This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2010)

ATCO Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, currently operating through WMG's Rhino Entertainment.

Company history[link]

Beginnings[link]

Atco Records was founded in 1955 as a division of Atlantic Records. It was devised as an outlet for productions by one of Atlantic's founders, Herb Abramson, who had returned to the company from military service. It was also intended as a home for acts that did not fit the format of Atlantic, which at the time was only releasing blues, jazz, and R&B/soul. The Atco name is simply an abbreviation of ATlantic COrporation.

Atco's biggest acts during its early years were Bobby Darin and The Coasters. In the early 1960s Atlantic began to license material from international sources for release on Atco, leading to instrumental hit singles from such acts as Jorgen Ingmann, Acker Bilk and Bent Fabric. Starting in the mid-1960s, Atco became a force on the burgeoning rock scene, with American acts such as Sonny and Cher, Buffalo Springfield and Vanilla Fudge. A relationship with manager Robert Stigwood brought The Bee Gees and Cream to the label.

In 1964 Atco released a single in the United States by The Beatles, "Ain't She Sweet"; (flip side "Nobody's Child," with lead singer Tony Sheridan), which had been recorded in Hamburg in 1961. With lead vocals by John Lennon, "Ain't She Sweet" reached #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in August 1964. Atco also released an album entitled Ain't She Sweet which featured the other two tracks by Sheridan and the Beatles from the Hamburg session and filled out by eight other songs (Beatles and other British Invasion numbers) covered by The Swallows.

In 1966 Atco released a single in the USA by The Who. "Substitute" b/w "Waltz For A Pig" was issued through an arrangement with UK Polydor Records, due to the dispute The Who was raging with their producer Shel Talmy and their contract with US Decca Records and UK Brunswick Records. This would be the only Who recording to appear on Atco, although Pete Townshend and John Entwistle would eventually sign to Atco as solo artists.

Atco has also provided distribution for other labels, including, but not limited to, the following: Robert Stigwood's RSO Records, Volt Records, Island Records, Modern Records, Rolling Stones Records, and Ruthless Records.

In the mid-1970's, Atco issued early albums from the Australian group AC/DC. Starting in 1978, AC/DC releases were issued on Atlantic until their contract with the label ended in the 1990's.

The twilight years[link]

Atlantic deemphasized Atco in the mid-1970s, using the label mostly for releases by hard rock acts and some British and European bands. The label's roster became more diverse again in the 1980s. The last number one hit on Atco was "If Wishes Came True" by Sweet Sensation in 1990. In 1991, Sylvia Rhone merged Atco with Atlantic's fledgling East West Records America label and briefly operated the combination as Atco–East West Records America. By 1994, the Atco name was dropped and the label continued operating as East West Records America, which then switched to sister label Elektra Records for distribution. Since then, the Atco name and logo appeared only on reissues of old material through Elektra. As of mid-2005, its most recent release (in a joint venture with Rhino Records) was the soundtrack of the Bobby Darin biopic Beyond the Sea, which starred Kevin Spacey and featured Spacey's renditions of Darin songs.

Revival[link]

In 2006, Warner Music Group reactivated ATCO Records in conjunction with Rhino Entertainment. Scarlett Johansson, Keith Sweat, and Art Garfunkel were among the first artists signed to the label. Garfunkel issued Some Enchanted Evening on January 30, 2007.^[1] Johansson issued Anywhere I Lay My Head on May 20, 2008. Queensryche released its American Soldier album on ATCO on March 31, 2009.^[2] The New York Dolls released its album Cause I Sez So on ATCO on May 5, 2009.

Atco Records artists[link]

The following is a list of artists who have recorded for Atco Records.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Discography of ATCO LP releases
• Sample of former ATCO Records label on 45 rpm.

