The United States version of Tiger Lily 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, ...
that was run by
Roulette Records
Roulette Records was an American record company and label founded in 1957 by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Kahl, with creative control given to producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Levy was appointed ...
founder
Morris Levy
Morris Levy (born Moishe Levy; August 27, 1927 – May 21, 1990) was an American entrepreneur in the fields of jazz clubs, music publishing, and the independent record industry. Levy was cofounder and owner of Roulette Records, founding partner ...
.
Purportedly it was a tax scam created by Levy and was never intended to make a profit.
Tiger Lily's primary
modus operandi
A (often shortened to M.O. or MO) is an individual's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as .
Term
The term is often used in ...
was to acquire demo tapes from artists or studios and then release them without the artists consent and sometimes without even the artist's knowledge.
Other albums released by Tiger Lily have been identified as bootlegs of albums released in the early 1970s by
Artie Ripp
Arthur Marcus Ripp (born 1940) is an American music industry executive and record producer.
Career Early career
Ripp began his career as a singer, initially informally harmonizing rock and roll songs with friends from high school. In 1957, Rip ...
's Family Productions and two cases of performers who were actually signed to Tiger Lily Records have been identified.
The most prominent artists known to have a record released by Tiger Lily were
Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, he is widely regarded ...
, whose album ''
L.A. Jail'' was released by Tiger Lily, and
Rod Stewart
Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...
, who had a live recording of him in performance at the 1973
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fest ...
released by Tiger Lily in
1976
Events January
* January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
under the title ''Reading Festival Featuring Rod Stewart''. The album credited to Stewart was really a collection of various artists from the Reading Festival, with Rod Stewart and the Faces only appearing on one track.
[ The most expensive and best known Tiger Lily Records release is the album "Stonewall"][
Along with Guinness Records, Tiger Lily was one of the major tax scam labels of the 1970s with around 70 albums being released.]Compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...
s based on unpublished material disguised as the debut album of a single band. (e.g., " Made From Plate")
* Bootleg re-issues of albums previously published on obscure labels. (e.g., " Sleepy Hollow")
* Bootleg albums based on live recordings. (e.g., "L.A Jail", "Reading Festival Featuring Rod Stewart")
* Material recorded by bands/artists signed to Tiger Lily Records. (e.g., " Airborne", "Pressed For Time")
Record collector and music producer Stephan Colloredo-Mansfeld is said to own the largest collection of Tiger Lily releases in the world.
List of Records
References
External links
*
* - discography of the United States incarnation which includes a few items not featured in the Robert Plante discography.
*
Defunct record labels of the United States
Record labels established in 1976
Record labels disestablished in 1977
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