ABKCO Records
Encyclopedia
ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. is a major independent record label, music publisher, and film and video production company. It owns and or administers the rights to music by Sam Cooke
, The Rolling Stones
, The Animals
, Herman's Hermits
, Marianne Faithfull
, The Kinks
as well as the Cameo Parkway label
, which includes recordings by such artists as Chubby Checker
, Bobby Rydell
, The Orlons
, The Dovells
, Question Mark & The Mysterians, The Tymes
and Dee Dee Sharp
. Until 2009, ABKCO administered Philles Records
and its master recording
s, including hits by The Righteous Brothers
, The Ronettes
, The Crystals
and others (via a licensing deal with EMI
Music Publishing, who owned the Philles catalog since the mid-1990s).
ABKCO Records is currently distributed by Universal Music Group
, which also controls distribution of the Rolling Stones' post-ABKCO catalog.
In addition to music, ABKCO controls the rights to Alejandro Jodorowsky
's early films, including Fando y Lis
, El Topo
, and The Holy Mountain.
was then a business manager specializing in music clients including Bobby Darin
and Sam Cooke
and, later, managed The Rolling Stones
and The Beatles
. ABKCO Industries was founded in 1968 as an umbrella company involved in management, music publishing, film, TV and theatrical production. (The acronym stood for "Allen & Betty Klein and COmpany," although Klein would often joke that it stood for "A Better Kind of COmpany"). Later that year, Cameo-Parkway Records
was acquired by ABKCO, bringing the legendary Philadelphia label’s decade-long run of hits into the fold.
The label had been heavily criticized by many fans for keeping the Cameo-Parkway material unavailable until 2005. ABKCO's licensing policy prevented releasing the original version of songs for compilations. ABKCO sat on the entire catalog of music from artists such as Bobby Rydell and Chubby Checker. Some original artists had to re-record their hits for inclusion on bargain-basement oldies LP's. Checker was forced to re-record his hits such as "The Twist".
ABKCO is active in the release of compilations and reissues from its catalogs, film and commercial placement of its master recordings and music publishing properties. Jody Klein, president of ABKCO, has been credited in the liner notes of the recordings in not only getting the Cameo-Parkway recordings finally released, but also overseeing an extensive remastering of The Rolling Stones, the Animals, Herman's Hermits, and Sam Cooke's 1960s recordings. Allen Klein died in 2009.
signed a music publishing management contract with ABKCO Industries. At some point after the contract was terminated, ABKCO sued the group, a suit resolved in 1977 when the Beatles paid ABKCO $4.2 million; other ABKCO Beatles-related lawsuits continued for at least a decade.
ABKCO successfully sued The Verve
over their song "Bitter Sweet Symphony
", which samples an Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra recording of "The Last Time" by The Rolling Stones.
In July 2008, ABKCO filed a lawsuit against Lil Wayne
for copyright infringement
and unfair competition
, specifically referring to the track "Playing with Fire" on his album Tha Carter III
. In the lawsuit, ABKCO claims that the song was obviously derived from The Rolling Stones
' "Play with Fire
", song that ABKCO owns right to. As a result, "Playing with Fire" was removed from the online music tracklists for Tha Carter III.
that featured on his first post-Beatles album All Things Must Pass
. When he was demoing this song for Phil Spector during 1970 he jokingly changed one line of the lyrics to "Beware of ABKCO". This later became the name of a bootleg LP containing the recordings from that session.
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, The Animals
The Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
, Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits are an English beat band, formed in Manchester in 1963 as Herman & The Hermits. The group's record producer, Mickie Most , emphasized a simple, non-threatening, clean-cut image, although the band originally played R&B numbers...
, Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Evelyn Faithfull is an award-winning English singer, songwriter and actress whose career has spanned five decades....
, The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
as well as the Cameo Parkway label
Cameo-Parkway Records
Cameo-Parkway Records was the parent company of Cameo Records and Parkway Records, which were major American Philadelphia-based record labels from 1956 and 1958 to 1967...
, which includes recordings by such artists as Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...
, Bobby Rydell
Bobby Rydell
Bobby Rydell is an American professional singer, mainly of rock and roll music. In the early 1960s he was considered a so-called "teen idol"...
, The Orlons
The Orlons
The Orlons are an American R&B group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that formed in 1960. They received gold discs for the million selling achievements of three of their singles...
, The Dovells
The Dovells
The Dovells were an American music group, formed at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1957, under the name 'The Brooktones'. The members were Arnie Silver, Mark Gordesky, Len Borisoff , Jerry Gross, Mike Freda and Jim Mealey...
, Question Mark & The Mysterians, The Tymes
The Tymes
The Tymes are an American soul vocal group, who enjoyed equal success in the United Kingdom as their homeland. They share the distinction of being one of the few acts to have one and only one chart-topper in both the U.S...
and Dee Dee Sharp
Dee Dee Sharp
Dee Dee Sharp is an American R&B singer, who began her career recording as a backing vocalist in 1961.-Career:...
. Until 2009, ABKCO administered Philles Records
Philles Records
Philles Records was a record label formed in 1961 by Phil Spector and Lester Sill, the label taking its name from a hybrid of their first names. Initially, the label was distributed by Jamie/Guyden in Philadelphia...
and its master recording
Master recording
A multitrack recording master tape, disk or computer files on which productions are developed for later mixing, is known as the multi-track master, while the tape, disk or computer files holding a mix is called a mixed master.It is standard practice to make a copy of a master recording, known as...
s, including hits by The Righteous Brothers
The Righteous Brothers
The Righteous Brothers were the musical duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. They recorded from 1963 through 1975, and continued to perform until Hatfield's death in 2003...
