Until 1962, Cameo was also the parent company name for both labels, and Parkway was a subsidiary. In 1962, the parent company was renamed from Cameo to Cameo-Parkway, to give both labels equal status. In some foreign markets, Cameo-Parkway was also a label name, issuing records by artists from both labels. The Cameo-Parkway catalogue is currently owned by ABKCO Records.
History
Cameo Records was founded in December 1956 in Philadelphia by Bernie Lowe and Kal Mann; it has no connection to the 1920s record label Cameo Records.[1] Parkway, initially a subsidiary label, was formed in 1958.
Mann and Lowe had been a successful songwriting team prior to the start of the label, with Mann writing lyrics and Lowe the music; their biggest hit prior to starting the label was Elvis Presley's "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear".[1]Dave Appell joined the label from its inception as A&R director, and the three worked together as a production team on many early Cameo releases.[1] Mann and Lowe wrote many of the label's early singles, while Mann and Appell also became a successful songwriting team that was responsible for many of the label's hits, particularly after Lowe cut back on his songwriting around 1961, to attend to the business of running the label. In addition, Appell's group the Applejacks functioned as Cameo's house band for the first few years of, serving as backing musicians for the label's vocalists as well as issuing a handful of instrumental singles on their own. Lowe, also a musician, played piano on many early tracks.
The first hit for Cameo was "Butterfly" by Charlie Gracie, which reached No. 1 nationally in early 1957;[1] it was also Cameo-Parkway's first of five chart-toppers. Throughout the remainder of the decade, Cameo continued to have hits by groups like the R&B group the Rays, who had a No. 3 hit with "Silhouettes" later that year (picked up from independent XYZ Records).[1] In 1958, the label had further hits with "Dinner With Drac", a novelty record by John Zacherle in the top 10, and "Mexican Hat Rock", an instrumental by the Applejacks, in the top 20.
A major factor in Cameo-Parkway's success was its relationship with the Philadelphia-based TV program American Bandstand. Being located in the same city where this popular nationally broadcast music show was produced meant that Cameo-Parkway artists were always available to perform on the show—especially in the event any other act should cancel. Host and producer Dick Clark has spoken of the "warm relationship" his program had with Cameo-Parkway, and of the label's willingness to ensure that quality musical acts were always available to the program on short notice. The label benefited tremendously from the arrangement, as the exposure many Cameo-Parkway artists received on American Bandstand helped propel them to stardom.
Around 1961, the Cameo and Parkway labels began developing some new stars. The vocal group the Dovells, which featured Len Barry as the lead singer, released "Bristol Stomp", which reached No. 2 in late 1961, followed by "Bristol Twistin' Annie," "(Do The New) Continental," "Hully Gully Baby" and other dance-related songs in 1962 and 1963. "You Can't Sit Down", a vocal version of the Phil Upchurch instrumental hit, was No. 35 in Cash Box magazine's year end-survey for 1963. The R&B quartet the Orlons released "The Wah-Watusi", which hit No. 2 in the summer of 1962. They had a few more top 20 hits, including "Don't Hang Up", "South Street", "Not Me" and "Crossfire!"
Fifteen-year-old Dee Dee Sharp had done a duet with Chubby Checker on "Slow Twistin'", and recorded her first solo single, "Mashed Potato Time", on the same day.[1] It went to No. 2 in the spring of 1962. More dance songs followed, including the follow-up "Gravy" and another dance song, "Ride!"
In the summer of 1963 the No. 1 hit "So Much in Love" by the smooth R&B group the Tymes marked the last hit from Cameo-Parkway's peak period.[1]
UK distribution
In the UK, Cameo and Parkway recordings were released first on EMI's Parlophone label, then on London Records, then on Top Rank, then on EMI's Columbia label, then briefly Pye International, before finally appearing on their own Pye-distributed Cameo-Parkway label.
