Embassy Records
Encyclopedia
Embassy Records was originally a UK budget record label
that produced cover version
s of current hit songs
that were sold exclusively in Woolworths
shops at a cheaper price than the original recordings. As such, Embassy can be seen as the UK equivalent of U.S. labels such as Hit
and Bell Records
. The label was the result of a contractual arrangement between Oriole Records
and Woolworths, with Embassy's product being sold exclusively through the latter's stores from 1954 to 1965. The label disappeared after the parent company, Oriole
, was taken over by CBS Records
. Later, from 1970 through to 1980, CBS Records revived the Embassy imprint to release budget versions of albums in the UK and Europe by artists that were signed to its parent company, Columbia Records
.
that were cover versions of then-current or predicted UK Top 20
hits and it was not unusual for different artists or contrasting pop
styles to appear on either side of a record. Between November 1954 and January 1965 Embassy released around 1,200 songs recorded by about 150 different artists and these releases were sold for half the price of a major label release of the era. Embassy's records were recorded at the Embassy Recording Studios in New Bond Street
, Mayfair
and manufactured by Oriole Records, who also licensed the material to many foreign outlets.
The tight Embassy recording schedule required four different songs to be recorded in one three-hour session. Included in this standard three-hour session was the initial studio set-up time, before any actual songs were recorded, and a mandatory musicians' coffee break. This meant that on average there was a little over 30 minutes allowed for the recording of an individual song, which in turn meant that the artists who did the actual singing had to be first-rate professional singers who could enter a studio and record a song in very few take
s. Therefore, these artists tended to be very experienced big band
or session singers
who would also regularly broadcast live on BBC radio
. Sometimes these musicians used their professional name when recording for Embassy but very often they used pseudonyms. The recording sessions usually took place on a Thursday, so that the cover version discs could be rushed out into the stores by the following Monday to compete with the real thing. As well as releasing covers of current hit singles, Embassy Records also produced EPs
of trad jazz
, children’s songs, light classical music
, and songs from musicals
.
The Embassy imprint disappeared after the parent label, Oriole, was taken over by CBS (Columbia in the U.S.), by which time the concept of budget cover version releases of current hit songs had been imitated by other labels such as Cannon, Crossbow, Top Six, and Top Pops. CBS subsidiary Hallmark
/Pickwick
launched the Top of the Pops
series of albums a few years after the demise of Embassy, but unlike Embassy's releases, no artists were ever identified on the records. It is now quite well known that Elton John
recorded for the Top of The Pops series.
, a singer and broadcaster with the Oscar Rabin Band
who made over 200 radio broadcasts for the BBC. Between 1960 and 1965 he recorded almost 150 songs for the Embassy label using the pseudonyms Bobby Stevens, The Typhoons, The Jaybirds, and The Starlings. Rikki Henderson, a singer with the Denny Boyce Orchestra, was also in the top three artists in terms of the number of songs recorded for the label.
Mike Redway, who had also been a singer with the Oscar Rabin Band, recorded for Embassy under the pseudonym Redd Wayne, in addition to appearing on many of The Typhoons, The Jaybirds and The Starlings recordings for the label between 1962 and 1965. Redway later sang the vocal version of the "Casino Royale Theme" over the closing credits of the 1967 Casino Royale
film. Ken Barrie
, who later became the voice of Postman Pat
, recorded for Embassy under the name of Les Carle.
The girl singers who made the most recordings for the label were Jean Campbell, Joan Baxter, Maureen Evans
and Barbara Kay, with all but the latter recording for Embassy under their own names. Maureen Evans went on to have a hit for Oriole with "Like I Do" and Barbara Kay was one of the members of The Carefrees
, who released the novelty record
"We Love You Beatles
" in 1964. Barbara Kay, who was yet another singer who had previously been with the Oscar Rabin Band, was usually credited as Kay Barry on Embassy releases.
Instrumental
recordings would feature whatever session musicians were booked for that day, so the names used for the label, such as Bud Ashton, The Beatmen and The Happy Knights, did not imply any particular participants. Similarly, the group names such as The Typhoons, The Jaybirds, and The Starlings did not imply any consistent membership and were generally made up of any musicians who were available on that particular day. Additionally, backing vocals
on many Embassy releases were provided by the Mike Sammes Singers
but usually went uncredited.
