Sidewalk Records was a

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

based in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

that was started in 1963 by

Mike Curb Michael Curb (born December 24, 1944) is an American musician, record company executive, motorsports car owner, philanthropist, and former politician. He is also the founder of Curb Records where he presently serves as the chairman. Curb also s ...

at the age of eighteen. The company was first formed as Sidewalk Productions and later became a subsidiary label of

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. Many recordings by Sidewalk Productions appeared on the related label

Tower Records Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Recor ...

, also a subsidiary of Capitol Records. (This label is not affiliated with the record store chain of the same name, which started out in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

) Most of the LPs released on ''Sidewalk Records'' were

soundtrack albums A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's '' Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' ...

, mainly those of films released by

American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fil ...

. They were typically

B-movies A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

having to with

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruisin ...

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primaril ...

and

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science ...

themes, and exploitation movies. These included '' Thunder Alley'', ''

The Wild Racers ''The Wild Racers'' is a 1968 American film directed by Daniel Haller and starring Fabian, Mimsy Farmer, and Judy Cornwell. The screenplay concerns a Grand Prix racing car driver. Plot Stock car racer Jo Jo Quillico goes to Europe after an acc ...

'', ''

Psych-Out ''Psych-Out'' is a 1968 American psychedelic film about hippies, psychedelic music and recreational drugs starring Susan Strasberg, Jack Nicholson (the film's leading man despite being billed under supporting player Dean Stockwell) and Bruce D ...

'', '' The Trip'', ''

Three in the Attic ''Three in the Attic'' is a 1968 comedy film directed by Richard Wilson (director), Richard Wilson and starring Christopher Jones (actor), Christopher Jones and Yvette Mimieux, with Judy Pace and Maggie Thrett. Nan Martin, John Beck (actor), John ...

'', and

Peter Fonda Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor. He was the son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget Fonda. He was a prominent figure in the counterculture of the 1960s. Fond ...

's ''

The Wild Angels ''The Wild Angels'' is a 1966 American outlaw biker film produced and directed by Roger Corman. Made on location in Southern California, ''The Wild Angels'' was the first film to associate actor Peter Fonda with Harley-Davidson motorcycles and 19 ...

''. Guitarist

Davie Allan Davie Allan is an American guitarist best known for his work on soundtracks to various teen and biker movies in the 1960s. Allan's backing band is almost always the Arrows (i.e., Davie Allan & the Arrows), although the Arrows have never had a st ...

and his group Davie Allan and The Arrows made several appearances on ''Sidewalk'', though their main releases were on Tower. Allan and several other studio musicians also recorded many sessions that were released on 45 RPM singles under a wide variety of group names. Several singles were issued under Mike Curb's name. Songwriter Harley Hatcher was also a frequent contributor to the Sidewalk oeuvre. Curb signed Burbank based group The Riptides and released a Curb-penned "Sally Ann" b/w "April" (Sidewalk 904) in spring of 1966. The Riptides went on to record "Last Wave of The Day" for the movie ''

Mondo Hollywood ''Mondo Hollywood'' is a documentary " mondo movie" by Robert Carl Cohen, released in 1967. Filmed over the preceding two years, it was described by '' Variety'' as a "flippy, trippy psychedelic guide to Hollywood". Description The film start ...

'' (Tower DT-5083) in 1967. Other notable releases on the Sidewalk label were a novelty album by

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

street singer and

health food A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy. A h ...

advocate

Gypsy Boots Gypsy Boots (August 19, 1915 – August 8, 2004), born Robert Bootzin (also known as Boots Bootzin), was an American fitness pioneer, actor and writer. He is credited with laying the foundation for the acceptance by mainstream America of "alter ...

, sort of Sidewalk's answer to Tiny Tim, and the first single by

Electric Flag The Electric Flag was an American soul rock band, led by guitarist Mike Bloomfield, keyboardist Barry Goldberg and drummer Buddy Miles, and featuring other musicians such as vocalist Nick Gravenites and bassist Harvey Brooks. Bloomfield forme ...

featuring

Mike Bloomfield Michael Bernard Bloomfield (July 28, 1943 – February 15, 1981) was an American guitarist and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his ...

and

Buddy Miles George Allen "Buddy" Miles Jr. (September 5, 1947February 26, 2008) was an American composer, drummer, guitarist, vocalist and producer. He was a founding member of the Electric Flag (1967), a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys (1969–1 ...

. The single of the

Johnny Otis Johnny Otis (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes; December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012) was an American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, and talent scout. He was a seminal influence on American R&B and rock and roll. He ...

song " So Fine" b/w "Everybody Has His Own Ideas" by Stone Poneys (Sidewalk 937) represents

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

's first known recordings (from 1965); Mike Curb produced the recordings. The single was released in the latter part of 1966. Thus, this disk has become one of the rarest Linda Ronstadt collectables, bringing as much as $144 (in a 2007

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...

auction). The label released about 20 LPs and several dozen 45 RPM singles. Mike sold the company out for a large amount of money, and was then appointed head of

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

in 1969. The related Tower Records label ceased operations around the same time. Mike Curb went on to run

throughout the 1970s, where he was instrumental in promoting the career of

The Osmonds The Osmonds were an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early to mid-1970s. The group had its best-known configurations as a quartet (billed as the Osmond Brothers) and a quintet (as the Osmonds). The group ...

, Eric Burdon and War,

Solomon Burke Solomon Vincent McDonald Burke (born James Solomon McDonald, March 21, 1936 or 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s. He has been ...

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his s ...

, and

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

He later formed

Curb Records Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of M ...

, which still exists today. Curb Records operates out of

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

. In April 2012, Curb Records announced the re-launch of Sidewalk Records with country singer

Heidi Newfield Heidi Kay Newfield (born October 4, 1970) is an American country music artist. She was lead singer, rhythm guitarist and harmonica player for the group Trick Pony, alongside Keith Burns and Ira Dean from 1996 until 2006, when she left in pursuit ...

as the flagship artist.

Clay Walker Ernest Clayton Walker Jr. (born August 19, 1969) is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1993 with the single "What's It to You", which reached Number One on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Son ...

also released his 2012 single "

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the " Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained s ...

", from his 2010 curb album '' She Won't Be Lonely Long'', via Sidewalk. On November 20, 2012 Tyler Dean's single "I Wanna Wake Up With You" Featuring

Ashley Gearing Ashley Gearing (born May 15, 1991) is an American country music artist. She has charted four singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts. Biography Ashley Gearing was born May 15, 1991 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Ashley Gearing ...

was released on iTunes. February 5, 2013 Morgan Frazier's debut single "Yellow Brick Road" was released. On February 12, 2013

Dylan Scott Dylan Scott Robinson (born October 22, 1990) is an American country pop singer and songwriter, better known by his stage name Dylan Scott. He is signed to Curb Records. Career Scott's debut single, "Makin' This Boy Go Crazy", was released in J ...

's debut single "Makin' This Boy Go Crazy" was released.

References

See also