Tower 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 ...

active from 1964 to 1970. A subsidiary 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 ...

, Tower often released music by artists who were relatively low-profile in compared to those released on the parent label, including artists—such as

The Standells The Standells are an American garage rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in the 1960s, who have been referred to as a "punk band of the 1960s", and said to have inspired such groups as the Sex Pistols and Ramones. They are best known ...

and The Chocolate Watchband—later recognized as "garage bands". For this reason Tower is often associated with the garage rock phenomenon of the 1960s.

Overview

Named after Capitol's headquarters building, Tower was formed as a subsidiary to Capitol in 1964. In its early years, it released recordings by British invasion artists like Freddie and the Dreamers, (whose "I'm Telling You Now" became Tower's only #1 hit on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'') and

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer * Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in ...

(only 6 songs recorded in 1963, that were released by Tower on the strength of his hit "It's Not Unusual" two years later in 1965, much to the dismay of the singer, who was actually signed to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

subsidiary,

Parrot Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittaco ...

). It also gave Nilsson his first national releases. Tower's first single (#101) was "Car Party/Outta Gas" by The Sunrays, a California pop group produced and managed by

Murry Wilson Murry Gage Wilson (July 2, 1917 – June 4, 1973) was an American songwriter, talent manager, record producer, and music publisher, best known as the father of the Beach Boys' Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson. After the band's formation in ...

, father of

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

Brian, Dennis and Carl. Tower record labels from 1964 to approximately 1968 had a solid brownish-orange color. This design was used for both singles and albums. Starting sometime around late 1968 or early 1969 the design was changed to a multicolored stripe label, and again, the stripe design was used for both singles and albums. The stripe label lasted until Tower ceased operations sometime around 1970. Tower releases have numerous many small variations of label type for stereo and mono releases and re-pressings. Minor label variations also sometimes make it possible to determine which of the three Capitol Records factories manufactured each copy. In 1965, Tower made a bit of a risky move by releasing "You Turn Me On" by

Ian Whitcomb Ian Timothy Whitcomb (10 July 1941 – 19 April 2020) was an English entertainer, singer-songwriter, record producer, writer, broadcaster and actor. As part of the British Invasion, his hit song " You Turn Me On" reached number 8 on the ' ...

, a song that was considered racy by some. It became Whitcomb's biggest hit (and Tower's only other Top 10 record, peaking at #8 on ''Billboard''). Other Tower hits that year included "I Live For The Sun" by The Sunrays and "Dirty Water", by

. In 1966, the label became one of the premiere purveyors of what would later be called

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

. While not releasing recordings from this genre exclusively, it seemed their greatest chart successes came from garage bands, such as "Blues' Theme" from '' The Wild Angels'' by Davie Allan & the Arrows. Tower released the first recordings by

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

in the U.S. in 1967 without success after acquiring the rights from EMI's UK

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

label (a different company than

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

in the U.S. and Canada). Tower released three Pink Floyd albums. The five Pink Floyd singles on Tower have become the most valuable (fetching three figures in mint condition) and sought-after of the label's recordings. Tower released the single "

See Emily Play "See Emily Play" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, released as their second single in June 1967. Written by original frontman Syd Barrett, it was released as a non-album single, but appeared as the opening track of the U.S. edition of ...

" (Tower 356) three times between July 1967 and late 1968, but each time it failed to reach the top 40. Two other Pink Floyd singles, " Flaming" (Tower 378) and "

Let There Be More Light "Let There Be More Light" is the opening track on Pink Floyd's second album, ''A Saucerful of Secrets''. It was also released in edited form as the fourth American single by the group. Writing and recording The song is written by Roger Waters. It ...

