Barclay Records

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Barclay Records ( French Disques Barclay ) was a major independent record label in France; it was founded in 1954 by Nicole and Eddie Barclay and initially operated together. In 1978 it lost its independence and became a sub-label of PolyGram.

predecessor

The Paris record label "Disques Swing" , founded in April 1937 by Charles Delaunay - one of the first discographers - specialized in jazz recordings. Eddie Barclay also made recordings for this label, such as his piano solo Péché-Mignon / Michèle Blues (recorded on June 19, 1942). Eddie Barclay, actually Édouard Ruault, took on the English-speaking name so that his interest in blues and jazz could be more effectively expressed. He initially played as a bar pianist in Pierre-Louis Guérin's nightclub Le Club . Barclay decided in February 1947 to found their own record label, which developed into direct competition with "Disques Swing". It was created under the name Blue Star .

Together with Nicole Vandenbusche - whom he married in 1949 - he tried to set up a jazz catalog for his record company Blue Star . Their first singles were recorded live in Guérin's nightclub as Eddie Barclay et son Orchester with the line- up Hubert Rostaing (clarinet), Christian Bellest (trumpet), Jack Diéval (piano) and Jerry Mengo (drums) on February 1, 1945; it was the tracks Goodnight Wherever You Are , A Lovely Day , I'll Walk Alone , Paper Dolls , Smiles and Blues for Sales .

Blue Star Records

Tyree Glenn - Billie's Bounce

The first record in the Blue Star (BS) catalog was Eddie Barclay et son Orchester ( Body and Soul / You Belong to me ; recorded on March 19, 1945; BS 1). One O'Clock Jump / Rosetta was created on March 19, 1945 with Arthur Briggs (trumpet) and André Ekyan (saxophone) . The first American jazz bands joined the new label in January 1947, including Tyree Glenn & His Orchestra ( Billies Bounce / Mad Monk BS 24, I Surrender Dear / The Hour of Parting BS 25, I Can't Get Started / Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone BS 26; all on January 13, 1947), followed by Don Byas Ree-Boppers ( Laura / Cement Mixer BS 27, Red Cross / Walking Around BS 28, How High's The Moon / Dynoma A BS 29; January 27, 1947).

By March 1947 Django Reinhardt had also made recordings for the Paris label Swing. Starting in April 1947, he created a total of six sessions for Blue Star with Reinhardt. The first session in the line- up Django Reinhardt (guitar), brother Joseph Reinhardt (guitar), Michel de Villers (alto saxophone), Willy Lockwood (bass), Eddie Bernard (piano) and Al Craig (drums) took place on April 16, 1947 in the Pathé recording studios in Paris . This was followed by a recording session on July 6, 1947 (8 tracks) in the small Technisonor studio - from which AFN Paris broadcast - consisting of his Nouveau Quintet with Nin-Nin ( Ninine Vées ; guitar), Hubert Rostaing (clarinet), Ladislas Czabanyck ( Bass) and André Jourdain (drums). In addition to the Blues for Barclay , 6 other recordings were made. The Technisonor studio was booked again on July 18, 1947 (8 titles), another date was set for October 4, 1947 (7 titles). He returned last Bluestar session took place on 10 December 1947 as a guest of Rex Stewart -Quintet place that - supplemented by Hubert Rostaing (alto saxophone) and Reinhardt (guitar) - the Cole Porter -Klassiker Night and Day and Confessin recorded . In 1948 the Barclay label catalog already comprised 200 titles.

Only after a long period of retreat was Eddie Barclay able to persuade him to make new studio recordings in 1953. On March 10, 1953, eight titles were created under the working title "Django Reinhardt et Ses Rhythmes", which jazz promoter Norman Granz published posthumously in 1954 as an LP under the title The Great Artistry of Django Reinhardt on his label "Clef" . In almost all sessions with Reinhardt, Eddie Barclay took on the role of music producer and sold the records from his scooter in Paris.

On February 9, 1953, Dizzy Gillespie gave a live concert at the Salle Pleyel in Paris , which Barclay recorded. On February 22, 1953, Dizzy was in the Parisian studio Pathé Magellan. A major performer in Blue Star's repertoire was Mary Lou Williams . She recorded the LP Mary Lou Williams & Her Rhythm (BLS 6841) in January 1954, and a second recording session followed on January 14, 1954 for the LP I Made You Love Paris (BLS 6842). With her own composition Nicole she honored Nicole Barclay.

