Philles Records
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| Philles Records | |
|---|---|
| Parent company | EMI Music Publishing (Sony Music Publishing) |
| Founded | 1961 |
| Founder | Phil Spector, Lester Sill |
| Defunct | 1969 |
| Status | Defunct |
| Distributor(s) | Legacy Recordings |
| Genre | Pop, R&B, Blue-eyed soul |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | Los Angeles, California |
Philles Records was an American record label formed in 1961 by Phil Spector and Lester Sill, the label taking its name from a hybrid of their first names. Initially, the label was distributed by Jamie/Guyden in Philadelphia.[a] In 1962, Spector purchased Sill's stock to become sole owner at 21 years of age, America's youngest label chief at the time.
Founding and background
[edit]The label issued 12 albums over the course of its existence, but with the exception of A Christmas Gift for You, the focus was always on the single. However, Philles X-125 is a reissue of Philles 119, and X-125 exists with two different B-side tracks, as "Winter Wonderland" (1964) and "Winter Blues" (1965) were substituted for the original flipside, "Harry and Milt Meet Hal B" (1963). "Harry and Milt" and many other flipsides were deliberately undistinguished instrumentals, which were intended to focus attention on the A-sides.[1] These B-sides were originally credited to the A-side artists, but later pieces were credited to the Phil Spector Group. Also, most discographies, including the one in the Back to Mono booklet, list two items with catalogue number Philles 123. "Stumble And Fall" by Darlene Love was released and then withdrawn (both stock and promos exist) in August 1964 (according to Billboard magazine). Its number was replaced with "Walking in the Rain" by The Ronettes, which came out that October. Philles 111 also has two B-sides: "My Heart Beat a Little Bit Faster" and "Playing for Keeps." The last few singles (134, 135, and 136) received much less airplay than their predecessors. Although singles 134 and 135 were "charted" by Billboard, single 136 did not—although both promo and regular stock copies exist. The promotion-only single "(Let's Dance) The Screw" by The Crystals is known only in the form of a handful of promotional copies and one stock copy.
After the chart failures of the last few singles, Phil Spector stopped producing and releasing new records on Philles. In the summer of 1966, he signed Bob Crewe and Jeff Barry to produce The Ronettes and Ike & Tina Turner.[2][3] The label effectively ceased operations in 1967, and Spector did not return to production work for another two years.[4][5] There was one more Philles record, The Phil Spector Spectacular. It was released only to radio stations in 1972, along with a letter from Phil.[6] The Philles catalog is now administered by Sony Music Publishing, which acquired the catalogue when it bought EMI Music Publishing, with Sony Music's Legacy Recordings imprint handling distribution rights for the Philles catalog through a new licensing deal which was finalized in September 2009.[7] Prior to this deal, the Philles reissues were handled by ABKCO Records.
Production
[edit]The singles were produced by Spector, with five and one half exceptions: Philles 101, 103, and 104 were produced by Lester Sill prior to his departure from the company; Philles 133 by Jeff Barry; Philles 134 by Bob Crewe; and the B-side of Philles 136 was produced by Ike Turner. For years, The Righteous Brothers' Bill Medley has insisted that he produced "Unchained Melody" (Philles 129) but that has never been confirmed: as an album track for Just Once in My Life, Spector delegated production of such tracks to Medley. As the B-side to "Hung On You", early presses did not specify its producer on the label – Spector usually produced throwaway instrumentals on the B-side to focus on the A-side. When the track boomed in popularity, Spector eventually opted to claim credit in later presses.
Of the non-Spector productions, only "I Can Hear Music" charted and it rose no higher than 100th place. Every one of Spector's productions made the charts in the U.S., with the exceptions of Philles 136, one of the two Philles 123's, the withdrawn Philles 105, and the holiday single both times. Eighteen Philles records made the Top 40, the label topping the charts twice with Philles 106 in 1962, and again with Philles 124 in 1965.
