreary is an American singer, pianist and composer. She has been a member of hit making recording acts, Little Sister and Leon & Mary Russell. She has recorded her own albums for the MCA and Shelter labels. As a session singer she has s ...

. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Records. Leon and Mary Russell were producers of the album, with the exception of the final track, "Daylight", which was produced by its writer,

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack ( ; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's ...

. Leon and then-wife Mary Russell were musical guests on the May 15, 1976, episode of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' in its first season, hosted by Dyan Cannon. * In 1976 Leon & Mary Russell released ''Rainbow In Your Eyes / Love's Supposed To Be That Way'' -a 7" single * In 1976 Leon & Mary Russell released ''Satisfy You / Windsong '' -a 7", Promo single * In 1997 Leon & Mary Russell released '' Make Love to the Music'' -an LP, Album * In 1977 Gary Ogan released ''Gary Ogan'' -an LP, Album * In 1977 Gary Ogan released ''The Road'' -a 7" single * In 1977 Leon & Mary Russell released ''Say You Will'' -a 7" single * In 1977 Leon & Mary Russell released ''Love Crazy'' -a 7" single * In 1977 Leon & Mary Russell released ''Easy Love'' -a 7" single * In 1977 Gary Ogan released ''Make Me Sing'' -a 7" single * In 1978 Leon Russell released ''Elvis And Marilyn'' -a 7" single * In 1978 Leon Russell released '' Americana'' -an LP, Album * In 1978 Leon Russell released ''From Maine To Mexico'' -a 7" single * In 1978 Leon Russell released ''Elvis And Marilyn / Anita Bryant'' -a 12", Promo release * In 1979 Leon Russell released '' Life And Love'' -an LP, Album. * In 1979 Mary Russell released ''Heart Of Fire'' - an LP, Album * In 1979

Wornell Jones The Young Senators, currently known as The Young Senators Reloaded, is an American go-go band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1965. The band consisted of percussionist Jimi Dougans, guitarist Calvin Charity, vocalist Derek David, keyboaridst Frank ...

released ''Wornell Jones'' -an LP, Album * In 1979 Mary Russell released ''Right Or Wrong / Up Against The Wall'' -a 7" single * In 1979 Mary Russell released ''Up Against The Wall'' -a 7", Promo single * In 1979 Wornell Jones released ''You Are My Happiness'' -a 7", Promo single * In 1981 following up on his country theme, Leon released a second Hank Wilson album, '' Hank Wilson, Vol. II'' -an LP, Album (Hank Wilson being Leon's pseudonym name) * In 1981 Leon Russell & New Grass Revival released '' The Live Album'' -an LP, Album * In 1981 Leon Russell & New Grass Revival released ''I've Just Seen A Face'' -a 7", Promo single * In 1984 Leon Russell released ''Hank Wilson - Wabash Cannonball'' -a 7", Promo single * In 1984 Leon Russell released '' Solid State'' -an LP, Album. * In 1984 Leon Russell re-released ''Hank Wilson Vol. II'' -an LP, Album * In 1984 Leon Russell released '' Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues'' -a 7", Promo single * In 1984 Leon Russell released ''Rescue My Heart'' -a 7", Single * In 1984 Billy Chinnock released ''The Way She Makes Love'' -a 7", Promo single * In 1984 Leon Russell released ''Oh Lonesome Me'' -a 7", Promo single * In 1985 Paul Black And The Flip Kings released ''How How'' -an LP, Album * In 1993 Paradise Records released the ''LEON RUSSELL 24K GOLD DISC'' -a CD, Album (A remix of recordings done at Olympic Sound in London in 1969)discogs.com, LEON RUSSELL 24K GOLD DISC
/ref> * In 1997 Leon Russell/Paradise Records released '' Blues: Same Old Song'' -a CD, Album * In 2012 Astronomy released ''Bali Moon'' -a CD, Album. * In 2012 Astronomy released ''Golden Disc'' -a CDr Single * In 2012 Astronomy released ''Bali Moon'' -a CDr Single

References

External links

Paradise Records discography
{{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 1976 Record labels disestablished in 2012

History

Paradise Studios

Distribution history

See also

References

External links