Barclay Records

Eddie Constantine - L'homme et l'enfant

In April 1954 Nicole and Eddie Barclay founded the label Barclay Records (LC 00126), which continued the predecessor label Blue Star as a sub-label . From the Blue Star catalog, Barclay Records took over in particular the live recordings of the Dizzy Gillespie sextet from the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on March 25, 1952 and April 6, 1952 for the LP The Very Thought of You (B 820 122) .

Own productions in jazz

Barclay initially specialized in jazz recordings in LP format. On April 17, 1954, the guitarist René Thomas and his orchestra recorded 8 tracks for the LP René Thomas and his Orchestra in the Magellan recording studio in Paris , which are considered the first recordings for the Barclay catalog. However, this LP appeared numerically in the Barclay catalog with catalog no. 84030. The numerically first LP in the catalog came from trombonist Jimmy Archey with Georges Arvanitas & Michel Attenoux et son Orchester (LP Jazztime Paris , B 84001, recorded on January 27, 1955), followed by pianist René Urtreger (LP René Urtréger Joue Bud Powell , B 84003; February 24, 1955) or Lucienne Delyle (EP Lucienne Delyle , B 80004; May 23, 1955). Lionel Hampton came to Paris for his LP Lionel Hampton And His New French Sound (B 84004; with Sacha Distel / electric guitar, René Urtreger / piano; March 18, 1955), his LP Lionel Hampton and his Giants was made in Los Angeles (with Art Tatum / piano, Barney Kessel / guitar, Red Callender / bass, Buddy Rich / drums, B 3571; September 7, 1955). This was followed by in-house productions by Stéphane Grappelli et son Sextette (B 84006; April 12 and 16, 1955) and by Bernard Pfeiffer and his Saint Germain des Près Orchestra (LP Piano et rhythmes B 84008; December 12-17 , 1954).

Nicole Barclay was able to win trumpeter Chet Baker for several recordings. The LP Rondette (B 84009), produced by Nicole Barclay, was created on October 11 and 14, 1955, and on October 21, 1955, his pianist Richard Twardzik died of a heroin overdose in Paris. On October 24, 1955, Baker was again in the Parisian Studio Pathé-Magellan (LP Summertime , B 84017). Between October 25, 1955 and February 10, 1956, Baker's third and final recording session for Barclay Records took place (LP Alone Together , B 84042). Further jazz recordings were made with Bobby Jaspar (LP Memory of Dick , B 84023; December 27/29, 1955), all produced by Eddie and Nicole Barclay. The Miles Davis All Stars LP All Stars (B 84038; December 24, 1955) was created in New Jersey by Rudy Van Gelder and was adopted by Barclay Records in its own catalog.

In November 1956, the companies moved to the posh Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine . On May 23, 1957, Barclay had put together a 20-man jazz band under the name Eddie Barclay Orchestra , in which Stéphane Grappelli (violin) and Kenny Clarke (drums) played 14 titles (LP Et Voila !; B 82138); The first arranger was Quincy Jones . Since 1957 he studied composition at the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau . Nicole Barclay finally brought Quincy Jones to Paris as a music producer for Barclay Records in August 1957. One of the reasons Jones accepted the offer was his focus on composing and arranging for string instruments. He put this into practice when he arranged for Eddie Barclays 55-person orchestra. Jones arranged around 250 studio recordings for Barclay. He stayed in Paris until October 1961, when he was appointed Vice President of the United States by Barclays distributor Mercury Records .

Barclay Records sold American labels such as Verve and Mercury in France. The distribution contract with Mercury Records brought the Barclay label the 1955 Platters hit Only You (And You Alone) , which sold 1 million copies in France alone. In February 1959 Barclay Records took over the distribution rights for the entire Atlantic Records catalog. A distribution contract with Buddah Records followed in November 1967 .