Notable artists
[edit]- The Crystals
- Darlene Love
- Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans
- The Ronettes
- The Righteous Brothers
- Ike & Tina Turner
Singles discography
[edit]| Catalogue | Release Date | Hot 100 | Song Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philles 100 | 10/61 | #20 | There's No Other (Like My Baby) | Phil Spector and Leroy Bates | The Crystals | 2:31 |
| Philles 101 | 3/62 | Here I Stand | Tony Mottola | Joel Scott | ||
| Philles 102 | 3/62 | #13 | Uptown | Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann | The Crystals | 2:19 |
| Philles 103 | /62 | Malagueña | Ernesto Lecuona | Ali Hassan | ||
| Philles 104 | 6/62 | Lt. Colonel Bogey's Parade | Lester Sill | Steve Douglas and His Merry Men | ||
| Philles 105 | 7/62 | withdrawn | He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss) | Gerry Goffin and Carole King | The Crystals | 2:32 |
| Philles 106 | 9/62 | #1 | He's A Rebel | Gene Pitney | The Crystals | 2:25 |
| Philles 107 | 10/62 | #8 | Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah | Ray Gilbert and Allie Wrubel | Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans | 2:49 |
| Philles 108 | 1/63 | #43 | Puddin' N' Tain | Gary Pipkin, Alonzo Willis, Brice Coefield | The Alley Cats | 2:48 |
| Philles 109 | 12/62 | #11 | He's Sure the Boy I Love | Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil | The Crystals | 2:44 |
| Philles 110 | 1/63 | #38 | Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Hearts | Ellie Greenwich, Tony Powers, Phil Spector | Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans | 2:48 |
| Philles 111 | Early 63 | special use only | (Let's Dance) The Screw, Part 1 | Spector | The Crystals | |
| Philles 111 | 4/63 | #39 | (Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry | Greenwich, Powers, Spector | Darlene Love | 2:48 |
| Philles 112 | 4/63 | #3 | Da Doo Ron Ron | Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, Phil Spector | The Crystals | 2:17 |
| Philles 113 | 5/63 | #63 | Not Too Young to Get Married | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans | 2:27 |
| Philles 114 | 7/63 | #26 | Wait ‘til My Bobby Gets Home | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | Darlene Love | 2:23 |
| Philles 115 | 8/63 | #6 | Then He Kissed Me | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | The Crystals | 2:37 |
| Philles 116 | 8/63 | #2 | Be My Baby | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | The Ronettes | 2:40 |
| Philles 117 | 10/63 | #53 | A Fine Fine Boy | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | Darlene Love | 2:46 |
| Philles 118 | 12/63 | #24 | Baby, I Love You | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | The Ronettes | 2:50 |
| Philles 119 | 11/63 | Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | Darlene Love | 2:45 | |
| Philles 119x | 1/64 | #92 | Little Boy | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | The Crystals | 2:59 |
| Philles 120 | 4/64 | #39 | The Best Part of Breakin' Up | Vini Poncia, Pete Andreoli, Phil Spector | The Ronettes | 3:02 |
| Philles 121 | 6/64 | #34 | Do I Love You? | Poncia, Andreoli, Spector | The Ronettes | 2:50 |
| Philles 122 | 7/64 | #98 | All Grown Up | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | The Crystals | 2:49 |
| Philles 123 | 8/64 | withdrawn | Stumble And Fall | Poncia, Andreoli, Spector | Darlene Love | 2:22 |
| Philles 123 | 10/17/64 | #23 | Walking in the Rain | Weil, Mann, Spector | The Ronettes | 3:16 |
| Philles 124 | 11/64 | #1 | You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' | Weil, Mann, Spector | The Righteous Brothers | 3:46 |
| Philles X-125 | 12/64 | Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | Darlene Love | 2:45 | |
| Philles 126 | 2/65 | #52 | Born to Be Together | Weil, Mann, Spector | The Ronettes | 2:57 |
| Philles 127 | 4/65 | #9 | Just Once in My Life | Goffin, King, Spector | The Righteous Brothers | 3:56 |
| Philles 128 | 5/65 | #75 | Is This What I Get for Loving You? | Goffin, King, Spector | The Ronettes | 3:21 |
| Philles 129 | 7/65 | #4 | Unchained Melody (originally B side to "Hung On You") | Hy Zaret and Alex North / "Hung on You" by Gerry Goffin, Carole King and Phil Spector | The Righteous Brothers | 3:37 |
