Category: Flashbacks

VEE-JAY RECORDS OFFICIALLY BANKRUPT . . . AUGUST 13, 1966

From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1966

CURTAIN DOWN ON VEE-JAY AS LIQUIDATION IS ORDERED

 

 

 

 

Vee-Jay Records logo 1963 – 1965

CHICAGO — Vee-Jay Records, which scaled the sales heights before losing the Beatles in 1964, plunged into formal bankruptcy here last week.

In a hearing in U. S. District Court August 1, an offer by a West Coast combine to acquire the debt-ridden Chicago recording company was withdrawn and the court ordered receiver Gerald W. Grace to liquidate the company.

The acquisition offer was withdrawn because Vee-Jay’s obligation to the U. S. Government were considered excessive, Billboard has learned.

Vee-Jay has been in Chapter 11 status since early this year when President James Bracken announced that the firm had filed a petition for financial arrangement.

“The proceedings were instituted with the expectation that the corporation could be reorganized on a sound financial basis,” Bracken said.

In a hearing in May, a group represented by attorney William Bluestein of Los Angeles announced interest in acquiring Vee-Jay, which then owed the government about $1.5 million and had nearly $2 million in outstanding debts.

Bluestein’s group was interested in acquiring 69 4 Seasons masters, which were bid for at the same hearing by counsel for the 4 Seasons group. Bluestein’s interests would have made a financial arrangement with the government and would have paid creditors a dime on the dollar or 1/10th of 100 percent owed to each creditor.

‘The 4 Seasons Sing‘ on Vee-Jay Records; 1963. (Click on image for larger view)

The 4 Seasons contract with Vee-Jay Records reportedly called for the masters to revert to their agents, Genious, Inc., in the event of company bankruptcy. The masters will undoubtedly find their way into the catalog of Philips Records, a Mercury Records affiliate, also based in Chicago. The masters in question were awarded to Vee-Jay in a settlement following the signing of the group by Philips.

Vee-Jay suspended all operations here in May. The company was founded in Chicago in 1953, moved to Los Angeles in 1964 and returned last year. When the label returned to Chicago, the company had such artists as Jerry Butler, Betty Everett, Jimmy Reed, Little Richard, John Lee Hooker, the Dells, Joe Paige, Russ Morgan, Harry (Sweets) Edison, Fred Hughes, Joe Simon, Orville Couch and several gospel acts. END

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(Information and news source: Billboard; August 13, 1966)

Who owns the Beatles? Capitol Records vs. Vee-Jay Records, “cease and desist,” legal wranglings and continuous copyright ownership infringements claims against the Vee-Jay label, as this 1963 telegram would suggest, brought an ultimate end to Vee-Jay Records. The company was sued out of the business by mid-1966.
Beatles LP on Vee-Jay Records, released early-1965.

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WXYZ DETROIT PROMOTES SUMMER ‘SOUNDTACULAR’ CONTEST . . . JULY 14, 1962

A MCRFB news brief:

Deliberate Errors Sparks Contest Promotion

 

 

 

 

 

Bush 1962 transistor portable radio ad.

DETROIT — Station WXYZ pulled out a collection of over 500 hit records from 1957 through 1961 for a summer “Soundtacular” held here last week.

The big five-day salute to the recorded hits of the past five years was supported by newspaper advertising and a heavy schedule of radio and television announcements.

Working from a special list prepared by the WXYZ program department, the station’s six popular music personalities incorporated “Soundtacular” tunes into all programs.

The tunes and their year of popularity were deliberately identified incorrectly. Listeners were asked to listen for the errors and send corrections in.

Winner’s choice of a current popular hit LP, either by Connie Francis, Elvis Presley, Annette, Chubby Checker, Joanie Summers, Freddy Cannon or Shelly Fabare, along with a portable transistor radio, were awarded daily to contestants listing the most errors. END.

‘Palisades Park,’ by Freddie Cannon (Swan Records 507) 1962 LP

 (Information and news source: Billboard; July 14, 1962).

