[78-L] Shootin' for Barr (was "Huh?")

[Cary Ginell]

To go one further on another of Mr. Barr's blanket statements of questionable validity, Decca didn't do too badly during the "rock era" (assuming we're just talking about the time until Elvis went into the army). They had a guy by the name of Bill Haley who sold quite a few records. Buddy Holly was on Decca and then the label's subsidiaries, Coral and Brunswick. Johnny Burnette's Rock 'n' Roll Trio, which also recorded for Coral, was one of the wildest, most incendiary groups on the planet. Then there was Capitol, which boasted acts like Gene Vincent & the Blue Caps, Tommy Sands, and Sonny James. Columbia also had Carl Perkins after his Sun career was finished. In fact, the rock 'n' roll craze was so great, it encompassed just about every label that issued popular music. They wouldn't record it if they didn't think it would sell. Rarely did rock 'n' roll records get to the top of the charts, but check out all of the rockabilly records done by RCA, Decca, Columbia, and Capitol (arguably, the four "majors") during the late '50s and you will see that RCA was not the only game in town. Maybe Mr. Barr can get his head out of Whitburn and find out what really was going on in the record industry during this time.
 
Steve, stick to Grey Gull.
 
Cary Ginell...?!
 
> From: bowiebks at isomedia.com
> To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 21:12:04 -0700
> Subject: [78-L] Huh?
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Steven C. Barr" <stevenc at interlinks.net>
> > From c.1953 on, US Columbias were issued up here on the PHILIPS label;
> > however
> > this was around the same time that Columbia's issues no longer were of any
> > interest to the young folks who kept the record industry prosperous...?! 
> > The
> > only
> > "major label" who prospered during the "rock'n'roll" era was RCA
> > Victor...and
> > that was because they wound up with Elvis Presley under contract thanks to
> > his manager...?!
> >
> > Steven C. Barr
> 
> 
> I'm not sure what Steven's concept of the "rock 'n' roll" era is, but 
> unless he thinks it ended around 1960, his statement about Columbia records 
> is wildly inaccurate.
> 
> In the 60s and 70s and later, Columbia signed many major rock bands and 
> artists, including The Animals, The Byrds, Big Brother, Mott the Hoople, 
> Blood Sweat and Tears, Chicago, Iron Maiden, Santana, Kiss, Fleetwood 
> Mac, and a guy named Bruce Springsteen.
> 
> Sort of off-topic, but Steven's statement either needed clarification or 
> refutation!
> 
> Taylor
> 
> 
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