Embassy releases from much later on in the 1980s. Columbia artists who had their albums reissued on Embassy during the 1970s include Andy Williams
, Johnny Cash
, Barbra Streisand
, The Byrds
, Tammy Wynette
, Blood, Sweat & Tears
, Spirit
and Sly & the Family Stone
. CBS once again discontinued Embassy Records and ceased issuing albums in the UK and Europe on the imprint in 1980.
Embassy Records should not be confused with the short-lived label of the same name that distributed recordings for the Warriors Dance record label during the 1990s. Neither should it be confused with the modern day independent record label
Embassy Records, based in New Orleans. Likewise, there is no connection between the original Embassy Records and Embassy Productions, a heavy metal
record label from the 1990s, or with the Avco Embassy record label that released records by The Chambers Brothers
, The Stylistics
and Henry Mancini
(amongst others) in the 1960s and 1970s.
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
that produced cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s of current hit songs
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
that were sold exclusively in Woolworths
Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
shops at a cheaper price than the original recordings. As such, Embassy can be seen as the UK equivalent of U.S. labels such as Hit
Hit Records
Hit Records was a record company based in Nashville, Tennessee which specialized in sound-alike cover versions of hit records.Founded in 1962 by Bill Beasley, Hit Records were sold in dime stores for 39¢ , less than half the price of the hit recordings they were covering...
and Bell Records
Bell Records
Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 by Arthur Shimkin in New York, the owner of children's record label Golden Records, and initially a unit of Pocket Books, after the rights to the name were acquired from Benny Bell who used the Bell name to issue risque novelty records. A...
. The label was the result of a contractual arrangement between Oriole Records
Oriole Records (UK)
Oriole Records was the first British record label founded in 1925 by the London-based Levy Company, which owned a gramophone record subsidiary called Levaphone Records.-History:...
and Woolworths, with Embassy's product being sold exclusively through the latter's stores from 1954 to 1965. The label disappeared after the parent company, Oriole
Oriole Records (UK)
Oriole Records was the first British record label founded in 1925 by the London-based Levy Company, which owned a gramophone record subsidiary called Levaphone Records.-History:...
, was taken over by CBS Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. Later, from 1970 through to 1980, CBS Records revived the Embassy imprint to release budget versions of albums in the UK and Europe by artists that were signed to its parent company, Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
.
History 1954-1965
The label's releases mostly consisted of double A-side singlesSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
that were cover versions of then-current or predicted UK Top 20
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
hits and it was not unusual for different artists or contrasting pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
styles to appear on either side of a record. Between November 1954 and January 1965 Embassy released around 1,200 songs recorded by about 150 different artists and these releases were sold for half the price of a major label release of the era. Embassy's records were recorded at the Embassy Recording Studios in New Bond Street
Bond Street
Bond Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London that runs north-south through Mayfair between Oxford Street and Piccadilly. It has been a fashionable shopping street since the 18th century and is currently the home of many high price fashion shops...
, Mayfair
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
and manufactured by Oriole Records, who also licensed the material to many foreign outlets.
The tight Embassy recording schedule required four different songs to be recorded in one three-hour session. Included in this standard three-hour session was the initial studio set-up time, before any actual songs were recorded, and a mandatory musicians' coffee break. This meant that on average there was a little over 30 minutes allowed for the recording of an individual song, which in turn meant that the artists who did the actual singing had to be first-rate professional singers who could enter a studio and record a song in very few take
Take
A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production.-Film:In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup"...
s. Therefore, these artists tended to be very experienced big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
or session singers
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
who would also regularly broadcast live on BBC radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
. Sometimes these musicians used their professional name when recording for Embassy but very often they used pseudonyms. The recording sessions usually took place on a Thursday, so that the cover version discs could be rushed out into the stores by the following Monday to compete with the real thing. As well as releasing covers of current hit singles, Embassy Records also produced EPs
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
of trad jazz
Trad jazz
Trad jazz - short for "traditional jazz" - refers to the Dixieland and Ragtime jazz styles of the early 20th century in contrast to any more modern style....
