Äva Records

Äva Records was a short-lived American record label based in Los Angeles, founded in 1961 by Fred Astaire, Elmer Bernstein, Jackie Mills (1922–2010), and Tommy Wolf (né Thomas Joseph Wolf; 1925–1979). The original name was Choreo Records; but, in 1962, the name was changed to Äva Records, the namesake of Astaire's daughter, to avoid a conflict with Texas based Choreo Records Co. located at 3007-1/2 Knox Street, Dallas. At its founding, Astaire was president and Mills was vice-president.

Choreo had purchased the rights to the film soundtrack album to Walk on the Wild Side. The theme song by the same name became Choreo's first singles release and became a #1 record.^[1]

In June 1964, Astaire sold his 62% stock interests, and shareholder Hermes Pan also sold his stock interest in the label to Texas realtor Glen Costin (né Glenis Galen Costin; 1927–1990), who became the new president. From September 1961 to August 1964, the labels were distributed by MGM Records, MGM's first foray into independent label distribution. The company address in October 1964 was: Äva Records, 8730 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles 69, California. Äva folded in March of 1965, with Astaire owning the masters. Jackie Mills had been the president when it folded. Recording artists included Elmer Bernstein, Herbie Steward, and Pete Jolly.^[2][3]

According to Billboard, Costin sold Äva to Charles Jourdan, acting as a representative of a European syndicate.^[4]

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