Straight Records, self-identified simply as Straight, 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, ...

formed in 1969 to distribute productions and discoveries of

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

and his business partner/manager

Herb Cohen Herbert Cohen (December 30, 1932 – March 16, 2010) was an American personal manager, record company executive, and music publisher, best known as the manager of Judy Henske, Linda Ronstadt, Frank Zappa, Tim Buckley, Odetta, Tom Waits, Geor ...

. Straight was formed at the same time as a companion label, Bizarre Records. Straight and Bizarre were manufactured and distributed in the U.S. by the Warner Bros. Records family of labels, which also included

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...

. Straight recordings were distributed in the U.K. by CBS Records. Frank Zappa chose the majority of the artists for the Straight label. His original intention was to release albums by avant-garde artists on Bizarre, and recordings by more mainstream artists on Straight. However the original concept failed to work out as expected due to issues with record distribution and artist management.

the Mothers of Invention The Mothers of Invention (also known as the Mothers) were an American rock music, rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an ...

, Wild Man Fischer, and Lenny Bruce certainly fit in at Bizarre, but all others ended up on Straight. This led to some very unusual albums on the Straight label especially those by Captain Beefheart,

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

and the GTOs. Zappa was also responsible for the Persuasions' first LP, ''Acapella''. Over the phone he heard the Persuasions singing live in a

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

record shop. Due to his passion for

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

Zappa immediately flew the vocal group to Los Angeles to record. Other notable Straight artists included Tim Buckley, and the duo of

Judy Henske Judith Anne Henske (December 20, 1936 – April 27, 2022) was an American singer and songwriter, dubbed "the Queen of the Beatniks" by producer Jack Nitzsche. Initially performing in folk clubs in the early 1960s, her performances and recording ...

& Jerry Yester. These musicians came to the label through an association with manager Herb Cohen. The first issue of '' Love It to Death'' by

was on Straight. However, by the time the album became a success it had already been re-issued on Warner Bros. Starting in 1972 this and other Straight recordings were re-issued by either Reprise or Warner Bros. By 1973 the Bizarre and Straight distribution agreement with Warner ended. Under a new agreement starting that year Zappa and Cohen's business ventures with Warner were merged and renamed to create

DiscReet Records DiscReet Records, self-identified simply as DiscReet, was a record label founded by Frank Zappa and his then business partner and manager Herb Cohen. The name of the label was a pun derived from disc and the Compatible Discrete 4 process of ...

. The Zappa/Cohen business partnership ended acrimoniously with litigation from both sides in 1976. In the settlement, reached a few years later, Zappa retained ownership of his work and Herb Cohen assumed ownership of most of the non-Zappa material from Bizarre, Straight and DiscReet. In 1988 and 1989 Straight recordings by Captain Beefheart,

, Tim Buckley, the GTOs, the Persuasions, and Lord Buckley were briefly re-issued on CD and cassette by the Enigma Retro label. Zappa died at age 52 in 1993. Cohen died at age 77 in 2010. Rumors have been made that since the early 1990s the ownership of some Straight recordings has become unclear. This may have prevented further re-issues of some Straight material. By the late 2000s, however, some of these recordings (such as Tim Buckley's ''Blue Afternoon'' and ''Starsailor'', and Captain Beefheart's ''Lick My Decals Off Baby'') have since been reissued on 180-gram vinyl and have been made available for sale on the iTunes Store. They have not, however, been reissued on CD. Whilst it has not been officially stated, it is believed that the clause preventing these albums' re-release only covered CD releases and not other formats. However, tracks from them have been licensed for and appeared on CD compilations in recent years.

List of Straight Records artists

* Captain Beefheart *

* Tim Buckley * Jeff Simmons * Junier Mintz (aka Frank Zappa and the Mothers) * Lord Buckley *

& Jerry Yester * The GTOs (Girls Together Outrageously) * Tim Dawe * Mayf Nutter * The Persuasions * Rosebud

References

External links

Discography of Zappa related record labelsDiscogs page
{{Authority control Rock record labels Frank Zappa Record labels based in California Record labels established in 1969 Defunct record labels of the United States

List of Straight Records artists

See also

References

External links