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (March 2009)

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2009)

Arthur Lee Conley (January 4, 1946 – November 17, 2003) was an American soul singer, best known for the 1967 hit "Sweet Soul Music".^[1]

Career[link]

Conley was born in McIntosh County, Georgia, U.S., and grew up in Atlanta. He first recorded in 1959 as the lead singer of Arthur & the Corvets. With this group, he released three singles in 1963 and 1964 ("Poor Girl", "I Believe", and "Flossie Mae") on the Atlanta based record label, National Recording Company.

In 1964, he moved to a new label (Baltimore's Ru-Jac Records) and released "I'm a Lonely Stranger". When Otis Redding heard this, he asked Conley to record a new version, which was released on Redding's own fledgling label Jotis Records, as only its second release.^{[citation needed]} Conley met Redding in 1967, but after this meeting Redding took Conley under his care, and taught him the finer points of the music industry.^{[citation needed]} Together they re-wrote the Sam Cooke song "Yeah Man" into "Sweet Soul Music", which, at Redding's insistence, was released on the Atco-distributed label Fame Records, and was recorded at FAME studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. It proved to be a massive hit, going to the number two position on the U.S. charts and the Top Ten across much of Europe. "Sweet Soul Music" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.^[2]

After several years of singles in the early 1970s, he relocated to England in 1975, and spent several years in Belgium, then settled in Amsterdam, Netherlands in spring 1977. In the beginning of 1980 he had some major performances as Lee Roberts and the Sweaters in the Ganzenhoef, Paradiso, De Melkweg and the Concertgebouw, and was highly successful. At the end of 1980 he moved to the Dutch village of Ruurlo and legally changed his name to Lee Roberts (his middle name and his mother's maiden name). There he occupied himself with promoting new music by means of his Art-Con Productions company. Amongst the bands he promoted was the heavy metal band Shockwave from The Hague. Arthur was also active as a designer of specialized tapestries and furniture.

A live performance on January 8, 1980, featuring Lee Roberts & the Sweaters, was released as an album entitled Soulin' in 1988.

Arthur Conley died after a long battle with intestinal cancer in Ruurlo, Netherlands at the age of 57 in November 2003. His remains were buried in Vorden.

Recordings[link]

• "Aunt Dora's Soul Love Shack", 1968
• "Burning Fire"
• "Baby, What You Want Me To Do"
• "Day-O", 1969, Jamaican folk song recorded by Harry Belafonte
• "Flossie Mae", 1963, as Arthur & the Corvets
• "Funky Street", 1968, #5 R&B, #14 pop
• "God Bless", 1970, Top 40 R&B
• "Ha Ha Ha"
• "I Believe", 1963, as Arthur & the Corvets
• "I Can't Stop (No, No, No)", 1966, written by Dan Penn
• "I Got A Feeling"
• "I'm a Lonely Stranger", 1964, solo, re-recorded in 1965
• "I'm Living Good", 1971–1974
• "It's So Nice [When It's Someone Else's Wife]", 1971–1974
• "Is That You Love"
• "Let's Go Steady", B-side of "Sweet Soul Music"
• "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", 1968, #51 pop, #41 R&B, Beatles cover featured guitar of Duane Allman
• "One Night Is All I Need"
• "Otis Sleep On", 1968
• "People Sure Act Funny", 1968, Top 20 R&B
• "Poor Girl", 1963, as Arthur & the Corvets
• "Rita", 1971–1974
• "Run On", 1968
• "Shake, Rattle and Roll", 1967, Top 40 pop, Top 20 R&B
• "Shing-A-Ling"
• "Something You Got"
• "Speak Her Name", featured guitar of Duane Allman.
• "Star Review", 1969, with Tom Dowd, written by Allen Toussaint
• "Stuff You Gotta Watch", featured guitar of Duane Allman.
• "Sweet Soul Music", 1967, co-written with Otis Redding, #2 R&B, #2 pop
• "Take A Step"
• "Take Me (Just as I Am)", 1966-1967(?)
• "That Can't Be My Baby"
• "Walking on Eggs", 1971–1974
• "Who's Foolin' Who", 1966
• "Whole Lotta Woman", 1967, #73 pop
• "Wholesale Love"

