Gusto Records
Encyclopedia
Gusto Records is a Nashville, Tennessee
based record company specializing in reissuing and licensing recordings from its vast catalogue of music from acquired record labels and their own studio recordings.
The catalogues Gusto owns include those of King Records
(except for recordings by James Brown
http://www.bsnpubs.com/king/kingstory.html), Starday Records, Scepter Records
(except for recordings by Dionne Warwick
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116594/soundtrack and the pre-RCA
recordings of The Guess Who
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0001467), Wand Records
(except for recordings by The Kingsmen
http://www.louielouie.org/modules.php?name=Lawsuit_Info), Musicor Records
, Chart Records
, Federal Records
, Audio Lab, Ovation, Step One Records, Atteiram Records, and others. Gusto Records is believed to maintain the largest independently owned collection of record masters.
Gusto was founded in 1973 by Moe Lytle and songwriter Tommy Hill, who owned the Stop Records label. Gayron "Moe" Lytle bought Tommy Hill's interest in the company, along with the Stop Records label. Tommy Hill operated the business while Moe was still in St. Louis. In 1974, Moe Lytle moved to Nashville, and bought Tommy Hill's portion shortly thereafter. http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2004/05/03/story8.html
It acquired Starday-King Records from Tennessee Recording & Publishing, which was owned by Freddy Bienstock
, Hal Neely, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
in 1975. In the late 70's, Gusto purchased the Chart and Ovation catalog. Gusto acquired the Musicor, Scepter and Wand catalogues from the bankrupt Springboard International Records in 1984 from Jay-Koala, along with many masters that were recorded by Springboard themselves. Gusto also acquired Little Darlin' Records, and a large classical catalog in the same purchase. The Indigo and Audiograph masters were added in the '80s. The most recent acquisitions were the Mel Street
masters, the Step One master catalog, and the Attereim masters which included a large bluegrass catalog. http://www11.brinkster.com/groovies1/Swamp.htmlhttp://www.top40-charts.info/?title=Scepter_Records
Gusto Records owns the longest operating recording studio in Nashville. Best known as Starday Studios, it opened in 1952 and is still used today in 2008 for transferring some of the older style masters to other formats, and some new recordings.
Gusto Records first signed artist Red Sovine in 1974. The first huge hit recorded and distributed by Gusto Records was Red Sovine's single, "Teddy Bear", which was released in 1976 using the Starday label, and rose to #1 on the charts in 7 weeks, which was the fastest rise to the #1 position for any 45rpm record released before or since, and even rose to #40 on the pop charts. Most recently, Gusto Records released new material recorded by Porter Wagoner in the 5 years prior to his death.
-
- Gusto Records does all of their own licensing, both master licensing and sync licensing, under the name Gusto Records dba Songlicense.com. See entries for Starday Records and King Records for more information on their origins.
, including the classic recording of "Louie, Louie". In the mid 90s, the group members brought legal action against Gusto to have ownership of their Wand recordings, including "Louie, Louie", returned to the group, alleging they had not been paid royalties on the recordings since the 1960s. After a long period of protracted litigation on November 9, 1998, in a story that made national headlines, the Kingsmen were awarded ownership of their Wand recordings.
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
based record company specializing in reissuing and licensing recordings from its vast catalogue of music from acquired record labels and their own studio recordings.
The catalogues Gusto owns include those of King Records
King Records (USA)
King Records is an American record label, started in 1943 by Syd Nathan and originally headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.-History:At first it specialized in country music, at the time still known as "hillbilly music." King advertised, "If it's a King, It's a Hillbilly -- If it's a Hillbilly, it's a...
(except for recordings by James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
http://www.bsnpubs.com/king/kingstory.html), Starday Records, Scepter Records
Scepter Records
Scepter Records is a record company founded in 1959 by Florence Greenberg. She had just sold Tiara Records with The Shirelles for $4000 to Decca Records. When The Shirelles didn't produce any hits for Decca, they were given back to Greenberg, who promptly signed them. By 1961 Greenberg launched a...
(except for recordings by Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116594/soundtrack and the pre-RCA
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
recordings of The Guess Who
The Guess Who
The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Initially gaining recognition in Canada, they also found international success from the late 1960s through the mid-1970s with numerous hit singles, including "American Woman", "These Eyes" and "Share the Land"...
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0001467), Wand Records
Wand Records
Wand Records was started by Florence Greenberg in 1961 as a subsidiary of Scepter Records. In 1976 Florence Greenberg decided to retire from the business and sold her record labels to Springboard International. When Springboard went bankrupt, Gusto Records acquired the catalog.Artists on Wand...
