The story Of Malaco Records isn't much different than that of any other of the many independent R&B labels (Stax/Volt, Fame, Minit/Instant, etc) that sprang up in the early part of the 1960's.
It was started by a pair of friends (Tommy Couch, Wolf Stephenson) as an outlet for putting out music they loved. Ran on a shoestring budget. Made ends meet recording commercials/jingles,leased out master recordings. Booked bands and promoted concerts mainly on the Deep South Fraternity circuit (a very lucrative source of income for many Blues/R&B performers). Rented out studio time for custom projects.
In 1967 this Jackson, Mississippi based label using mainly local based musicians and writers, began producing master recordings and leasing them out to major labels thereby guaranteeing a much larger degree of distribution, a common practice for fledgling labels. A series of 45's and LP's were released on various labels including ABC, Bang, Mercury and Capitol where they scored a major hit with North Mississippi blues legend Fred Mc Dowell's LP "I Don't Play No R N R."
As revenue from recorded releases was minimal at best,they struggled on doing the best they could with what they had. Lady Luck lifted her skirts for them in the spring of 1970 in the guise of Wardell Quezerque (pronounced: Ka-Zur-Key) an established New Orleans producer who had formerly worked with artists like Professor Longhair, Fats Domino, Earl King and Robert "Barefootin" Parker, et al.
Struggling financially and with little to lose, Malaco struck a deal with Quezerque wherein he supplied them with artists in return for studio time and use of their session musicians. This proved to be an instant sucess for all parties involved. Two monster R&B hits came out of these early sessions. King Floyd's reggae tinged soul hit "Groove Me" (#1 R&B, #6 Pop) and Jean Knight's "Mr. Big Stuff" (#1 R&B, #2 Pop). Trying to place these tunes with Stax and Atlantic proved to be unsuccessful, so they were released on a Malaco owned subsidiary named "Chimneyville").
King Floyd scored another big hit in 1971 with "Baby Let Me Kiss You" also on the Chimneyville imprint. Bactracking a little here, following the major successes of "Mr Big Stuff" and "Groove Me" (covered by The Blues Brothers ), Stax/Volt and Atlantic records respectively picked up these discs for distribution on their own labels. Malaco was well on its way with a couple of hits under its belt and the musicians that served as the in house band being sought out for a back-up band by artists as diverse as Rufus Thomas and Paul Simon, who featured them on a few tracks on the highly successful 1973 LP "There Goes Rhymin'Simon."
Article comments
1 - ETHELLA
Where can I locate a copy of the JUKE JOINT SATURDAY NIGHT CD from Malaco. Blues
2 - HW Saxton
Ethella, You can find a copy of the CD
"Juke Joint Saturday Night" by going to:
www.malaco.com and ordering it directly
from them. This CD you want that I have
talked about is only available from
Malaco directly.Their address again is:
www.malaco.com It is a really great CD
with lots of great Blues,Soul and R & B.
This CD listed under the category of:
" As Seen On TV "
I ordered mine directly from them online
and they shipped it out immediately.
Hope this helps you out. And Have fun!
3 - Temple Stark
From two weeks ago Blogcritics' editors liked this one. It's a pick of the week. Congrats. Put the news up proudly on your site.
Here's a link to the rest of this week's picks where we say why we chose 'em.
4 - Martha Miller
We follow the artist called Rue Davis, and we would like to see something about him on your website. He is a phonominal songwriter and singer. I hear he sometimes writes for your company, is that right? He has a large group of followers. He is such a great entertainer and songwriter, and very modest about what he does.
Just give us something about this great man.