" (Tower 440) are especially rare and were not released at all in the U.K. After the Tower label was dissolved the Pink Floyd albums were re-issued on another Capitol/EMI subsidiary,

Harvest Records Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969. History Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...

and later Capitol Records. Several singles by The Chocolate Watch Band were released also in 1967. Today these are very collectible. Mississippi "sunshine pop" group Eternity's Children (who evolved into

Starbuck Starbucks is a chain of coffee shops. Starbuck or Starbucks may also refer to: People * Starbuck (surname), list of people with the family name * StarBuck, ring name of professional wrestler Michael Majalahti Places Antarctica *Starbuck Cirque ...

in the 70's) placed Tower back on the charts with "Mrs. Bluebird" in the summer of 1968. A&R man

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 ...

joined the label in 1968. Curb had a hand in releasing several soundtracks on the Tower label, most notably, ''Wild in the Streets'', featuring Tower's last major hit: Max Frost and the Troopers' "The Shape of Things To Come". Capitol shut down Tower Records in 1970. In 1992, the original label was used as part of EMI's "Legends Of Rock And Roll" series of CDs for their ''Best Of Freddie And The Dreamers'' compilation. With the sale of most of EMI's recorded music operations to

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 ...

in 2012, UMG now owns and handles the Tower Records catalog through Capitol, with the exception of the Pink Floyd catalogue, which is owned by the band and currently licensed in the UK and Europe by

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. (trade name, d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York C ...

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 19 ...

unit and in the US and the rest of the world by

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

. Other Tower releases by British Invasion acts such as Freddie and the Dreamers, which Tower/Capitol acquired from EMI, are property of Parlophone today.

Label variations

*1964–1968: Brownish orange label with Tower logo on left side *1968–1970: Multi-color striped label with Tower logo on left side (album labels feature the logo at the top)

Charted singles

* Chittlins—

Gus Jenkins Augustus D. "Gus" Jenkins (March 24, 1931 – December 22, 1985) was an American blues and R&B pianist, vocalist and bandleader. Credited as Gus Jinkins, he had a no.2 hit on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart in 1956 with the instrumental "Tricky" ...

—Tower 107—US #113, 11/64 * Apache '65—The Arrows featuring Davie Allan—Tower 116—US #64, 2/65 * This Sporting Life—Ian Whitcomb & Bluesville—Tower 120—US #100, 3/65 * I'm Telling You Now—Freddie & The Dreamers—Tower 125—US #1, 3/65 * Little Lonely One—Tom Jones—Tower 126—US #42, 5/65 * You Were Made For Me—Freddie & The Dreamers—Tower 127—US #21, 5/65 * You Turn Me On (Turn On Song) -- Ian Whitcomb & Bluesville—Tower 134—US #8, 5/65 * I Live For The Sun—The Sunrays—Tower 148—US #51, 9/65 * N-E-R-V-O-U-S! -- Ian Whitcomb—Tower 155—US #59, 9/65 * Send A Letter To Me—Freddie & The Dreamers—Tower 163—US #123, 10/65 * Dirty Water—The Standells—Tower 185—US #11, 4/66 * Chills And Fever—Tom Jones—Tower 190—US #125, 12/65 * Andrea—The Sunrays—Tower 191—US #41, 1/66 * Still—The Sunrays—Tower 224—US #93, 5/66 * Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White—The Standells—Tower 257—US #43, 8/66 * Theme From "The Wild Angels"—Davie Allan & The Arrows—Tower 267—US #99, 11/66 * Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go With Friday On Saturday Night—Ian Whitcomb—Tower 274—US #101, 11/66 * Why Pick On Me—The Standells—Tower 282—US #54, 10/66 * Winchester Cathedral—Dana Rollin—Tower 283—US #71, 11/66 * Blue's Theme—The Arrows featuring Davie Allan—Tower 295—US #37, 4/67 * Riot On Sunset Strip—The Standells—Tower 314—US #133, 3/67 * Edelweiss—Vince Hill—Tower 323—US #119, 4/67 * Devil's Angels—Davie Allan & The Arrows—Tower 341—US #97, 7/67 * Can't Help But Love You—The Standells—Tower 348—US #78, 11/67 * See Emily Play—Pink Floyd—Tower 356—US #134, 9/67 * Mrs. Bluebird—Eternity's Children—Tower 416—US #69, 7/68 * Shape Of Things To Come—Max Frost & The Troopers—Tower 419—US #22, 9/68 * Sunshine Among Us—Eternity's Children—Tower 439—US #117, 9/68 * Fifty-Two Percent—Max Frost & The Troopers—Tower 452—US #123, 12/68

