Oriole Records (UK)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oriole Records was a small British record label founded in 1927 by the London-based Levy Company, which owned a gramophone record subsidiary called Levaphone. It recorded popular music in England, and also issued masters from United States Vocalion Records. The original label was discontinued in 1935.
Owner, Maurice Levy (no relation to his Roulette Records namesake) revived the Oriole label in 1950. For a few years (ending in 1955) it was the exclusive UK licensee for the American Mercury Records label, with releases by artists such as Frankie Laine, Vic Damone and Patti Page. These releases appeared first on the Oriole label itself and later on the Mercury label.
Oriole achieved a few home-made hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including the Chas McDevitt skiffle group's version of Freight Train (featuring Nancy Whiskey on vocals); Like I Do by Maureen Evans (based on the same music utilized by Allan Sherman's Hello, Muddah! Hello Faddah!, Ponichelli's Dance of The Hours), and the label's biggest hit, Russ Hamilton's We Will Make Love, which reached #2 in the UK charts, and the B side of which (Rainbow) reached #4 in the USA on Kapp Records. The label also had successes with tracks licensed from European labels, notably Domenico Modugno's original recording of Volare and recordings by Swedish instrumental group, The Spotnicks. In the 1960s Oriole licensed several productions by Joe Meek (The Dowlands, Alan Klein and Screaming Lord Sutch).
Oriole also produced cover versions of the hits of the day, which it released on its cut-price Embassy Records label, sold exclusively in Woolworths stores.
During the tenure of A&R manager John Schroeder, Oriole was the first UK label (after the odd release on London and Fontana) to license recordings on a regular basis from the U.S. Motown Records catalogue, but none of the releases charted (it was not until a few years later, and on EMI's Stateside label, that the Detroit label would begin its run of hits in the UK). Nonetheless, several of the singles have since come to be highly regarded, with famous recordings including "Do You Love Me" (The Contours), "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" (The Miracles), and "Fingertips" (Little Stevie Wonder). Oriole released 19 single 45rpm Motown releases on the black and white Oriole American label whilst 7 albums appeared on the normal black and yellow Oriole label.
Oriole had two record pressing factories, one situated in leafy Aston Clinton and the other in Colnbrook, Maurice' brother Jacques Levy ran the company's recording studio, a converted ballroom in London's New Bond Street.
The Oriole record company lasted until September 1964, when it was bought, lock, stock and plant, by CBS Inc., parent of the American Columbia Records, who were looking to set up their own manufacturing facility in the UK. The result was CBS Records, and with its coming the Oriole label disappeared forever.
Maurice Levy's son, Eddie is still active in the music business.
