Fraternity Records was a small record label

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,...

 based in Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

. It was started by Harry Carlson and silent partner Dr. Ashton Welsh in 1954.
The first hit was local girl Cathy Carr's

Cathy Carr

Angelina Helen Catherine Cordovano , known professionally as Cathy Carr, was an American pop singer.She was born in the New York borough of The Bronx...

 rendition of a Tin Pan Alley

Tin Pan Alley

Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century...

 song, "Ivory Tower

Ivory Tower (1956 song)

"Ivory Tower" is a popular song written by Jack Fulton and Lois Steele. Popular versions by Cathy Carr and Gale Storm, and a rhythm & blues version by Otis Williams and the Charms all received major popularity in 1956...

" in 1956. It made #2, besting a cover version by Otis Williams & the Charms

Otis Williams and the Charms

Otis Williams and the Charms were an American doo-wop vocal group in the 1950s, who were originally billed as The Charms. Williams is not related to Otis Williams of The Temptations.-Career:...

.
A year later came the Jimmy Dorsey

Jimmy Dorsey

James "Jimmy" Dorsey was a prominent American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, trumpeter, composer, and big band leader. He was known as "JD"...

 instrumental "So Rare

So Rare

"So Rare" is a popular song published in 1937 by composer Jerry Herst and lyricist Jack Sharpe. It became a hit for Jimmy Dorsey in 1957.The version by Carl Ravell and his Orchestra, from a session on 4 June 1937, may be the earliest recording of the song, although it is unclear whether it was the...

", the famous bandleader's final hit before his death.
1959 saw the label's first #1, Bill Parsons' "All American Boy". Parsons was a friend of country singer Bobby Bare

Bobby Bare

Robert Joseph Bare is an American country music singer and songwriter. He is the father of Bobby Bare, Jr., also a musician.-Early career:...

 and it was actually Bare's voice heard on the hit - Parsons sang on the B side.
Fraternity also leased songs from smaller labels, including one track by Jackie Shannon (later Jackie DeShannon

Jackie DeShannon

Jackie DeShannon is an American singer-songwriter with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards. She was one of the first female singer-songwriters of the rock 'n' roll period.- Life and early career :...

).

Fraternity's biggest hit was Lonnie Mack

Lonnie Mack

Lonnie Mack is an American rock, blues and country guitarist and vocalist....

's 1963 guitar instrumental, "Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee (song)

"Memphis, Tennessee" is a song by rock & roll singer-songwriter Chuck Berry. It is sometimes shortened to "Memphis". In the UK, the song charted at #6 in 1963, at the same time Decca Records issued a cover version in the UK by Dave Berry and the Cruisers, who came from Sheffield, Yorkshire...

", which rose to #5 on Billboard's Pop chart and #4 on Billboard's R&B chart.

The final national Top 40 hit for the label was 1967's "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" by The Casinos

The Casinos

The Casinos was a nine-member doo-wop group from Cincinnati, Ohio, led by Gene Hughes. They are best-known for their John D. Loudermilk-penned song "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye," which hit number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1967, well after the end of the doo-wop era.The group was based...

.

Shad O'Shea purchased the company from Carlson in 1975.

Applegate Recording Society was also a subsidiary label of Fraternity.