References[link]

• Otis Redding's biography contains history of Jotis Records
• Answers.com article on Arthur Conley
• Arthur Conley Dies

External links[link]

• Memorial website (in Dutch) Photos from Arthur's last live performance, 9 June 2002 in Netherlands.
• Arthur Conley Sweet Soul Music Home Page w/ CD Liner Notes, Discography and Latest Releases
• Yoni's Home of Soul Music page on Conley, w/ info about unreleased tracks
• Find-A-Grave profile for Arthur Conley

Sabrina Johnston (born December 31, 1969, Germany is an American singer, most noted for her 1991 club anthem, "Peace".^[1]

Career[link]

Johnson grew up in the United States attending summer music camps, dance and voice classes before enrolling at Cheyney State University as a music major.

Johnson released her debut album Peace in 1992 with lead single, "Peace", reaching the Top 10 in the UK.^[2] Further singles "Friendship", and "I Wanna Sing", missed the Top 40.^[2] A second album, Sabrina, was released in Japan only in 1996 and again in 1998 under the title Yum Yum; the only single released from the album, "Reasons", did not chart in the UK.^[2] Johnson made an appearance as a backing vocalist on Lauryn Hill's "To Zion", from the album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.^[3]

In 1992, Johnston appeared on the Red Hot Organization's dance compilation album, Red Hot + Dance, contributing an original track, "Peace (Nu-Mix)." The album attempted to raise awareness and money in support of the AIDS epidemic, and all proceeds were donated to AIDS charities.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Sabrina Johnston (1992)

1. "Peace" (4:02)
2. "Friendship" (4:06)
3. "Don't Hide Your Love" (3:55)
4. "Yours That Kind of Love" (5:35)
5. "Anniversary Lover" (3:59)
6. "I Wanna Sing" (3:55)
7. "Glory" (5:04)
8. "We Need Each Other" (3:52)
9. "Give It to Me" (4:06)
10. "Hyway 95" (3:58)

^[4]

• Yum Yum (1998)

1. "Reasons" (3:13)
2. "Tonight" (3:24)
3. "Yum Yum" (3:14)
4. "Ain't Nobody Gonna Stop Me" (3:05)
5. "No" (2:30)
6. "Your In My Life" (3:42)
7. "Lay Me Down" (4:15)
8. "Sorry" (3:04)
9. "You Need My Lovin'" (3:33)
10. "I Can Feel It Happen" (5:07)
11. "Tonight" [*] (9:34)

^[5]

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Allaboutdivas.com

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)

The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group that had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with "Searchin'" and "Young Blood," their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producing team of Leiber and Stoller.^[1] Although the Coasters originated outside of mainstream doo wop, their records were so frequently imitated that they became an important part of the doo wop legacy through the 1960s.

History[link]

The Coasters are a doo-wop group that started in October 1955. The original members of the Coasters were Carl Gardner, Billy Guy, Bobby Nunn, Leon Hughes (who was replaced by Young Jessie on a couple of their early Los Angeles recordings), and guitarist Adolph Jacobs. Jacobs left the group in 1959.^[2] The Coasters' were formed out of the group The Robins, a Los Angeles based rhythm and blues group, which included Carl Gardner and Bobby Nunn.

The songwriting team Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller had started Spark Records, and in 1955 produced "Smokey Joe's Cafe" for the Robins^[1] (their 5th single with Leiber-Stoller). The record was popular enough that Atlantic Records offered Leiber and Stoller an independent production contract to produce the Robins for the Atlantic label. Only two of the Robins—Gardner and Nunn—were willing to make the move to Atlantic, recording their first songs in the same studio as the Robins had done (Master Recorders). In late 1957 the group moved to New York and replaced Nunn and Hughes with Cornell Gunter and Will "Dub" Jones. The new quartet was from then on stationed in New York (although all had Los Angeles roots).

