WMOT (We Men of Talent) Records, an independent recording company in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, produced a series of singles and albums in the "Philadelphia sound" soul tradition (see

Philadelphia soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP), is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush string and horn arrangements. The ...

). The company was founded by Alan Rubens and Steve Bernstein in 1973. The biggest selling record produced by WMOT was "

Double Dutch Bus "Double Dutch Bus" is a funk song by Frankie Smith, made famous for its extensive use of the "izz" infix form of slang. It was released in February 1981, although some sources indicate 1980 as the original release date. The single capitalized ...

" by

Frankie Smith Franklyn Leon Smith (January 29, 1940 – March 8, 2019) was an American funk musician and R&B/soul songwriter. He was best known for his 1981 hit single " Double Dutch Bus". Career Smith went to college in Tennessee for elementary education ...

, which hit number one on the Billboard soul chart (#30, pop) in 1982 and sold more than 2 million copies. Other gold hits were recorded by Major Harris with "Love Won't Let Me Wait" (#1 R&B, #5 pop, 1975) and their first signing, Blue Magic, who had a string of R&B and pop hits in the mid-70s, including "Sideshow", (#1 R&B, #8 pop), in 1974. Other WMOT artists included Count Coolout,

Barbara Mason Barbara Mason (born August 9, 1947, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States) is an American soul singer with several R&B and pop hits in the 1960s and 1970s, best known for her self-written 1965 hit song " Yes, I'm Ready". She has released ...

Captain Sky Daryl L. Cameron (born July 10, 1957, in Chicago, Illinois), better known as Captain Sky, is an American musician and singer. Captain Sky’s funk-based musical style, futuristic costumes, and psychedelic imagery are similar to those of Geor ...

, Brandi Wells, David Simmons, Funk Fusion Band, Bliss, Impact (which featured former

Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

member

Damon Harris Otis Robert "Damon" Harris Jr. (July 17, 1950 – February 18, 2013) was an American soul and R&B singer, most notable as a member of The Temptations from 1971 to 1975. Harris was the youngest member of The Temptations, joining the group at t ...

), Heaven and Earth, Sweet Thunder, and

Fat Larry's Band Fat Larry's Band was an American R&B and funk band from Philadelphia, which enjoyed some commercial success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, particularly in the United Kingdom. Career Formed by drummer and vocalist "Fat" Larry James (August ...

. The label also produced "It's Good To Be The King" by actor/comedian/director

Mel Brooks Melvin James Brooks (né Kaminsky; born June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and songwriter. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodie ...

in 1981. From its beginning,

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

distributed WMOT's releases, mainly on its Atco subsidiary, but in 1978,

Fantasy Records Fantasy Records is an American independent record label company founded by brothers Max and Sol Stanley Weiss in 1949. The early years of the company were dedicated to issuing recordings by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, who was also one of its inves ...

took over distribution as

Fantasy / WMOT Records Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or magical elements, often including imaginary places and creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, which later became fantasy literature and drama. From the t ...

. In 1980, it began distributing independently. During that same period, the label was distributed in certain European markets such as France, Belgium and the Netherlands by French record company Vogue. In 1981, the label and company was sold to Michael Goldberg, Allen Cohen, and Jeff and Mark Salvarian. Two years later,

Larry Lavin Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment *Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer *Larry Boone, ...

bought a stake in WMOT and it was his activity in the company that led to lawsuits over money laundering that brought the company down in 1984. Its back catalog was sold to CBS (now

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

). Later in 1985, Steve Bernstein launched Omni Records in Philadelphia with an immediate success,

Jean Carn Jean Carn, also spelled Jean Carne (born Sarah Jean Perkins; March 15, 1947) is an American R&B/soul and jazz singer. In mid-career, she added a final ''e'' to her name. Carn is a vocalist credited with a five-octave vocal range. Biography Carn ...

's "Closer Than Close", which was a #1 R&B hit.

References

American record labels 1973 establishments in Pennsylvania Record labels established in 1973 American companies established in 1973 Record labels disestablished in 1984 American companies disestablished in 1984 1984 disestablishments in Pennsylvania {{US-record-label-stub