Own productions chanson

Barclay also dedicated himself to French chanson , created another sub-label Riviera for it and advanced with artists such as Dalida (from 1956), Henri Salvador (1958), Charles Aznavour (1959), Brigitte Bardot (1961), Jacques Brel (1961), Françoise Hardy (1962) or Juliette Gréco (1972) to the most important independent label for the chanson. The first success was Eddie Constantine's duet with his daughter Tania at L'homme et l'enfant (B 70007), which sold a total of 200,000 times from November 1955 and took first place on the French charts for 11 weeks from December 1955 .

Dalida's debut took place on April 9, 1956 in the Paris Olympia with the French version of Stranger in Paradise ( Etrangère au Paradis ), here it was discovered by Eddie Barclay, who mostly used Raymond Lefèvre as an orchestral accompaniment for their recordings . Her debut single was Madonna / Guitare flamenco / Flamenco bleu / Mon cœur va (EP Barclay 70034; released August 28, 1956). The second single was La violetera / Gitane / Le torrent / Fado (70039). Then on February 8, 1957 came the third single Bambino / Por favor / Aime-moi / Eh! ben (70068) on the market. This recording was made with the Lefèvre orchestra in the label's new recording studio (1,800 m²) in Rue Hoche 9 in Paris , for which Eddie Barclay had hired the German sound engineer Gerhard Lehner (born January 26, 1921 in Gera, † May 13, 2005) . The record spent a total of 31 weeks as the number one hit in the French charts from April 1957 . On September 19, 1957, Dalida was the first female artist in France - and Barclay Records too - to receive the first gold record for more than 300,000 copies sold by Bambino .

More artists

Eddie Barclay is also the discoverer of Mireille Mathieu . She made her debut on November 20, 1965 at the Olympia Theater in the Palmarès des Chansons competition , where she became aware of Eddie Barclay. After she was able to sign a contract with the Olympia-Theater, she also got a recording contract with Barclay Records in December 1965 and released a live LP from her Olympic appearance in the same month (LP En Direct de l'Olympia , 80330; December 1966) . In June 1967 this LP reached number 14 in the German LP charts. From 1966 Mireille Mathieu played a few singles for the Barclay label; first single was Mon Credo (60683; March 1966), it was followed by C'Est ton nom (60684; March 1966). Mon credo developed into an immense success, which was reflected in 1.7 million copies sold and its first number one hit on the French charts . She celebrated another number one hit with Paris en colère (60761; November 1966) from the movie Brennt Paris? ( Paris brûle-t-il?; Premiere: October 26, 1966). When they released the French version of The Last Waltz ( La dernière valse ) in October 1967 (60869), Barclay Records was able to sell over 200,000 copies in France by December 1967; the simultaneously published French version by Petula Clark (at competitor Disques Vogue ; La dernière danse ) brought it to 176,000 copies. In Germany it reached number 30 on the charts ; Mathieu celebrated her great success here from 1967 onwards.

Barclay Records also acquired Léo Ferré (1962), Jean Ferrat (1964), Michel Sardou (1965), Maxime Le Forestier (1966), Nicole Rieu (1973), Claude Nougaro (1975), Bernard Lavilliers (1976), Noir Désir ( 1989), Zebda (1992), Alain Bashung (1992) or Rachid Taha (2000). The promising French rock & roll singer Johnny Hallyday was also briefly under contract with Barclay. However, when Jacques Brel moved from Philips to Barclay in 1961 and Philips threatened to file a lawsuit, Eddie Barclay had his pupil Hallyday sign a recording contract with Philips on July 19, 1961 in exchange. Beginning with the LP Les bourgeois (B 80173; March 6th, 7th, March 9th and 14th, 1962), which appeared in March 1962, Brel celebrated his great commercial successes at Barclay; It was only with Barclay that Brel had a breakthrough as a singer-songwriter . Brel tied himself to the label for life - a unique process in the music industry . The most successful LP from Barclay Records was Jacques Brels LP Brel (or Les Marquises ), which was recorded in Paris in September 1977 and after its release in November 1977 had sold over 650,000 units in France alone after just one day and a total of more than two million Times was sold. Eddie Barclay also produced the Kelly Family (LP Une famille c'est une Chanson ; 1984).