, children’s songs, light classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, and songs from musicals
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
.
The Embassy imprint disappeared after the parent label, Oriole, was taken over by CBS (Columbia in the U.S.), by which time the concept of budget cover version releases of current hit songs had been imitated by other labels such as Cannon, Crossbow, Top Six, and Top Pops. CBS subsidiary Hallmark
Hallmark Records
Hallmark Records is a British record label. It was founded in the 1960s and recently revived. The revived company has since become a major publisher of budget CDs in the UK, issuing both public domain and copyrighted material. The company has also re-issued some of its albums from the 1960s and...
/Pickwick
Pickwick Records
Pickwick Records was an American record label and distributor known for its budget album releases of sound-alike recordings, bargain bin reissues and repackagings under the brands Design, Bravo , Hurrah, Grand Prix, and children's records on the Cricket and Happy Time labels.The label is also...
launched the Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops (record series)
Top of the Pops is the name of a series of records issued by Pickwick Records on their Hallmark label, which contain anonymous cover versions of recent and current hit singles. The recordings were intended to replicate the sound of the original hits as closely as possible...
series of albums a few years after the demise of Embassy, but unlike Embassy's releases, no artists were ever identified on the records. It is now quite well known that Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
recorded for the Top of The Pops series.
The artists
The artist whose name appears on the greatest number of Embassy recordings is Paul Rich, a singer with the Lou Praeger Orchestra, who recorded for Embassy between 1957 and 1965. However, the artist who actually recorded the most songs for Embassy was Ray PilgrimRay Pilgrim
Ray Pilgrim was one of the most prolific big band singers, radio broadcasters, recording and session singers in Britain in the late 1950s/early 1960s.-Music Career:...
, a singer and broadcaster with the Oscar Rabin Band
Oscar Rabin Band
The Oscar Rabin Band was a British Jazz dance band that was one of the most successful bands of the 1950s. Band leader Oscar Rabin played bass saxophone, an unusual instrument then as now. His friend Harry Davis, tall, elegant and good-looking, acted as compère and conductor.-Formation:Oscar...
who made over 200 radio broadcasts for the BBC. Between 1960 and 1965 he recorded almost 150 songs for the Embassy label using the pseudonyms Bobby Stevens, The Typhoons, The Jaybirds, and The Starlings. Rikki Henderson, a singer with the Denny Boyce Orchestra, was also in the top three artists in terms of the number of songs recorded for the label.
Mike Redway, who had also been a singer with the Oscar Rabin Band, recorded for Embassy under the pseudonym Redd Wayne, in addition to appearing on many of The Typhoons, The Jaybirds and The Starlings recordings for the label between 1962 and 1965. Redway later sang the vocal version of the "Casino Royale Theme" over the closing credits of the 1967 Casino Royale
Casino Royale (1967 film)
Casino Royale is a 1967 comedy spy film originally produced by Columbia Pictures starring an ensemble cast of directors and actors. It is set as a satire of the James Bond film series and the spy genre, and is loosely based on Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel.The film stars David Niven as the...
film. Ken Barrie
Ken Barrie
Ken Barrie is a British musician and actor best known for narrating the BBC television programme Postman Pat. He also did the voice of Postman Pat, Ted Glen, Granny Drydan, Peter Fogg, Major Forbes, George Lancaster, Geoff Pringle, Alf Thompson, Reverend Timms, Arthur Selby and Sam Waldron.Barrie...
, who later became the voice of Postman Pat
Postman Pat
Postman Pat is a British stop-motion animated children's television series first produced by Woodland Animations. It is aimed at pre-school children, and concerns the adventures of Pat Clifton, a postman in the fictional village of Greendale .Postman Pat's first 13-episode season was screened on...
, recorded for Embassy under the name of Les Carle.
