Monday, December 12, 2011

Ahmet Ertegun on Buffalo Springfield


Am reading, The Last Sultan, a biography of Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, by Robert Greenfield.  Above is a photo I took, and cropped, of the back of a Buffalo Springfield album.  ATCO is a division of Atlantic Records.  Here is a bit more on this label:  "Atco Records was founded in 1955 as a division of Atlantic Records. It was devised as an outlet for productions by one of Atlantic's founders, Herb Abramson, who had returned to the company from military service. It was also intended as a home for acts that did not fit the format of Atlantic, which at the time was only releasing blues, jazz, and R&B/soul. The Atco name is simply an abbreviation of ATlantic COrporation.  Atco's biggest acts during its early years were Bobby Darin and The Coasters.  In the early 1960s Atlantic began to license material from international sources for release on Atco, leading to instrumental hit singles from such acts as Jorgen Ingmann, Acker Bilk and Bent Fabric. Starting in the mid-1960s, Atco became a force on the burgeoning rock scene, with American acts such as Sonny and Cher, Buffalo Springfield and Vanilla Fudge. A relationship with manager Robert Stigwood brought The Bee Gees and Cream to the label.  In 1964 Atco released a single in the United States by The Beatles, "Ain't She Sweet"; (flip side "Nobody's Child," with lead singer Tony Sheridan), which had been recorded inHamburg in 1961. With lead vocals by John Lennon, "Ain't She Sweet" reached #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in August 1964. Atco also released an album entitled Ain't She Sweet which featured the other two tracks by Sheridan and the Beatles from the Hamburg session and filled out by eight other songs (Beatles and other British Invasion numbers) covered by The Swallows."

2 comments:

  1. "For What it's Worth" could be an anthem for many protests beyond those that generated it. But hearing it anytime helps one keep a clear focus of what's important! So Atco was more than just a company, they supported an open, expressive spirit!
    Spencer

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  2. That would be MISTER Acker Bilk!

    ReplyDelete

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