, The Ronettes
The Ronettes
The Ronettes were a 1960s girl group from New York City, best known for their work with producer Phil Spector. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett ; her older sister, Estelle Bennett; and their cousin Nedra Talley...
, The Crystals
The Crystals
The Crystals are an American vocal group based in New York, considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era of the first half of the 1960s. Their 1961–1964 chart hits, including "Uptown", "He's a Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron " and "Then He Kissed Me", featured three successive female lead...
and others (via a licensing deal with EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
Music Publishing, who owned the Philles catalog since the mid-1990s).
ABKCO Records is currently distributed by Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
, which also controls distribution of the Rolling Stones' post-ABKCO catalog.
In addition to music, ABKCO controls the rights to Alejandro Jodorowsky
Alejandro Jodorowsky
Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky, known as Alejandro Jodorowsky, is a Chilean filmmaker, playwright, actor, author, comic book writer and spiritual guru...
's early films, including Fando y Lis
Fando y Lis
Fando y Lis is a film adaptation of a Fernando Arrabal play by the same name, and it is Alejandro Jodorowsky's first feature length film. Arrabal was working with Jodorowsky on performance art at the time...
, El Topo
El Topo
El Topo is a 1970 Spanish language allegorical, cult western movie and underground film, directed by and starring Alejandro Jodorowsky...
, and The Holy Mountain.
History
ABKCO is the successor company to a business that was founded in 1961 as Allen Klein & Co. Allen KleinAllen Klein
Allen Klein was an American businessman, talent agent and record label executive. His clients included The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.- The accountant :...
was then a business manager specializing in music clients including Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
and Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
and, later, managed The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
and The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. ABKCO Industries was founded in 1968 as an umbrella company involved in management, music publishing, film, TV and theatrical production. (The acronym stood for "Allen & Betty Klein and COmpany," although Klein would often joke that it stood for "A Better Kind of COmpany"). Later that year, Cameo-Parkway Records
Cameo-Parkway Records
Cameo-Parkway Records was the parent company of Cameo Records and Parkway Records, which were major American Philadelphia-based record labels from 1956 and 1958 to 1967...
was acquired by ABKCO, bringing the legendary Philadelphia label’s decade-long run of hits into the fold.
The label had been heavily criticized by many fans for keeping the Cameo-Parkway material unavailable until 2005. ABKCO's licensing policy prevented releasing the original version of songs for compilations. ABKCO sat on the entire catalog of music from artists such as Bobby Rydell and Chubby Checker. Some original artists had to re-record their hits for inclusion on bargain-basement oldies LP's. Checker was forced to re-record his hits such as "The Twist".
ABKCO is active in the release of compilations and reissues from its catalogs, film and commercial placement of its master recordings and music publishing properties. Jody Klein, president of ABKCO, has been credited in the liner notes of the recordings in not only getting the Cameo-Parkway recordings finally released, but also overseeing an extensive remastering of The Rolling Stones, the Animals, Herman's Hermits, and Sam Cooke's 1960s recordings. Allen Klein died in 2009.
Lawsuits
In January 1970, The BeatlesThe Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
signed a music publishing management contract with ABKCO Industries. At some point after the contract was terminated, ABKCO sued the group, a suit resolved in 1977 when the Beatles paid ABKCO $4.2 million; other ABKCO Beatles-related lawsuits continued for at least a decade.
ABKCO successfully sued The Verve
The Verve
The Verve were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Wigan by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong later became a member. Beginning with a psychedelic sound indebted to shoegazing and space...
over their song "Bitter Sweet Symphony
Bitter Sweet Symphony
"Bitter Sweet Symphony" is a song by English alternative rock band The Verve, the lead track on their third album, Urban Hymns. It is based on music from an Andrew Loog Oldham adaptation of a Rolling Stones song, "The Last Time". It was released on 16 June 1997 by Hut Recordings as the first single...
", which samples an Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra recording of "The Last Time" by The Rolling Stones.
In July 2008, ABKCO filed a lawsuit against Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
for copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
and unfair competition
Trademark infringement
Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attaching to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees...
, specifically referring to the track "Playing with Fire" on his album Tha Carter III
Tha Carter III
Tha Carter III is the sixth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released June 10, 2008 on Cash Money Records. It follows a long string of mixtape releases and guest appearances on other hip hop and R&B artists records, helping to increase his exposure in the mainstream...
. In the lawsuit, ABKCO claims that the song was obviously derived from The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
' "Play with Fire
Play with Fire (The Rolling Stones song)
"Play with Fire" is a song by English rock and roll band The Rolling Stones, originally released as B-side to the song "The Last Time". It was later included on the American release of their 1965 album Out of Our Heads....
", song that ABKCO owns right to. As a result, "Playing with Fire" was removed from the online music tracklists for Tha Carter III.
Pop culture references
"Beware of Darkness" is a song by George HarrisonGeorge Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
that featured on his first post-Beatles album All Things Must Pass
All Things Must Pass
All Things Must Pass is a triple album by George Harrison, recorded and released in 1970. The original vinyl release featured two LPs of rock songs as well as Apple Jam, a third LP of informal jams...
. When he was demoing this song for Phil Spector during 1970 he jokingly changed one line of the lyrics to "Beware of ABKCO". This later became the name of a bootleg LP containing the recordings from that session.