George Goldner
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George Goldner (1918–1970) was a record company owner and promoter.
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[edit] Early life
Goldner was born in New York City and originally made his living as a garment dealer. His secret love for Latin music led to him running dance halls beginning in the early 1940s.
[edit] Tico Records
In the late 1940s, Golder formed his first record label, Tico Records. In promoting his records, he resorted to paying DJs at radio stations to play his records. This practice came to be known as payola. Tito Puente is the most famous recording artist on Tico.
[edit] Morris Levy
In a recurring pattern, Goldner's expensive gambling habit would lead to him selling part or all of his record company to Morris Levy, another dance hall owner. Goldner and Levy formed Rama Records, which would record rhythm & blues. The Crows' hit "Gee" on Rama would inspire another record label, Gee Records, whose most successful act was Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers. Other labels Goldner would help establish included Gone Records, End Records, and the longest lasting of his labels, Roulette Records. All of these labels would wind up under Morris Levy's ownership to cover Goldner's gambling debts.[1]
It's worth noting that Goldner recorded some of the most important East Coast doo wop music of the 1950's including records by The Crows, The Wrens and The Valentines (for Rama), The Cleftones, The Five Crowns, Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers and The Heartbeats (for Gee), The Chantels, Little Anthony & The Imperials, The Starlighters, and The Flamingos (for End) and The Dubs, The Channels, The Isley Brothers and The Trickles (for Gone).
[edit] Red Bird Records
Goldner's last successful label, Red Bird Records and its Blue Cat Records subsidiary, was actually co-founded by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Goldner was made a partner in the company and did the promoting of Red Bird releases while Leiber & Stoller worked on production. Red Bird only lasted two years, as Leiber & Stoller wanted to get out of the record business, and Goldner again developed big gambling debts which led the Mob to occupy the Red Bird offices. Leiber & Stoller sold their interest in Red Bird Records to Goldner for $1 and left in a hurry. The Red Bird catalogue (except for releases by The Shangri-Las whose contract was sold to Mercury Records) was sold to Morris Levy's Roulette Records.
Goldner died of a heart attack on April 15, 1970.