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REMEMBERING MY FRIEND BUDD LYNCH

Born Frank Joseph James (Budd) Lynch

August 7, 1917 – October 9, 2012 (Age 95)

Budd Lynch – Hockeytown.mp3

Bruce Martyn, Greg Innis, Budd Lynch (1993)

WMZK – FM – Budd Lynch & Ron Cameron – August 23, 1977.mp3

Budd Lynch & Bruce Martyn (1974)

Thanks To Greg Innis for these great pictures & Airchecks.

1977

WXYZ – Budd Lynch & Ron Cameron – December 12, 1978.mp3

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FLASHBACK POP MUSIC HISTORY: OCTOBER 13

From the MCRFB music calendar:

Events on this date: OCTOBER 13

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frank and Bing on CBS-TV Sunday, October 13, 1957 promoting the brand-new 1957 Edsel by the Ford Motor Company. (Click on image for larger view).

1957: CBS television (see YouTube “The Edsel Show”, below) presents a star-studded new musical variety special sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, featuring Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, and the Four Preps all singing praises of… the Ford Edsel, a new model which would soon be considered the standard by which all automobiles flops are measured.

1962: At London’s Prince of Wales Theater, the Everly Brothers’ Don Everly collapses from exhaustion during rehearsal for the duo’s upcoming tour of the U. K. Brother Phil continues the tour alone.

1963: Beatlemania begins in earnest as the Beatles appears on the popular BBC television show Sunday Night At The Palladium, performing “She Loves You,” “From Me To You,” “I’ll Get You,” and “Twist And Shout.” 15 million people in the U. K. alone watch the live performance on television, while thousands of fans pack Argyll street to catch a glimpse of the group.

1968: Ex-Supreme Florence Ballard gives birth to premature twin daughters, Michelle and Nicole.

1970: The ashes of Janis Joplin are scattered into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Stinson Beach in California.

Neil Young in 1975. (Click on image for larger view).

1975: Neil Young undergoes throat surgery in Los Angeles to remove a growth from his vocal cords.

1990: In a move that stuns his longtime fans, Bob Dylan is invited to perform at the West Point Military Academy. Oddly, he take the opportunity to perform his scathing anti-war attack “Masters Of War”; even more strangely, a cadre of cadets turn his protest song “Blowin’ In The Wind” into a choral unified singalong.

2000: The Eagles’ Don Henley is sued by a fan who claims the singer bashed her on the head with a pair of maracas after she tried to take his picture at a concert in Arkansas.

Country great Merle Haggard.

2001: Country legend Merle Haggard, who has a history of heart disease, cancels the remainder of his U. S. tour after complaining of tightness in his chest.

2004: The US Internal Revenue Service charges Ronald Isley of the Isley Brothers with five counts of tax evasion for failing to report income from 1997 through 2002. Exactly one year later to the day, he goes on trial in Los Angeles for the charges and is sentenced to three years in prison.

 

Deaths: Ed Sullivan; 1974. Shirley Brickley (Orlons); 1977. Wade Flemons (Earth, Wind and Fire); 1993. Craig Atkinson (Count Five); 1998. Peter Doyle (New Seekers); 2001.

Releases: “American Pie,” Don McLean; 1971.

Recording: “Problems,” Everly Brothers; 1958. “Drive My Car,” Beatles; 1965. “My Generation,” The Who; 1965. “Julia,” Beatles; 1968.

Charts: 1958: ‘Frank Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely,’ (LP) Frank Sinatra; hits No. 1 on the LP charts. 1973: ‘Goat’s Head,’ Rolling Stones; hits No. 1 on the LP charts. 1979: “Don’t Stop ‘Til You get Enough,” Michael Jackson; hits No. 1 on the charts.

Certification: 1971: “Go Away Little Girl,” Donny Osmond; certified gold by the RIAA.

The 1957 Ford Edsel Corsair.

 

And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day….

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