The girl singers who made the most recordings for the label were Jean Campbell, Joan Baxter, Maureen Evans
Maureen Evans
Maureen Evans is a Welsh pop singer who achieved fame briefly in the 1960s.-Career:Evans career began as a singer with Waldini's Gypsy Band in the mid 1950s, mainly doing summer seasons at UK holiday resorts such as Llandudno.She released her first singles in 1958 on the Embassy Records label....
and Barbara Kay, with all but the latter recording for Embassy under their own names. Maureen Evans went on to have a hit for Oriole with "Like I Do" and Barbara Kay was one of the members of The Carefrees
The Carefrees
The Carefrees were a British girl group, most known for their song "We Love You Beatles", a tribute to The Beatles. The song was their only charted single. The session vocalists Lynn Cornell, Barbara Kay and Betty Prescott made up the group...
, who released the novelty record
Novelty song
A novelty song is a comical or nonsensical song, performed principally for its comical effect. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music. The other two divisions...
"We Love You Beatles
We Love You Beatles
"We Love You Beatles" is a song by the Carefrees. It was a 1964 novelty record about The Beatles. The song peaked at #39 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the only Beatles novelty record to reach the Top 40...
" in 1964. Barbara Kay, who was yet another singer who had previously been with the Oscar Rabin Band, was usually credited as Kay Barry on Embassy releases.
Instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
recordings would feature whatever session musicians were booked for that day, so the names used for the label, such as Bud Ashton, The Beatmen and The Happy Knights, did not imply any particular participants. Similarly, the group names such as The Typhoons, The Jaybirds, and The Starlings did not imply any consistent membership and were generally made up of any musicians who were available on that particular day. Additionally, backing vocals
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
on many Embassy releases were provided by the Mike Sammes Singers
Mike Sammes
Michael William "Mike" Sammes was an English musician and vocal session arranger, performing backing vocals on pop music recorded in the UK from 1955 to the 1970s.-Career:...
but usually went uncredited.
History 1970-1980
Following the purchase of Embassy's parent label, Oriole, by CBS Records in late 1964, the label was discontinued, with the final Embassy release of the 1960s being "Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow The Sun)" by Paul Rich and The Beatmen (b/w "The Special Years" by Burt Shane) in January 1965. However, in 1970 CBS revived the Embassy imprint to release budget reissues of albums that had originally been released in the United States on Columbia Records (or its subsidiaries). These latter-day Embassy LP releases were issued in the UK and Europe between 1970 and 1980, although there are known to be MexicanMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
Embassy releases from much later on in the 1980s. Columbia artists who had their albums reissued on Embassy during the 1970s include Andy Williams
Andy Williams
Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
, Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
, The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
, Tammy Wynette
Tammy Wynette
Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette , was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of the genre's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists....
, Blood, Sweat & Tears
Blood, Sweat & Tears
Blood, Sweat & Tears is an American music group, originally formed in 1967 in New York City. Since its beginnings in 1967, the band has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and has encompassed a multitude of musical styles...
, Spirit
Spirit (band)
Spirit was an American jazz/hard rock/progressive rock/psychedelic band founded in 1967, based in Los Angeles, California.- The original lineup :...
and Sly & the Family Stone
Sly & the Family Stone
Sly and the Family Stone were an American rock, funk, and soul band from San Francisco, California. Active from 1966 to 1983, the band was pivotal in the development of soul, funk, and psychedelic music...
. CBS once again discontinued Embassy Records and ceased issuing albums in the UK and Europe on the imprint in 1980.
Embassy Records should not be confused with the short-lived label of the same name that distributed recordings for the Warriors Dance record label during the 1990s. Neither should it be confused with the modern day independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
Embassy Records, based in New Orleans. Likewise, there is no connection between the original Embassy Records and Embassy Productions, a heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
record label from the 1990s, or with the Avco Embassy record label that released records by The Chambers Brothers
The Chambers Brothers
The Chambers Brothers is a soul-music group, best known for its 1968 hit record, the 11-minute long song "Time Has Come Today". The group was part of the wave of new music that integrated American blues and gospel traditions with modern psychedelic and rock elements, spawning a heady mix...
, The Stylistics
The Stylistics
The Stylistics are a soul music vocal group, and were one of the best-known Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s. They formed in 1968, and were composed of lead Russell Thompkins, Jr., Herbie Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith, and James Dunn. All of their US hits were ballads, graced by the...
and Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
(amongst others) in the 1960s and 1970s.