Decline and shutdown
In early 1964, three near-simultaneous events sent Cameo-Parkway into a sharp decline from which it would never fully recover. The first was the move of American Bandstand from Philadelphia to Los Angeles in February. Suddenly, Cameo-Parkway's primary source of national exposure and promotion was gone. Just as devastating (as it was to many other American labels) was the second event: the onslaught of the British Invasion in 1964/1965, which dramatically changed the tastes of the American record buying public.[1] In a 2021 retrospective, Ken Barnes, analyzing the hit acts of 1963, noted that Cameo-Parkway acts were among the hardest hit by the Invasion, with most acts associated with them suffering permanent career damage; Barnes also cited the Bandstand move and the rise of Motown Records as other factors in Cameo-Parkway's downfall.[2] Cameo tried to keep pace by licensing a handful of early British beat group singles, including the first two singles by the Kinks,[1] but none made the US charts.
The third and final event was that Bernie Lowe had become increasingly disenchanted with the business side of record making and, suffering from nervous exhaustion and bouts of depression, he sold his stake in the company in 1964. Mann and Appel soon followed. By mid-1965 none of Cameo-Parkway's founding trio were associated with the label, and their biggest stars (Bobby Rydell and Chubby Checker) had also left. Cameo's new management was unable to replicate its success with artists like Jo Ann Campbell, Maynard Ferguson, Clark Terry, the instrumental group LeRoy & His Rockin' Fellers, and TV-stars-turned-singers such as Clint Eastwood and Merv Griffin.
In mid-1966, 23-year-old Neil Bogart was made the label's new head of Artists and repertoire (A&R). Turning to Midwestern garage bands and orchestrated soul productions (including the distribution of Curtis Mayfield's "Windy C" label), Bogart managed to shepherd in a brief Cameo-Parkway renaissance. The last major hits for the label were "96 Tears" by Question Mark and the Mysterians (picked up from independent Pa-Go-Go Records), which went to No. 1 in the fall of 1966,[3] a novelty remake of "Wild Thing" by comedian Bill Minkin imitating Robert F. Kennedy under the name Senator Bobby (1966), and "Beg, Borrow and Steal" by the Ohio Express (originally on the Attack label as by The Rare Breed) (1967). Bogart also signed Bob Seger to his first recording contract, and Cameo-Parkway issued Seger's first five singles, which were all huge regional hits in Michigan but failed to catch fire nationally.
In mid-1967, Cameo-Parkway entered into a short-lived distribution pact with MGM Records and released four more albums (two on Cameo, one on Parkway and one on Vando), and three more singles (one on Parkway and two on Vando). Cameo's final single, "Billy Sunshine" by Evie Sands (KC-2002), was originally released with the red and yellow "CP" label then reissued with the new MGM-designated label. For the first time both label names appeared on the record labels, although neither the Cameo or Parkway name was emphasized, and the two series continued to use separate catalog numbering systems. That suggests that a gradual merger of the two labels was in progress, but it was never completed. By late 1967, after financial problems worsened, the Cameo-Parkway company was sold to Allen Klein,[1] and renamed ABKCO Records, with Bell Records acquiring its remaining subsidiary, Vando label. Cameo Parkway Records was shut down in September 1967.[4] Bogart landed feet first at the newly formed Buddah Records, founded by former MGM Records executive Art Kass, and brought along the former Cameo Parkway promotion staff.[5]
Label variations
Cameo
1957–1960: Orange label with CAMEO and "cameo" logo, both in black, at top
1960–1966: Red and black label with CAMEO and new "gold cameo locket" logo at left side
1966–1967: Red label with broken orange circle and new CAMEO "CP" logo at top
1967 MGM distribution label: Pink and white label with CAMEO in dark blue w/pink outline and "cameo" logo inside the "O"
Cameo albums also used the above label variations, plus:
Early mono albums: Black label with silver print, same CAMEO and "cameo" logo as orange label singles
Early stereo albums: Black label with gold print, same CAMEO and "cameo" logo as orange label singles
Parkway
1958–1960: Orange label with PARKWAY in black "jumbled" letters between two lyre logos at top
1960–1966: Orange and yellow label with PARKWAY RECORDS in white letters between two lyre logos at top (Some of these labels do not include the lyres)
1966–1967: Yellow label with broken orange octagon and new PARKWAY "CP" logo at top
1967 MGM distribution label: brown label with new "Parkway" logo at top. The logo includes a large black letter "P" with white arrow inside its perimeter, resembling a highway.