| Philles 130 | 11/65 | #5 | Ebb Tide | Carl Sigman and Robert Maxwell | The Righteous Brothers | 2:48 |
| Philles 131 | 5/66 | #88 | River Deep – Mountain High | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | Ike and Tina Turner | 3:40 |
| Philles 132 | 10/66 | #118 | White Cliffs of Dover | Walter Kent and Nat Burton | The Righteous Brothers | 2:20 |
| Philles 133 | 10/66 | #100 | I Can Hear Music | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | The Ronettes | 3:00 |
| Philles 134 | 10/66 | Two to Tango | Dick Manning, Al Hoffman | Ike and Tina Turner | 2:45 | |
| Philles 135 | 5/67 | #114 | I'll Never Need More Than This | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | Ike and Tina Turner | 3:27 |
| Philles 136 | 8/67 | A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knockin' Everyday) | Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland | Ike and Tina Turner | 2:57 |
Albums discography
[edit]| Catalogue | Release Date | Chart Peak | Album Title | Artist | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHLP-4000 | 8/62 | Twist Uptown | The Crystals | ||
| PHLP-4001 | 2/63 | #131 | He's a Rebel | The Crystals | |
| PHLP-4002 | 2/63 | Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah | Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans | ||
| PHLP-4003 | 7/63 | Sing the Greatest Hits, Vol. I | The Crystals | ||
| PHLP-4004 | 10/63 | Philles Records Present Today's Hits | Various Artists | ||
| PHLP-4005 | 11/22/63 | #13 | A Christmas Gift for You | Various Artists | 34:12 |
| PHLP-4006 | 11/64 | #96 | Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes featuring Veronica | The Ronettes | |
| PHLP-4007 | 1/65 | #4 | You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' | The Righteous Brothers | |
| PHLP-4008 | 6/65 | #9 | Just Once in My Life | The Righteous Brothers | |
| PHLP-4009 | 12/65 | #16 | Back to Back | The Righteous Brothers | |
| PHLP-4010 | 1/66 | Lenny Bruce Is Out Again | Lenny Bruce | ||
| PHLP-4011[b] | 9/66 | unissued | River Deep - Mountain High | Ike and Tina Turner | |
| PHLP-100 | 1972 | DJ only | The Phil Spector Spectacular | Various Artists |
Albums 4007, 4008, and 4009 were issued simultaneously in stereo with an ST- prefix. The Monarch job number for ST-4006 indicates that the stereo release of this album came in July 1966. Album 4000 was released in mono only in 1962. It was released through the Capitol Record Club in both mono and rechanneled stereo. Based on the catalog number of the record club issue, that release was in late 1966.
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ Jamie labels used an unusual and distinctive matrix number system, consisting of a code representing the artist followed by the number of the artist's recording. For example "TCY" was short for "The Crystals" on Philles. "DE" was short for "Duane Eddy" on Jamie. Sometimes Philles matrix numbers had a P or PH prefix.
- ^ Only a few copies of the album were pressed, and covers never made, before it was canceled by Philles. This LP was released with slightly different content on A&M Records in 1969. Only a few copies of LP-4011 were pressed, and covers never printed, before it was canceled by Philles. By popular demand, Phil Spector released the album in the United Kingdom, with liner notes written by Decca's promotion man, Tony Hall. Hall included a quote from Spector reading, "We can only assume that England is more appreciative of talent and exciting music than the U.S.."
References
[edit]- ^ "These B-sides were created to ensure that the focus would be 100 percent top deck." Richard Williams, Phil Spector: Out of His Head, 2009 (unnumbered page).
- ^ "Spector Sets Prod. Deals With Jeff Barry & Bob Crewe" (PDF). Cash Box: 7, 48. August 13, 1966.
- ^ "Barry, Crewe Ink" (PDF). Record World: 4. August 6, 1966.
- ^ Billboard, March 11, 1967, p. 29 -- attributing Spector's leaving the business to the failure of "River Deep, Mountain High"
- ^ For Phil's return on A&M, see Billboard, March 11, 1969, p. 30, announcing two new singles.
- ^ "VARIOUS ARTISTS - The Phil Spector Spectacular".
- ^ "Sony Music Entertainment and EMI Music Publishing Strike Historic New Licensing Deal To... - NEW YORK, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/". Prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
