Product Code Database
Duke Records was an American record label, started in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1952 by David James Mattis (WDIA program director and DJ) and Bill Fitzgerald, owners of Tri-State Recording Company. Their first release was Rosco Gordon singing "Hey Fat Girl", issued on Duke R-1, later amended to R-101.
Duke's leading artist was Bobby Bland who stayed with the label for many years until its demise, mostly recording successfully with arranger/bandleader Joe Scott. Johnny Ace was a major R&B artist in the early years of the label before his death at a young age, with a string of R&B top 10 hits including three that went to number one. Junior Parker was another important presence on Duke, recording a long string of singles for the label between 1953 and 1966, scoring seven top-twenty Billboard hits during his tenure.
Robey sold his labels to ABC Records on 23 May 1973. The Duke labels were soon closed down with the imprints retained by ABC in their catalog, with only Bobby Bland being retained by the new parent label.
|
|