The Coasters' association with Leiber and Stoller was an immediate success. Together they created a string of good-humored "storytelling" hits that are some of the most entertaining from the original era of rock and roll.^[1] Their first single, "Down in Mexico," was an R&B hit in 1956 and appears (in a re-recording from 1970—still with Gardner singing the lead) on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof. The following year, The Coasters crossed over to the national charts in a big way with the double-sided "Young Blood"/"Searchin'." "Searchin'" was the group's first U.S. Top 10 hit, and topped the R&B charts for 13 weeks, becoming the biggest R&B single of 1957 (all these were recorded in Los Angeles).

"Yakety Yak" (recorded in New York), featuring King Curtis on tenor saxophone, included the famous lineup of Gardner, Guy, Jones, and Gunter, became the act's only national #1 single, and also topped the R&B chart. The next single, "Charlie Brown," reached #2 on both charts. This was followed by "Along Came Jones," "Poison Ivy" (#1 for a month on the R&B chart), and "Little Egypt (Ying-Yang)."

Changing popular tastes and a couple of line-up changes contributed to a lack of hits in the 1960s. During this time, Billy Guy was also working on solo projects, so New York singer Vernon Harrell was brought in to replace Guy for stage performances. Later members included Earl "Speedo" Carroll (lead of The Cadillacs), Ronnie Bright (the bass voice on Johnny Cymbal's "Mr. Bass Man"), Jimmy Norman, and guitarist Thomas "Curly" Palmer. The Coasters signed with Columbia Records's Date label in 1966, reuniting with Leiber and Stoller (who had parted ways with Atlantic Records in 1963), but were never able to regain their former fame. In 1971, The Coasters had a minor chart entry with "Love Potion No. 9," a song that Leiber and Stoller had written for the Coasters but instead gave to The Clovers in 1959. In Britain, a 1994 Volkswagen TV advertisement used the group's "Sorry But I'm Gonna Have To Pass" track, which led to a minor chart placement in that country.

In 1987, the Coasters became the first group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, crediting the members of the 1958-era configuration. The Coasters also joined the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.

Several groups used the name in the 1970s, touring throughout the country, though Carl Gardner, one of the original Coasters, held the legal rights to it. Gardner continued to tour with the Coasters and made many attempts to stop bogus groups with no connection to the original group using the name. In late 2005, Carl's son Carl Gardner, Jr. took over as lead with the group when his father retired. The Coasters' current lineup consists of Carl Gardner, Jr., J.W. Lance, Primo Candelara and Eddie Whitfield.^[3]

As of 2011, Leon Hughes and Adolph Jacobs are the only surviving members of the original Coasters. Some of the former members suffered tragic ends. Saxophonist and "fifth Coaster" King Curtis was stabbed to death by two junkies outside his apartment building in 1971. Cornelius Gunter was shot to death while sitting in a Las Vegas parking garage in 1990. Nate Wilson, a member of one of Gunter's offshoot Coasters groups, was shot and his body dismembered in 1980.^[4]

Former manager Patrick Cavanaugh was convicted of the murder after Wilson threatened to notify authorities of Cavanaugh's intent to buy furniture with stolen checks. While Cavanaugh was convicted of the murder and given the death sentence in 1984, his sentence was commuted to life in prison. He died in 2006, in Nevada's Ely State Prison. Cavanaugh was 60.^[5]

The Coasters continue to appear regularly on "oldies" shows and PBS specials as old favorites and are available for bookings.^[4]

The Hits list below is from Joel Whitburn's Top R&B Singles and from the Pop positions published in Bill Millar's book "The Coasters" (1975).

In late June, 2007 Carl Gardner's autobiography "Carl Gardner: Yakety Yak I Fought Back - My Life with The Coasters" was published at AuthorHouse. On August 28, 2007 the Coasters' Leiber-Stoller produced recordings for Date/King 1966-1972 was released on a Varèse Vintage (Varèse Sarabande) CD, titled "Down Home" (302 066 844 2) - and on December 12, 2007 the complete Atco recordings 1954-1966 were released on a Rhino Handmade 4CD-set, titled "There's A Riot Goin' On: The Coasters on Atco" (Rhino RHM2 7740).

