(image via rateyourmusic.com)
Beltone Records. A brief little, wildly influential record label. Sure they didn't have a long discography, and they dissolved in 1963, but their little time gave us the gem we all love, Tossin' and Turnin'.
Beltone Records started out as Beltone Recording Corporation in 1946, and they first gained great notoriety by developing a functional stereo recording system with Design Records in 1959.
They began their record label in 1960, spearheaded by company president Les Cahan, well known for discovering the Jive Five. Their focus was on Rhythm and Blues, and their A&R representative was composer Joe Rene, the conductor whose wife was one of the songwriters behind Tossin' and Turnin'.
Beltone Records was distributed by King Records, which would later be responsible inadvertently of launching James Brown's career. At one point, Beltone had a subsidiary label named Lescay Records, largely a forgettable label, but they were also the publishing company for the song, Tossin' and Turnin'
Most of the above information came from back-issues of Billboard Magazine.
Most of the above information came from back-issues of Billboard Magazine.
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