Treat Records

Treat Records was an American record label founded in March 1955 by Murray Katz. It was based in New York City and included Larry Newton, formerly of Derby Records as the general manager.^[1] The label produced R&B and pop records. The label folded later in 1955.

Artists

Treat had 7 releases, each on both 45 and 78 rpm. Originally under contract to the label were Terry Lee, The Five Diamonds, The Inspirators, Sonny Benton, and The Hen Gates Combo, Blind Boy Fuller, a pseudonym for Brownie McGhee (blue singer), and The Five Stars vocal group.

Selected discography

• Treat 501: Five Diamonds

The Ten Commandments Of Love

I Cried and Cried

• Treat 502: The Inspirators

If Loving You Is Wrong

Three Sixty

• Treat 503: Hen Gates and Orchestra

Flash

Loose

• Treat 504: Terri Lee & Reg Ashby Orchestra

I'm No Good To You (with group)

My, My, My

• Treat 505: The Five Stars (1955)

T1: Let's Fall in Love, by Harold Arlen & Ted Koehler, Bourne Inc. (publisher) ASCAP (1933)

T2: We Danced in the Moonlight, by Alton Earl Collier, Alan Music Co., BMI

• Treat 506:
• Treat 507: Frankie Day (pop vocals)

Don’t Forget

When I Dream Of Home (with the Ray Charles Singers)

The Inspirators on Treat Records and Old Town are the same group as The Five Stars: Cleo Perry (1936–1993)^[2] (lead), William Massey (1st Tenor), Clifton Johnson (2nd Tenor), Barney Fields (baritone), Buster Boyce (bass).^[3] The Five Stars of Detroit (mid-1958) – Joseph Murphy, John Raymond Dorsey, Walter Gaines, Crathman C.P. Spencer, Henry Jones – were not related to the Five Stars that were originally released on Treat, but later ABC-Paramount Records, Note, Hunt, Atco, Blue Boys Kingdom, Dot, Kernel, or Showtime.^[4]

The Hen Gates recordings were actually 1940s Freddie Mitchell (1922–1995) masters from the Derby label, and all the songs were renamed. There never was a "Hen Gates." The pseudonym was also used for Jimmy Foreman, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker.^[5]

References