And you know what’s going through my mind. Z Z HILL: (Singing) She said your party’s jumping and everybody’s having a good time. Hill sparks the soul revival with the bestselling hit “Down Home Blues” that takes over Southern radio in 1982. Disco, funk and then hip-hop have taken over the Black music market, their anachronisms, their has-beens. My whole world turns misty blue.īOWMAN: Second period takes shape in the early ’80s, where they become the home for soul artists who are considered to be past their prime. They have one massive hit on their own label, Dorothy Moore’s “Misty Blue.” That saved them from bankruptcy at one point.ĭOROTHY MOORE: (Singing) Oh, I can’t forget you. Again, Rob Bowman.īOWMAN: The first 15 years, you can say, they’re stumbling around, but in the process, they hit a few records like “Groove Me” by King Floyd, “Mr. KAHN: The secret to Malaco’s longevity is the label’s willingness to change and adapt. KING FLOYD: (Singing) You make me feel good inside. We knew we had somewhat of a white audience for some of the soul and blues stuff but found out that not a whole lot of folks were making this kind of record for those Black buyers, mostly Black women. WOLF STEPHENSON: We started out with soul and blues artists because that’s the kind of music we loved. Here’s Malaco co-founder Wolf Stephensen.
#The last soul company malaco license
KAHN: At first, the three founders intend to produce and license recordings to other record companies.
LASHUN PACE: (Singing) I said that I know I’ve been changed. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “I KNOW I’VE BEEN CHANGED”) It’s also the largest Black gospel company in the world – bar none. Bowman has now written a history of the Malaco label, an independent record company still in business and still owned and operated by its original founders.īOWMAN: It is one of the longest running independent record label in American music history, longer than Motown, Stax, Atlantic, Chess – all of them. KAHN: Rob Bowman is a music historian known for his definitive account of another great Southern soul label, Stax Records. There should be no important record company in Jackson, Miss. ROB BOWMAN: It’s a story that, by right, never should have happened. It’s called “The Last Soul Company: The Malaco Records Story.” Here’s Ashley Kahn.ĪSHLEY KAHN, BYLINE: In 1967, three white men who fell in love with Black music, Tommy Couch, Mitchell Malouf and Wolf Stephenson, opened a recording studio in their hometown of Jackson, Miss. KING: A new book about Malaco comes out today. THE MISSISSIPPI MASS CHOIR: (Singing) He’ll carry you. KING: And these days, Malaco is a powerhouse of gospel music. KING: In the ’80s, Malaco shifted to a hybrid of blues and soul.īOBBY BLUE BLAND: (Singing) ‘Cause it’s members only tonight. Malaco Records is one of the oldest independent record labels in this country. ~~~ LISTEN TO THE NPR INTERVIEW WITH ROB BOWMAN ~~~ A new book chronicles the history of Malaco Records, the oldest continuously run independent record label in America, and one of the biggest gospel labels in the world.
0 kommentar(er)
