Soma Records was an American

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 Minneapolis, Minnesota, and owned by wholesale record distributor Amos Heilicher. The Soma name was "Amos" spelled backwards. Heilicher, along with his brother Danny, was also in the

jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to selec ...

and wholesale record distribution businesses, and owned the

Musicland The Musicland Group, Inc. was an entertainment company that ran Musicland, Sam Goody, Discount Records, Suncoast Motion Picture Company, On Cue, and the Media Play Superstore Chains. The Musicland Group was purchased by Best Buy in 2001 at the h ...

chain of retail music stores.

History

Started in 1954, Soma began mainly recording polka music, old-time

country and western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while t ...

, and

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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

groups. Its first hit was

Bobby Vee Robert Thomas Velline (April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016), known professionally as Bobby Vee, was an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s and also appeared in films. According to ''Billboard'' magazine, he had thirty-e ...

's 1959 "Suzie Baby", which was a regional smash before

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revivals ...

bought the master and issued it nationally. Among the hits released by Soma were "

Mule Skinner Blues "Blue Yodel no. 8, Mule Skinner Blues" (a.k.a. "Muleskinner Blues", and "Muleskinner's Blues") is a classic country song written by Jimmie Rodgers. The song was first recorded by Rodgers in 1930 and has been recorded by many artists since then, ac ...

" by

The Fendermen The Fendermen were an American rockabilly duo, composed of Jim Sundquist and Phil Humphrey, active in the early 1960s. Jim Sundquist (lead guitarist; born James D. Sundquist, November 26, 1937, Niagara, Wisconsin; later settled in Minnesota) and ...

(purchased from Wisconsin's Cuca label), " Liar, Liar" by

The Castaways The Castaways are an American rock band from the Twin Cities in Minnesota, United States. The band's only hit single was " Liar, Liar". Written by band leader James Donna and drummer (and band co-founder) Dennis Craswell, the song was pro ...

, "Run, Run, Run" by

The Gestures The Gestures were a teenage American rock band based in Mankato, Minnesota. The members of the band were Gus Dewey (guitar), Tom Klugherz (bass), Dale Menten (guitar/vocals), and Bruce Waterston (drums). The group was known as The Jesters, until ...

and "

Surfin' Bird "Surfin' Bird" is a song performed by American surf rock band The Trashmen, containing the repetitive lyric "the bird is the word". It has been covered many times. It is a combination of two R&B hits by The Rivingtons: " Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" and "Th ...

" by

The Trashmen The Trashmen were an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, in 1962. The original line-up of the group featured guitarists Tony Andreason and Dal Winslow, bassist Bob Reed, and drummer Steve Wahrer. Along with Co ...

. The last record was distributed by Soma, but recorded on the Garrett Records label - George Garrett was an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

who ran the recording/mixing console on many Soma recordings at their Kay Bank Studios. Soma/Kay Bank recorded many local and regional rock groups during the 1960s, including The Accents, Gregory Dee and The Avanties, The Underbeats, and The Del Counts, as well as distributing other smaller labels (such as Garrett, Bangar, Golden Ring and Studio City). Country singer

Dave Dudley Dave Dudley (born David Darwin Pedruska; May 3, 1928 – December 22, 2003) was an American country music singer best known for his truck-driving country anthems of the 1960s and 1970s and his semi-slurred bass. His signature song was " Six Day ...

's first

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, containing his biggest hit "

Six Days on the Road "Six Days on the Road" is an American song written by Earl Green and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio songwriter Carl Montgomery, made famous by country music singer Dave Dudley. The song was initially recorded by Paul Davis (not the same as the better ...

", was released on Golden Ring Records in 1963, and distributed by Soma until

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

bought the rights. Heilicher had some ownership in the local

Kay Bank Studios Kay Bank Studios was a recording studio in Minneapolis, Minnesota at 2541 Nicollet Avenue, now Creation Audio. Daniel Heilicher and his brother Amos started in a business together in the 1930s, distributing and stocking jukeboxes. In 1954, they fo ...

, where most of Soma's recordings were made. Soma continued releasing recordings until 1967, when the co-owned record distributing company was merged into

Pickwick Records Pickwick Records was an American record label and British record distributor known for its budget album releases of sound-alike recordings, bargain bin reissues and repackagings under the brands Design, Bravo (later changing its name to Interna ...

. The Heilicher brothers exited the recorded music business in 1977. Amos Heilicher died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

in August 2011, aged 90.

References

External links

Kay Bank logo1962 Soma LP
American record labels American independent record labels Defunct record labels of the United States Record labels established in 1957 Record labels disestablished in 1967 Independent record labels based in Minnesota {{US-record-label-stub