Charted albums

* I'm Telling You Now—Freddie & The Dreamers—Tower 5003—US #86, 5/65 : ''Features only two tracks by Freddie & The Dreamers; the other 10 tracks are by other British artists and groups'' * You Turn Me On—Ian Whitcomb—Tower 5004—US #125, 7/65 * Dirty Water—The Standells—Tower 5027—US #52, 7/66 * Way Out West—

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

—Tower 5028—US #116, 7/66 * The Wild Angels (Soundtrack) -- Davie Allan & The Arrows—Tower 5043—US #17, 10/66 * The Wild Angels, Volume II—Davie Allan & The Arrows—Tower 5056—US #94, 4/67 * Devil's Angels (Soundtrack) -- Davie Allan & The Arrows—Tower 5074—US #165, 8/67 *

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 5 August 1967 by EMI Columbia. It is the only Pink Floyd album made under the leadership of founding member Syd Barrett (lead vocals, gu ...

—Pink Floyd—Tower 5093—US #131, 12/67 * Wild In The Streets—Soundtrack—Tower 5099—US #12, 7/68 * Best Of The Soundtracks (Compilation) -- Various artists—Tower 5148—US #198, 2/69

Other Tower label artists

* Davie Allan & the Arrows *

Laurindo Almeida Laurindo Almeida (September 2, 1917 – July 26, 1995) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music. He and Bud Shank were pioneers in the creation of bossa nova. Almeida was the first guitarist to receive Gra ...

* Heinz (

Heinz Burt Heinz Burt (24 July 1942 – 7 April 2000) was a German-born British rock and roll bassist and singer who performed under the stage name Heinz. He was also known as a member of instrumental group the Tornados. Life Heinz was born in Detmol ...

The Tornados The Tornados (The Tornadoes in North America) were an English instrumental rock group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions and also for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hits ...

) * Ray Chafin * The Chocolate Watch Band * Dick Curless :''Recorded for Tower Records between c. 1965 until 1970, when he was moved to the roster of Tower's parent label,

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerou ...

. At some point during Curless' tenure with Tower, they also acquired Curless' earliest recordings, which he had made for the Event and Tiffany labels, and re-issued them in a string of Compilation LP's.'' *

Mac Curtis Wesley Erwin "Mac" Curtis, Jr. (January 16, 1939 – September 16, 2013) was an American rockabilly musician. Biography Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Curtis began playing guitar at the age of 12, entering local talent competitions. In 1954, ...

* The E-Types * Eternity's Children * Freddie & The Dreamers * Max Frost and the Troopers *

Annette Funicello Annette Joanne Funicello (October 22, 1942 – April 8, 2013) was an American actress and singer. Funicello began her professional career as a child performer at the age of twelve. She was one of the most popular Mouseketeers on the orig ...

: ''Her one and only single on Tower, "What's A Girl To Do"/"When You Get What You Want" (Tower 326), shows her name misspelled as "Annettte"'' * Brother Dave Gardner * The Green Beans : ''Rare garage single with an even rarer promotional color picture sleeve'' * Susan Hart *

Vince Hill Vincent Hill (born 16 April 1934) is an English traditional pop music singer and songwriter who is best known for his recording of the Rodgers and Hammerstein show tune "Edelweiss" (1967), which reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart (staying o ...

* Jake Holmes *

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

* Darlene McCrea (of

The Cookies ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

) *

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ov ...

* Dana Rollin * Shuggy Ray Smith : ''"Little Tommy's Letter"/"Ruth From Duluth" (Tower 187)'' *

* The Sunrays * Teddy & The Pandas *

Them Them or THEM, a third-person plural accusative personal pronoun, may refer to: Books * ''Them'' (novel), 3rd volume (1969) in American Joyce Carol Oates' ''Wonderland Quartet'' * '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'', 2003 non-fiction by Wels ...

* Justin Wilson

References

External link

* {{Authority control American record labels Pop record labels Capitol Records Record labels based in California Record labels established in 1964 Record labels disestablished in 1970 1964 establishments in California 1970 disestablishments in California Warner Records