Song Bird Records (also known as SongBird Records) was started at the end of 1963 as a gospel music subsidiary of Houston, Texas-based Duke/

Peacock Records Peacock Records was an American record label, started in 1949 by Don Robey in Houston, Texas, United States. History " Hound Dog" by Big Mama Thornton was a hit for Peacock in 1953. Other significant rhythm and blues artists on Peacock were Mar ...

. Significant artists on Song Bird included the powerful contralto

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. Her soaring, wide-ranging voice — from contralto croon to soul-wrenching wail — made her a pilla ...

formerly of The Caravans, The Gospelettes with Liz Dargan formerly of The Andrewettes, mixed-vocal group The Kansas City Melodyaires later known as Mildred Clark & The Melodyaires, The Dallas Academy Youth Choir, The

Jackson Southernaires The Jackson Southernaires is an American traditional black gospel music group from Jackson, Mississippi, producer Frank Crisler formed the group in 1940, yet they did not become active until 1969, with the release of ''Too Late'' by Song Bird R ...

along with their younger siblings

The Williams Brothers The Williams Brothers featuring Andy Williams were a singing quartet formed in the mid 1930s. They initially entertained on radio stations and later appeared in four musical films in the 1940s. After recording with Bing Crosby led to a nightc ...

Reverend Oris Mays Reverend Oris Lee Mays (April 7, 1935 – April 21, 1996) was an American preacher, gospel singer and songwriter. Born in Lambert, Mississippi, he came to Memphis, Tennessee as a teen and graduated from Melrose High School. He studied theology a ...

, and the Christian Harmonizers. Song Bird also featured the one-off album, ''It's Gospel Time'', by The Sons of The Birds, being the sons of the famous Peacock group,

The Dixie Hummingbirds The Dixie Hummingbirds are an influential American gospel music group, spanning more than 80 years from the jubilee quartet style of the 1920s, through the "hard gospel" quartet style of gospel's golden age in the 1940s and 1950s, to the eclec ...

. Andrews scored a small hit on the rhythm and blues singles charts in April 1973 with the title track of her album, ''Lord Don’t Move The Mountain''. That same year, the Duke/Peacock family of labels ‒ which also included Back Beat and Sure Shot ‒ was sold to Los Angeles, California-based label,

ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels bef ...

, with ABC label founder,

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 ...

, staying with ABC as a consultant until his death in 1975. In 1974, Song Bird's label name was changed to ABC/Songbird. After ABC was sold to

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wi ...

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

Little Anthony & 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 best known as a member of the folk rock band America from 1970 to 1977, together with Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell. He has been called a "pioneer in contemporary Christian music". Early life Pe ...

formerly of the group,

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

, the previous rosters of both ABC/Peacock and ABC/Songbird having been dropped. MCA would later reissue several Peacock and Song Bird/Songbird albums. Along with the MCA back catalog, the Peacock and Song Bird masters are now controlled by the

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and ...

unit of

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

References

General references

* * (Volume One), (Volume Two). *

External links

Song Bird Album Discography
{{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 1963 Record labels disestablished in 1979 Christian record labels

See also

References

General references

External links