Red Bird 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, ...

founded by American

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

songwriters

Jerry Leiber Leiber and Stoller were an American songwriting and record production duo, consisting of lyricist Jerome Leiber (; April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933). As well as many R&B and pop hits, they wr ...

Mike Stoller Leiber and Stoller were an American songwriting and record production duo, consisting of lyricist Jerome Leiber (; April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933). As well as many R&B and pop hits, they wr ...

, and

George Goldner George Goldner (February 9, 1918 – April 15, 1970) was an American record label owner, record producer and promoter who played an important role in establishing the popularity of rock and roll in the 1950s, by recording and promoting many ...

in 1964. Though often thought of as a " girl-group" label, female-led acts made up only 40% of the artist roster on Red Bird and its associated labels (including Blue Cat Records, Tiger and Daisy). However, female-led acts also accounted for more than 90% of the label's charting records. The label's first release was " Chapel of Love" by

the Dixie Cups The Dixie Cups (formerly known as The Meltones) are an American pop music girl group established in the 1960s. They are best known for a string of hits including their singles " Chapel of Love", " People Say", and "Iko Iko". Career The trio co ...

, which quickly reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, a feat matched later that year by the Shangri-Las' "

Leader of the Pack "Leader of the Pack" is a song written by George "Shadow" Morton, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich. It was a number one pop hit in 1964 for the American girl group the Shangri-Las. The single is one of the group's best known songs as well as ...

". Eleven of the first 30 singles released by Red Bird reached the Top Forty.

History

After closing Spark Records (in 1955) and working for

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

(1955–1961) then

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

(1961–1963) and starting Red Bird, Leiber and Stoller brought in

, a veteran record promoter and former owner of Gee Records,

Gone Records Gone Records was a record label founded in 1957 by George Goldner, along with music publishing arm Real Gone Music, that was active in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Among the artists that recorded for the label were Bill Haley & His Comets, Ral ...

and

Rama Records Rama Records was a record label founded by George Goldner in 1953 in music, 1953 in New York City. It recorded doo-wop groups such as The Crows and The Harptones. Its third release was the one-hit wonder, the song "Gee (The Crows song), Gee," by ...

. They used the skillful

Brill Building The Brill Building is an office building at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, just north of Times Square and farther uptown from the historic musical Tin Pan Alley neighborhood. The Brill Building hous ...

husband-and-wife songwriting team of

Jeff Barry Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg; April 3, 1938) is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are " Tell Laura I Love Her" (written with Ben Raleigh and a ...

and

Ellie Greenwich Eleanor Louise Greenwich (October 23, 1940 – August 26, 2009) was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", " Be My Baby", " Maybe I Know", " Then He Kissed Me", " Do Wah Diddy Did ...

, who had been writing most of

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

's first hits. The label was sold in 1966 as Leiber and Stoller preferred to write and produce rather than manage the business of running a label, and after they had a falling-out with Goldner whose gambling debts caused Red Bird to be taken over by the

Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...

. Leiber and Stoller sold Red Bird to Goldner for one dollar. Goldner then sold the Red Bird catalogue to raise money. A subsidiary label, Blue Cat Records, had a hit with " The Boy from New York City" by

The Ad Libs The Ad Libs were an American vocal group from Bayonne, New Jersey, United States, primarily active during the early 1960s. Featuring their characteristic female lead vocals with male "doo-wop" backing, their 1964 single " The Boy from New Yor ...

Red Bird Records artists

* The Butterflys *

The Dixie Cups The Dixie Cups (formerly known as The Meltones) are an American pop music girl group established in the 1960s. They are best known for a string of hits including their singles " Chapel of Love", " People Say", and "Iko Iko". Career The trio co ...

Ral Donner Ralph Stuart Emanuel Donner (February 10, 1943 – April 6, 1984) was an American rock and roll singer. He scored several pop hits in the US in the early 1960s, and had a voice similar to Elvis Presley. His best known song is his 1961 top ten hi ...

* The Jelly Beans *

Andy Kim Andrew Kim (born July12, 1982) is an American politician and former diplomat serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from New Jersey since 2024. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democ ...

The Poets The Poets were a Scottish blues, freakbeat and psychedelic pop band, who were managed and produced by Andrew Loog Oldham. Some of their singles were released on his label, Immediate Records. Their cover version of " Baby Don't You Do I ...

Orpheus In Greek mythology, Orpheus (; , classical pronunciation: ) was a Thracians, Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet. He was also a renowned Ancient Greek poetry, poet and, according to legend, travelled with Jason and the Argonauts in se ...

* Tawney Reed * Alvin Robinson * Steve Rossi * The Shangri-Las * The Trade Winds

References

External links

*
Red Bird discography
{{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 1964 Record labels disestablished in 1966 Pop record labels

History

Red Bird Records artists

See also

References

External links