Vik Records was a subsidiary of RCA Victor Records established in April 1953. In the ''

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 ...

'' issue of the 11th of that month, it was announced that RCA was launching, namelessly, a new label that was the company's first to be distributed independently. ''Billboard'' opted to use the name Label "X" for the new company. The name was kept, as the label began to hire a series of staffers and decide on a direction. Label X was officially formed on April 20, 1953. Though wholly owned and operated by RCA, it had its own independent distribution. Joe Carlton was the head of the new company. RCA spent the rest of the year trying to establish an identity for "X", eventually settling on cover records of R&B hits and quasi-R&B sides by artists such as The Three Chuckles,

Eddie Fontaine Eddie Fontaine (March 6, 1927 – April 13, 1992) was an American actor and singer, best known for television roles in the 1960s and 1970s. Biography Born Edward Reardon in Springfield, Massachusetts, Fontaine signed as a vocalist with RCA in ...

, and

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the King ...

. Other artists who released material on "X" included Betty Clooney, Terry Fell, Helen Grayco, Gordon Jenkins, Richard Maltby Sr.,

Norman Petty Norman Petty (May 25, 1927 – August 15, 1984) was an American musician, record producer, publisher, and radio station owner. He is considered to be one of the founding fathers of early rock & roll. With Vi Ann Petty—his wife and vocalist—he ...

, and

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

, whose first solo records were issued on this label. The label adopted the name Vik on January 1, 1956, reprinting the records that were in print on the label accordingly. Among the acts on Vik were Marty Gold, Gisele MacKenzie (whose biggest hit, "Hard to Get" was issued on "X"), Pat Suzuki, Lee Denson and, more successfully, the R&B duo Mickey & Sylvia. Journalist and executive Bob Rolontz, who had been responsible for another RCA subsidiary, Groove Records, and was then put in charge of Vik, later said: "The Vik label was probably the worst collection of talent in the world... There was no way we could pull Vik out of that hole. And after about a year, the RCA people decided to discontinue Vik." The Vik label was closed on November 1, 1958. While some artists had their contracts transferred to the parent company, others, like

Brook Benton Benjamin Franklin Peay (September 19, 1931 – April 9, 1988), known professionally as Brook Benton, was an American singer and songwriter whose music transcended rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and pop music genres in the 1950s and 1960s, with ...

and Teddy Randazzo, left to respectively join the Mercury and

ABC-Paramount 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! Records, Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquire ...

labels.

References

{{Authority control Defunct record labels of the United States Record labels established in 1953 Record labels disestablished in 1958

See also

References