Carnival Records

Carnival Records was the name given to at least three record labels.

Carnival was the name of a record label by Wanamaker's department stores. Records produced for the John Wanamaker Carnival label were often 78 rpm records in the Jazz and Big Band genres.

Carnival Records (1961-1962)

In 1961, Jerry Moss and Herb Alpert, set up a short-lived label, the precursor of their A&M Records. They released two records, the first (701 - "Tell It To The Birds"/"Fallout Shelter"), by Dore Alpert, was distributed via Dot Records outside California. Dore Alpert was the name Herb Alpert used as a vocalist in those days. The second single (702 - "Love Is Back In Style"/"Peppermint Twist") by Charlie Robinson, featured Herb Alpert on trumpet. However, they changed the name in 1962 to A&M Records because another label with the same name already existed.

Carnival Records (1962-1983)

Jazz saxophonist Joe Evans set up Carnival Records label, based in New York and then in Newark, New Jersey, in the early 1960s. Releasing a total of 63 singles and two albums,[1] the label's main focus was rhythm and blues/soul music. The label's roster included The Manhattans, The Pretenders, Lee Williams & The Cymbals, Little Royal, The Lovettes, Kenneth Ruffin, Phil Terrell, Jimmy Jules, Barbara Brown, Dolores Johnson, Rene Bailey, Harry Caldwell, The Turner Brothers, Norma Jenkins, Maurice Simon & The Pie Men, Wilbur Bascomb & The Blue Zodiact, Harold & Connie, The Tren-Teens, Leon & The Metronomes, The Symphonies, Leon & The Metronomes, The Metrics, The Topics. Joe Evans, who ran the label with only a small staff, including his wife, kept the label going in the 1970s with occasional releases with its final record coming in 1983.[1] Its main success was with the Manhattans, a band he signed on in August 1964,[2] and who had a number of R&B chart and Hot 100 entries between 1965 and 1967. Their first release was "For The Very First Time"/"There Goes A Fool", which was followed by "I Wanna Be (Your Everything)", which broke out as a national Pop and R&B hit in the winter of 1965. The follow-up, "Searching For My Baby", later covered by The Persuasions. The next single, "Follow Your Heart", also broke on the Pop And R&B charts, selling over 500,000 copies. 1966’s "Baby I Need You", "When We Are Made As One" (re-done for the Too Hot To Stop It album) and 1967’s "I Call It Love", also made the Pop and R&B charts. Carnival Records is exclusively managed by Westwood Music Group.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Joe Evans Biography allmusic Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  2. ↑ The Manhattans' Group History: Part 1 Retrieved 21 April 2013.

Bibliography