Parkway albums also used all of the above label variations
Subsidiary labels
Wyncote Records was a budget label started in 1964. It released compilation albums of material by Cameo and Parkway artists as well as new albums of soundtrack and easy listening music. These records were mainly distributed in drug, book and department stores, usually through rack jobbers.
Other related labels, mostly independently owned but distributed by Cameo-Parkway, included
Audio Arts!: The first two singles were released under Cameo/Parkway before the label was sold to Amy / Mala / Bell
Chariot: At least five singles were released under Cameo/Parkway before the label was sold to Amy / Mala / Bell
Cheltenham: At least four singles released from 1965–1966
Cotton: At least three singles released in 1962
Fairmount, featuring Lonnie Youngblood: At least 27 singles have been released on this label
Ivanhoe: At least one single was distributed under Cameo/Parkway
Sentar: Owned by the families of pop group the New Colony Six (the label's only group), four singles and one album were released under Sentar's Cameo/Parkway distribution
Showplace, featuring the Yellow Payges (at least two singles distributed)
Tomorrow: Originally distributed by Atco, then by Cameo/Parkway. At least two singles were distributed under C/P
Vando: Owned by Van McCoy, five singles and one album were released under the label's C/P distribution, mostly by Chris Bartley
Winchester: Only two singles were released under this label, one by the Tymes and the other by the Spokesmen
ABKCO reissued Cameo-Parkway recordings in the early 1970s, but allowed them to fall out of print after that time. Virtually all Cameo-Parkway recordings, including all of their numerous chart hits, were officially unavailable in any format for about 30 years, from 1975 to 2005. In May 2005 ABKCO revived the Cameo-Parkway name for reissues only, and released a multi-CD box set of the labels' most notable output: Cameo-Parkway: 1957-1967. In October 2005 it began to issue various single-artist "best of" CD compilations, including Charlie Gracie, Bobby Rydell, Chubby Checker, Dee Dee Sharp, the Dovells, the Orlons, the Tymes and Question Mark & the Mysterians. A various artists CD titled Cameo-Parkway: The Greatest Hits was also issued, as well as two digital-only compilations: Holiday Hits From Cameo Parkway and Original Northern Soul Hits From Cameo Parkway.
ABKCO has also begun to license its repertoire out to other labels, allowing Universal Music Group to license some songs for its Complete Introduction to Northern Soul box set in 2008, and allowing Collectors' Choice Music to reissue several albums in 2010. Despite these reissues, many more obscure Cameo-Parkway recordings, and even a few of their lesser hits, remain unavailable.
Chubby Checker is an American singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including the Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighters' R&B song "The Twist", and the pony dance style with the 1961 cover of the song "Pony Time". His biggest UK hit, "Let's Twist Again", was released one year later ; that year, he also popularized the song "Limbo Rock", originally a previous-year instrumental hit by the Champs to which he added lyrics, and its trademark Limbo dance, as well as other dance styles such as The Fly. In September 2008, "The Twist" topped Billboard's list of the most popular singles to have appeared in the Hot 100 since its debut in 1960, an honor it maintained in an August 2013 update of the list.
MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the 1970s. The company also released soundtrack albums of the music for some of their non-musical films as well, and on rare occasions, cast albums of off-Broadway musicals such as The Fantasticks and the 1954 revival of The Threepenny Opera. In one instance, MGM Records released the highly successful soundtrack album of a film made by another studio, Columbia Pictures's Born Free (1966).
The twist is a dance that was inspired by rock and roll music. From 1959 to the early sixties it became a worldwide dance craze, enjoying immense popularity while drawing controversies from critics who felt it was too provocative. It inspired dances such as the Jerk, the Pony, the Watusi, the Mashed Potato, the Monkey, and the Funky Chicken, but none were as popular.
ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. is an American independent record label, music publisher, and film and video production company. It owns and/or administers the rights to music by Sam Cooke, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, Herman's Hermits, Marianne Faithfull, Dishwalla, the Kinks as well as the Cameo Parkway label, which includes recordings by such artists as Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, the Orlons, the Dovells, Question Mark & the Mysterians, the Tymes and Dee Dee Sharp. Until 2009, ABKCO administered Philles Records and its master recordings, including hits by the Righteous Brothers, the Ronettes, the Crystals and others. The label is infamous for its management contracts and lawsuits by its founder Allen Klein, the latter of which persisted until his death.
The Orlons are an American R&B group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that formed in 1960. The group won gold discs for three of their singles.
David Appell was an American musician, arranger and record producer born in Philadelphia.
Robert Louis Ridarelli, known by the stage name Bobby Rydell, was an American singer and actor who mainly performed rock and roll and traditional pop music. In the early 1960s, he was considered a teen idol. His most well-known songs include "Wildwood Days", "Wild One" and "Volare" ; in 1963 he appeared in the musical film Bye Bye Birdie.
Kal Mann was an American lyricist. He is best known for penning the words to Elvis Presley's "Teddy Bear", plus "Butterfly", a hit for both Charlie Gracie and Andy Williams, and "Let's Twist Again", sung by Chubby Checker, which won the 1962 Grammy Award for Best Rock & Roll Recording.
"Bristol Stomp" is a song written in 1961 by Kal Mann and Dave Appell, two executives with the Cameo-Parkway record label, for The Dovells, a doo-wop singing group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who recorded it for Cameo-Parkway late that year. Appell also produced and arranged the track and his Cameo-Parkway's house band served as the studio musicians.
Dee Dee Sharp is an American R&B singer, who began her career recording as a backing vocalist in 1961.
The Dovells were an American doo-wop group, formed at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1957, under the name 'The Brooktones'. The original members were Arnie Silver, Len Borisoff, Jerry Gross, Mike Freda, and Jim Mealey. Their first single "No, No, No" was a local hit for The Brooktones.
"The Twist" is an American pop song written and originally released in 1958 by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters as a B-side to "Teardrops on Your Letter". It was inspired by the twist dance craze. Ballard's version was a moderate hit, peaking at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960. On the US Billboard Hot R&B Sides chart, the original version of "The Twist" first peaked at number 16 in 1959 and at number six in 1960. By 1962, the record sold in excess of one million copies, becoming Ballard's fourth million seller.
Bernard Lowe was an American songwriter, record producer, arranger, pianist and bandleader.
Don't Knock the Twist is a 1962 comedy musical film starring Lang Jeffries, directed by Oscar Rudolph and produced by Sam Katzman for release by Columbia Pictures. It is a sequel to the 1961 film Twist Around the Clock, featuring musical artists including Chubby Checker.
"Kissin' Time" is a song by the American rock and roll singer Bobby Rydell. It was released in 1959 on Cameo-Parkway Records. Written by Bernie Lowe and Kal Mann, the track was Rydell's first single and it would also go on to be his first Top 20 hit.
"Forget Him" is a song written by Tony Hatch and released in 1963 by Bobby Rydell. The song spent 16 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 4 on January 18, 1964, while it spent 14 weeks on the United Kingdom's Record Retailer chart, reaching No. 13. The song also reached No. 3 on Billboard's Middle-Road Singles chart, No. 3 on Canada's CHUM Hit Parade, No. 8 on the Irish Singles Chart, and No. 2 in Hong Kong.
"The Fly" is a song written by John Madara and David White and performed by Chubby Checker. The song was produced by Kal Mann.
Bobby Rydell/Chubby Checker is a studio album by Bobby Rydell and Chubby Checker which was released in 1960.
For 'Teen Twisters Only is the fifth album by Chubby Checker and was released in 1961 by Parkway Records.
↑ Harris, Larry Alan (2009). And Party Every Day: The Inside Story Of Casablanca Records: Larry Harris, Curt Gooch, Jeff Suhs: 9780879309824: Amazon.com: Books. ISBN978-0879309824.
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