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Nov 16 2008

Music and Records From Classic Recording Studios: Beltone

Posted by: Fusion 45 in Classic Recording Studios, tags: , ,

Beltone Recording, New York City

Opened in the 1940’s as a commercial and jingle house, Beltone Recording became a hotspot for King Records artists like James Brown, who were passing through town starting in the early 1950’s. Later, it became a division of Beltone Records, which was in turn distributed by King out of Cincinnati.

Figuring it could be a hitmaker for his own artists, owner Les Cahan hired Joe Rene as his A and R man and started producing his own hits. Among them, Bobby Lewis‘ Tossin’ and Turnin’ and the brilliant Kansas City by Wilbert Harrison.

James Brown - Try Me

Bobby Lewis - Tossin’ And Turnin’

Wilbert Harrison - Kansas City

Artwork: Train Time, Kansas City (Watercolor, 14.5″ x 22″) by Nicholas Muff via Art Exchange

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 16th, 2008 at 9:27 pm and is filed under Classic Recording Studios. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “Music and Records From Classic Recording Studios: Beltone”
  1. whiteray says: November 17th, 2008 at 3:48 pm

    Another great entry in a great series. Wilbert’s “Kansas City” is one of my all-time faves!

  2. Fusion 45 says: November 17th, 2008 at 4:26 pm

    I have to agree…there are a million songs like this, in straight I-IV-V blues form…but there’s a warmth and innocence to his voice that makes this record unique above most.

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