Buddah Records
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Buddah Records (now known as Buddha Records) was founded in 1967 by promotor Neil Bogart in New York City. It released a variety of music types, including bubblegum pop like the Ohio Express, the 1910 Fruitgum Company, solo performer writer-singer Melanie, rhythm and blues artist Gladys Knight and the Pips, and rock and roller Captain Beefheart.[1]
Buddah Records distributed their own records as well as other labels such as Kama Sutra Records when they left MGM distribution, Curtom Records, (Curtis Mayfield), T-Neck Records (the Isley Brothers), Charisma Records, as well as smaller subsidiaries.[2]
[edit] History
While working at Kama Sutra Records, Art Kass was unhappy with the distribution deal with MGM Records and started Buddah Records around 1967. He brought in Neil Bogart, who was an MGM General Manager in the early sixties. Bogart's early death has dimmed his fame, but he updated the movie musical in the 1970s with his rock acts. Artie Ripp was another famous Buddah producer. Buddah was also the distributor of Curtom Records and Sussex Records until 1974. They also distributed T-Neck Records (the Isley Brothers label), and Cobblestone Records (a jazz label) among others. Other Buddah subsidiary or associated labels included: Radio Active Gold (their reissue label), Team, Pavillion, Hot Wax Records, Harbour, and Brut. The single "Fickle" by Michael Henderson in the spring of 1983 was the last release of the label.
Buddah was best known as the beacon of bubblegum music, featuring such groups as the 1910 Fruitgum Company and the Ohio Express.
Other well-known artists on the Buddah Record label at various times - and on Kama Sutra Records, of which Buddah took over distribuion in 1969 - were Sha Na Na, The Lemon Pipers, Paul Anka, Charlie Daniels, Melanie, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Captain Beefheart, The Lovin' Spoonful, Exuma, Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge, and Bill Haley & His Comets.
Buddah, now spelled Buddha Records, was later re-activated (or reincarnated) by BMG in September 1998 as a reissue label which reorganised into BMG Heritage Records on January 1, 2002. The Buddah/Buddha catalogue is now owned by Sony BMG Music Entertainment and managed by Legacy Recordings.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Gillett, Charlie (1996). The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll, (2nd Ed.), New York, N.Y.: Da Capo Press, p. 322. ISBN 0-306-80683-5.
- ^ Buddah Album Discography, Part 1. Retrieved on 2006-12-11.
