Peacock 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 in 1949 by

Don Robey Don Deadric Robey (November 1, 1903 – June 16, 1975) was an American record label executive, songwriter, and record producer. As the founder of Peacock Records and the eventual owner of Duke Records, he was responsible for developing the car ...

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States.

History

Robey established the record label in 1949 after two years of being

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 ...

singer Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown's manager, and Brown not finding commercial success with

Aladdin Records Aladdin Records was a record company and label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by brothers Eddie and Leo Mesner. It was originally called Philo Records before changing its name in 1946. Philo Records Philo's releases included 78 RPM singles of ...

. Named after Robey's Houston nightclub, the Bronze Peacock, the record label's roster expanded to include such notable

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

artists as Marie Adams,

James Booker James Carroll Booker III (December 17, 1939 – November 8, 1983) was an American New Orleans rhythm and blues keyboardist and singer. Flamboyant in personality and style, and a pianist of extraordinary technical skill, he was dubbed "the Blac ...

, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown,

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

Memphis Slim John Len Chatman (September 3, 1915 – February 24, 1988), known professionally as Memphis Slim, was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxopho ...

, and former gospel singer Jackie Verdell. In 1953,

Big Mama Thornton Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter of blues and R&B. The ''Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul'' described Thornton by saying: "Her booming voice, sometimes 200-pound fra ...

's " Hound Dog" (later covered by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

) was a hit for Peacock. The label also dabbled in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, releasing albums by vocalist

Betty Carter Betty Carter (born Lillie Mae Jones; May 16, 1929 – September 26, 1998) was an American jazz singer known for her improvisational technique, scatting and other complex musical abilities that demonstrated her vocal talent and imaginative inter ...

and saxophonist

Sonny Criss William "Sonny" Criss (23 October 1927 – 19 November 1977) was an American jazz musician. An Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist of prominence during the bebop era of jazz, he was one of many players influenced by Charlie Parker. Biography ...

. In 1952, Robey gained control of the Duke Records label of

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, and formed Duke-Peacock Records. Peacock also had a very successful gospel music division, which released music from such notable gospel artists as the Dixie Hummingbirds, the

Mighty Clouds of Joy The Mighty Clouds of Joy were an American traditional gospel music quartet. Career The Mighty Clouds of Joy was formed in 1959 in Los Angeles as a tradition-based style group. It wasn't until 1961 as the group became famous, they added bass, ...

, the Sensational Nightingales, the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, Reverend Cleophus Robinson, the Gospelaires, the Pilgrim Jubilee Singers, the Loving Sisters, and gospel/jazz group Together (1975), which included saxophonist Felix "Top Cat" Dixon. At the end of 1963, the label launched the gospel subsidiary label Song Bird Records which featured

Inez Andrews Sister Inez Andrews, born Inez McConico (April 14, 1929 – December 19, 2012) and better known as Inez Andrews, was an American gospel singer, who was noted for her powerful, wide-ranging voice. The ''Chicago Tribune'' stated that "Andrews' thr ...

. In the later 1960s, Peacock again began to issue secular soul singles by artists such as Jackie Verdell, the Inspirations, Little Frankie Lee, Al 'TNT' Bragg and Bud Harper. This later Peacock label featured a bright multi-colored peacock tail on an otherwise blue label background, and it is these later records which are often sought by

Northern soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

collectors. The Duke-Peacock family of labels (which also included Back Beat and Sure Shot) was sold to ABC Dunhill Records of Los Angeles on May 23, 1973, with label founder Don Robey staying with ABC as a consultant until his death in 1975. The label name was changed to ABC/Peacock in 1974. After ABC was sold to

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

in 1979, MCA briefly operated an MCA/Songbird label with new signings including Little Anthony (of

Little Anthony and the Imperials Little Anthony and the Imperials is an American rhythm and blues/soul vocal group from New York City founded by Clarence Collins in the 1950s and named in part for its lead singer, Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine, who was noted for his h ...

) and

Dan Peek Daniel Milton Peek () was an American musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the co-founder of the band America, and later a "pioneer" in contemporary Christian music. Early life Peek was born in Panama City, Florida, on November 1, 1 ...

(formerly of the group

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

). The previous rosters of both ABC-Peacock and ABC-Songbird were dropped (MCA later reissued several Peacock and Song Bird albums at budget price). MCA briefly revived the Peacock name for a series of CD reissues ("Peacock Gospel Classics") in the late 1990s. Along with the MCA back catalog, the Peacock and Song Bird masters are now controlled by the

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

unit of

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

References

General references

*Gart, Galen, and Ames, Roy C., with Funk, Ray; Bowman, Rob; Booth, David (1990). ''Duke/Peacock Records: An Illustrated History with Discography.'' Big Nickel Publications, Milford, New Hampshire. . *Hayes, Cedric J., and Laughton, Robert (1992). ''Gospel Records 1943–1969, A Black Music Discography (Volumes One and Two)''. Record Information Services, London, England. (Volume One), (Volume Two). *Spörke, Michael (2014). ''Big Mama Thornton: The Life and Music''. McFarland Inc. *Whitburn, Joel (2000). ''Joel Whitburn Presents Top R & B Singles 1942–1999''. Record Research, Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. .

External links

Peacock Album Discography

Arkansas Black Hall of Fame: The Loving Sisters

{{Authority control Record labels established in 1949 Record labels disestablished in 1979 Re-established companies Christian record labels Companies based in Houston Defunct record labels of the United States Record labels based in Texas

History

See also

References

General references

External links