(except for recordings by The Kingsmen
The Kingsmen
The Kingsmen is a 1960s garage rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States. They are best known for their 1963 recording of Richard Berry's "Louie Louie", which held the #2 spot on the Billboard charts for six weeks...
http://www.louielouie.org/modules.php?name=Lawsuit_Info), Musicor Records
Musicor Records
Musicor Records was a New York City based record label, active during the 1960s and 1970s. The label was founded by songwriter Aaron Schroeder and distributed by United Artists Records...
, Chart Records
Chart Records
Chart Records was a country music record label of the 1960s, best known for turning Lynn Anderson into a major country star. It was owned by Slim Williamson.The label was founded in 1964...
, Federal Records
Federal Records
Federal Records was an American record label founded in 1950 as a subsidiary of Syd Nathan's King Records and based in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was run by famed record producer Ralph Bass and was mainly devoted to Rhythm & Blues releases. But also hillbilly and rockabilly recordings were released,...
, Audio Lab, Ovation, Step One Records, Atteiram Records, and others. Gusto Records is believed to maintain the largest independently owned collection of record masters.
Gusto was founded in 1973 by Moe Lytle and songwriter Tommy Hill, who owned the Stop Records label. Gayron "Moe" Lytle bought Tommy Hill's interest in the company, along with the Stop Records label. Tommy Hill operated the business while Moe was still in St. Louis. In 1974, Moe Lytle moved to Nashville, and bought Tommy Hill's portion shortly thereafter. http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2004/05/03/story8.html
It acquired Starday-King Records from Tennessee Recording & Publishing, which was owned by Freddy Bienstock
Freddy Bienstock
Freddy Bienstock was an American music publisher who built his career in music by being the person responsible for soliciting and selecting songs for Elvis Presley's early albums and films.-Early life:...
, Hal Neely, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Jerome "Jerry" Leiber and Mike Stoller were American songwriting and record producing partners. Stoller was the composer and Leiber the lyricist. Their most famous songs include "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", "Kansas City", "Stand By Me" Jerome "Jerry" Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011)...
in 1975. In the late 70's, Gusto purchased the Chart and Ovation catalog. Gusto acquired the Musicor, Scepter and Wand catalogues from the bankrupt Springboard International Records in 1984 from Jay-Koala, along with many masters that were recorded by Springboard themselves. Gusto also acquired Little Darlin' Records, and a large classical catalog in the same purchase. The Indigo and Audiograph masters were added in the '80s. The most recent acquisitions were the Mel Street
Mel Street
King Malachi Street , commonly known as Mel Street, was an American country music singer.-Biography:Street was born in Rowe, Virginia to a coal mining family...
masters, the Step One master catalog, and the Attereim masters which included a large bluegrass catalog. http://www11.brinkster.com/groovies1/Swamp.htmlhttp://www.top40-charts.info/?title=Scepter_Records
Gusto Records owns the longest operating recording studio in Nashville. Best known as Starday Studios, it opened in 1952 and is still used today in 2008 for transferring some of the older style masters to other formats, and some new recordings.
Gusto Records first signed artist Red Sovine in 1974. The first huge hit recorded and distributed by Gusto Records was Red Sovine's single, "Teddy Bear", which was released in 1976 using the Starday label, and rose to #1 on the charts in 7 weeks, which was the fastest rise to the #1 position for any 45rpm record released before or since, and even rose to #40 on the pop charts. Most recently, Gusto Records released new material recorded by Porter Wagoner in the 5 years prior to his death.
-
- Gusto Records does all of their own licensing, both master licensing and sync licensing, under the name Gusto Records dba Songlicense.com. See entries for Starday Records and King Records for more information on their origins.
"Louie, Louie"/Kingsmen Controversy
Part of the master recordings Gusto gained control of in the purchase of the Scepter/Wand label were the Wand label recordings of the 1960s garage band The KingsmenThe Kingsmen
The Kingsmen is a 1960s garage rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States. They are best known for their 1963 recording of Richard Berry's "Louie Louie", which held the #2 spot on the Billboard charts for six weeks...
, including the classic recording of "Louie, Louie". In the mid 90s, the group members brought legal action against Gusto to have ownership of their Wand recordings, including "Louie, Louie", returned to the group, alleging they had not been paid royalties on the recordings since the 1960s. After a long period of protracted litigation on November 9, 1998, in a story that made national headlines, the Kingsmen were awarded ownership of their Wand recordings.
See also
- List of record labels
- King RecordsKing Records (USA)King Records is an American record label, started in 1943 by Syd Nathan and originally headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.-History:At first it specialized in country music, at the time still known as "hillbilly music." King advertised, "If it's a King, It's a Hillbilly -- If it's a Hillbilly, it's a...
- Starday Records