Curtom Records was a record label started by Curtis Mayfield of The Impressions along with Impressions associate Eddie Thomas (the bands manger and Jerry Butlers former driver) in 1968 although the name was used as early as 1963. The labels name was a combination of Thomas' surname (Thomas) and Mayfields first name (Curtis) .It is noted for being one of the first ever record labels owned by an African-American recording artist. It was located in Chicago's old RCA studio, acquired by Mayfield for cutting demos. Along with the Impressions' releases and Mayfield's own solo material, artists on or affiliated with Curtom included the Five Stairsteps, Donny Hathaway (principally as a songwriter/orchestration arranger), Linda Clifford, Baby Huey and the Babysitters, Leroy Hutson, The Natural Four, Bobby Whiteside, the Staple Singers, and Mavis Staples' solo efforts. Most of the acts on Curtom's roster were either produced by Mayfield himself, or heavily influenced by his style. Eddie Thomas later developed the Curtom subsidiary Thomas records. Curtis had previously made attempts at a record label with "The Mayfield" and "Windy C" labels
Philadelphia International Records -
Philadelphia International Records is a record label founded by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff in 1971. It was famous for showcasing the subgenre of Philadelphia soul, and had a distribution deal with CBS Records until 1984, when distribution of the catalog from 1976 to the present was taken over by EMI (Sony Music Entertainment continued to distribute the catalog from 1969 to 1976). In 2007, Legacy Recordings regained the rights to Philadelphia International's full catalog. Much of the music released by the label was recorded and produced at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia. More than thirty resident studio musicians, known together as MFSB "Mother Father Sister Brother", were based at this studio and backed up many of these recordings.
Blue Note Records -
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. Blue Note Records is currently owned by the EMI Group and in 2006 has been expanded to fill the function of an umbrella label group bringing together a wide variety of EMI-owned labels and imprints specializing in the growing market segment of music for adults (see History-Resurrection, below). Blue Note throughout its history has principally been associated with the "hard bop" style of jazz (mixing bebop with other forms of music including soul, blues, rhythm and blues and gospel). Horace Silver, Jimmy Smith, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Art Blakey and Grant Green were among the label's leading artists, but almost all the important musicians in postwar jazz recorded for Blue Note on occasion.
Buddah Records -
Buddah Records (now known as Buddha Records for spelling corrections of "Buddha") was founded in 1967 by promotor Neil Bogart in New York City. It released a variety of music types, including bubblegum pop like the Ohio Express, the 1910 Fruitgum Company, solo performer writer-singer Melanie, rhythm and blues artist Gladys Knight and the Pips, and rock and roller Captain Beefheart. Buddah Records distributed their own records as well as other labels such as Kama Sutra Records when they left MGM distribution, Curtom Records, (Curtis Mayfield), T-Neck Records (the Isley Brothers), Charisma Records, as well as smaller subsidiaries.[2]