Legacy[link]

The Coasters' repertoire had a significant impact on '60s and '70s rock artists. For example, Leon Russell performed "Young Blood" at the Concert for Bangladesh in 1971, imitating the group's arrangement of the song with four different solo voices, and Bad Company's version of the song reached #20 on 22–29 May 1976 on the Hot 100; Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen recorded The Robins' "Riot in Cell Block #9," while The Beach Boys recorded a 1971 version with revised lyrics by that group's vocalist Mike Love, titled "Student Demonstration Time." The novelty singer Ray Stevens reached #27 on the U.S. pop singles chart with a 1969 remake of "Along Came Jones." Elvis Presley included "Little Egypt (Ying-Yang)" in the soundtrack for his 1964 film Roustabout. The first two British hits of The Hollies were "(Ain't That) Just Like Me" and "Searchin'." The Monkees reached #10 on the Cashbox singles chart with "D. W. Washburn." (The Coasters recorded it first, but when Date declined to release it, Leiber and Stoller sent it as a demo to the Monkees. After the Monkees' record charted, the Coasters' original was issued.) Several Coasters songs were part of The Beatles' repertoire before the British rock group began its recording career; George Harrison is among the singers on the above-mentioned Leon Russell live recording. The Grateful Dead similarly performed several Coasters songs in their early days. This was influenced by a weekend in 1965 in which the group (while still called The Warlocks) served as pickup band for the Coasters at a lounge in Belmont, CA. When the Beach Boys and the Grateful Dead united on stage to perform a brief set at New York City's Filmore East, they performed "Searchin'" and "Riot in Cell Block No. 9." Numerous groups have recorded "Poison Ivy."

The Coasters' hits also comprised a major portion of the song score for the 1994 musical revue Smokey Joe's Cafe, a retrospective of Leiber & Stoller songs that received one Grammy Award and seven Tony Award nominations following its 1995 Broadway debut. Their song "Baby, That Is Rock and Roll" has served as the main title for a biography/songbook of Leiber & Stoller songs and a Bravo television documentary on the songwriters.

In addition, Coasters songs and the Coasters themselves have been referred to by later popular musicians. Frank Zappa referenced the group in the lyrics of the song "Status Back Baby" on his second album, Absolutely Free. Sly Stone titled a No. 1 hit 1971 album by his group Sly & the Family Stone after the tag line from "Riot in Cell Block No. 9": There's a Riot Goin' On. The folksinger David Bromberg quoted from "Little Egypt (Ying-Yang)" in his 1972 song "Sharon". Paolo Nutini regularly covers "Down in Mexico" during live performances.

Band members[link]

Current members

• J. W. Lance – lead vocals, previously tenor vocals (2001–present)
• Primotivo Candelara – baritone vocals (2008–present)
• Eddie Whitfield – bass vocals (2009–present)
• Dennis Anderson – tenor vocals (2011–present)

Former members

(Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame inductees' listed in bold.)

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• 1957 - The Coasters - Atco LP 33-101
• 1959 - The Coasters' Greatest Hits - Atco LP 33-111 (SD33-111 rechanneled stereo 1960)
• 1960 - The Coasters One By One - Atco LP 33-123 (SD33-123 stereo)
• 1962 - Coast Along with The Coasters - Atco LP 33-135 (SD33-135 alternate stereo edition)
• 1965 - That Is Rock & Roll - Clarion LP 605 (SD-605 stereo)
• 1971 - Their Greatest Recordings: The Early Years - Atco LP SD33-371 (stereo compilation with alternates)
• 1972 - The Coasters On Broadway - King LP KS1146 (stereo)
• 1975 - 16 Greatest Hits - Trip TOP LP 16-7 (revival re-recordings)
• 1982 - Young Blood - Atlantic DeLuxe LP AD 2-4003 (mono)