TK Recordswas an Americanindependent record labelfounded by record distributorHenry StoneandSteve Alaimoin 1972.[1]and based inHialeah, Florida.[2]The record label went bankrupt in 1981.[1]
| TK Records | |
|---|---|
| Parent company | Henry Stone Music |
| Founded | 1972 |
| Founder | Henry Stone&Steve Alaimo |
| Defunct | 1981 |
| Distributor(s) | Henry Stone Music Rhino Entertainment/Parlophone(since 2013; Sunnyview catalog) |
| Genre | Various |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
| Location | Hialeah, Florida |
"TK" was inspired by the initials of sound engineer Terry Kane, who built a recording studio in the attic of Stone's office in Hialeah.[3]
TK Records is closely associated with the early rise ofdiscomusic, having in 1974 been the label that released the second bona fide disco song (afterThe Hues Corporation's "Rock The Boat") to reach No. 1 on thepop musiccharts, namely "Rock Your Baby"byGeorge McCrae.[citation needed]A little more than a year after McCrae's hit, the record label struck gold withKC & The Sunshine Band,releasing five singles that reached No. 1 on theBillboardHot 100:including "Get Down Tonight","That's the Way (I Like It)","(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty","I'm Your Boogie Man",and"Please Don't Go".The KC & The Sunshine Band single"Keep It Comin' Love"reached No. 1 on Billboard's erstwhileHot Soul Singleschart and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
TK had numerous subsidiary labels, which included Cat Records, Drive Records,Wolf Records,and Bold Records. At one point, they had established a gospel label named Gospel Roots.[4]Artists signed to TK Records and its subsidiaries includedBetty Wright,Clarence Reid a.k.a. Blowfly,The Beginning of the End(Alston);Timmy Thomas,Benny Latimore(Glades);Peter Brown(Drive);Foxy,Kracker,T-Connection(Dash);Jimmy "Bo" Horne(Sunshine Sound);Little Beaver,Gwen McCrae(Cat);Bobby Caldwell(Clouds); andAnita Ward(Juana).
In 1980, TK Records encountered financial problems and the label was acquired byMorris Levy'sRoulette Records;a merger of the two labels created Sunnyview Records, which had success with the electro hip hop groupNewcleus.[5]The last single to be released on TK Records was"Weird Al" Yankovic's "Another One Rides the Bus"(1981), based on Queen's song"Another One Bites the Dust".In 1986, Henry Stone formed Hot Productions with Paul Klein and continued to re-release the TK Records catalog on CD until Sunnyview's acquisition byEMI-Rhinoin 1989.[5]Rhino owns the North American rights to the Sunnyview/TK catalog; internationally, the catalog was managed by EMI until 2013,[5]when Rhino's newly acquired sister labelParlophonetook over afterWarner Music Group's purchase of the remaining EMI assets.
On October 12, 2013, Henry Stone received a proclamation from Hialeah's then-mayor,Carlos Hernandez,declaring it TK Records Day every year on October 12.[6][citation needed]
Wolf Records (subsidiary)
editWolf Recordswas a jazz subsidiary that released only three albums, each produced byJoel Dorn:
- 1976:Encourage the People–Robin Kenyatta
- 1977:After the Dance–Harold Vick
- 1978:Innocence–Kenny Barron
There is a present-dayAustrianrecord label of the same name that was founded in 1982 and specializes in releasingbluesmusic.[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ab"Henry Stone, Co-Founder of TK Records, Dies at 93".The Hollywood Reporter.Associated Press. 10 August 2014.Archivedfrom the original on 11 October 2016.Retrieved15 July2016.
- ^Cohen, Howard (8 August 2016)."Founder of the 'Miami Sound,' TK Records' Henry Stone dies at 93".Miami Herald.Archivedfrom the original on 23 June 2016.Retrieved15 July2016.
- ^"Henry Stone".DiscoMusic.Retrieved10 January2015.
- ^"- YouTube".YouTube.
- ^abc"Sunnyview".Discogs.Retrieved17 July2016.
- ^Stone, Henry (March 21, 2024)."October 12th Is TK Records Day In Hialeah".Henry Stone Music.RetrievedMarch 21,2024.
- ^"Wolf Records > Wolf Story".Wolfrec.RetrievedDecember 14,2011.
External links
edit- The TK Records Story from BSN Pubs
- TK Recordsdiscography atDiscogs