meaning

In the meantime, Barclay Records had risen to become the largest independent label in France. In May 1966, Barclay in France had a 40% share of the French pop market. In December 1969, the Barclay group had sales of $ 20 million. Barclay Records was the largest French record label after the war. As an important label, Disques Barclay was responsible for signing the big names in French chanson. The two large French independent labels Vogue and Barclay and the subsidiaries of the international labels (Pathé-Marconi / EMI, Philips, CBS) cultivated French talents that fit into the genres of chanson or variety . Pascal Nègre from the French Universal Music summarized Barclay's achievements: “Without Eddie Barclay, the French chanson would not have the importance it has today.” The music publisher “Nouvelles Editions Barclay”, founded in November 1964, was also the largest independent music publisher in France, including the original registered by My Way .

sale

When Barclay sold its label to Polygram in July 1978 at the peak of its success , it already had 350 employees. He kept a stake of 20% and remained managing director until 1983.

Discography Blue Star (selection), date of recording and catalog number in brackets

Most of the records from the Blue Star sub-label were recorded in Paris, only a few were third-party productions from the USA.

  • Christian Belleste et son Orchester ( Rockin 'the Blues , April 21, 1945; BS 9)
  • Tony Proteau et son Orchester ( Shoo Fly Pie / Blue Feeling Blues , December 2, 1946; BS 19)
  • Django Reinhardt ( For Sentimental Reasons / Blues For Barclay BS 30, Folie A Amphion / Anniversary Song BS 33, Vette / Swing 48 BS 37, Danse Norvegienne / Django's Blues BS 38; July 6, 1947)
  • Don Byas et ses rhythmes ( Stormy Weather / Riffin 'And Jivin BS 39, I Can't Explain / Humoresque BS 41, These Foolish Things / Blues For Panassie BS 45; June 12, 1947)
  • Django Reinhardt ( I'll Never Smile Again / I Love You BS 42, September Song / New York City BS 46; July 18, 1947; Insensiblement / Blues primitif BS 50; Topsy / Moppin 'the Bride BS 53, Mano (Air France ) /? BS 54, Gypsy With a Song Part 1 / Part 2 BS 55; October 4, 1947)
  • Charlie Parker / Dizzy Gillespie ( Confirmation / Diggin 'Diz BS 60, live from Carnegie Hall , September 29, 1947)
  • Charlie Parker ( Bird's Nest / Cool Blues BS 62; Los Angeles, February 19, 1947)
  • Erroll Garner (LP Play Piano Play / Frankie and Garnie , BS 63)
  • Stewart Rex & His Orchestra ( Bebop Boogie / Just Squeeze Me BS 65, Boy Meets Horn / Don't Get Around Much Anymore BS 66, December 8, 1947; I Cried For You / Feelin 'Fine BS 67, Stompin' At The Savoy / I'm The Luckiest Fool BS 68, Don't Get Around Much Anymore / Muskrat Ramble BS 69, Storyville / Cherokee BS 70, Georgia on My Mind / Run to the Corner BS 71, Let's Try It / I Didn't Know About You BS 72, December 9/10, 1947; Night And Day / Confessin BS 73, December 10, 1947)
  • Claude Bolling & His New Orleans Jazzmen ( Dipper Mouth Blues / Riverside Blues BS 88; May 1948)
  • Howard-McGhee -Sextet ( Etoile / Punkins BS 90, Big Will / Denise BS 91, Donna Lee / Prelude to Nicole BS 112, Nicole BS 118; May 18, 1948)
  • Claude Luter ( Gate Mouth / South African Blues BS 93, Snake Rag / Weary Way Blues BS 101, Sweet Lovin 'Man / Panama BS 107; June 23, 1948)
  • Graeme Bell ( Big Chief Battle Ax / Yama Blue BS 105; July 1948)
  • Charlie Parker All Stars ( Cheers / Carvin 'The Bird ; BS 109; November 24, 1950)
  • Sidney Bechet & His Orchestra ( High Society / Honeysuckle Rose BS 128, On the Sunny Side of the Street / I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me BS 129; May 16, 1949)
  • Sidney Bechet & His Feetwarmers ( Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams / It Had To Be You BS 140, Baby Won't You Please Come Home / Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone BS 142, Ooh! Boogie! / After You've Gone BS 148, I'm Going Way Down Home / Margie BS 152; November 3, 1949)
  • James Moody Quintet ( Convulsions / Oh, Well! BS 130, July 7, 1949)
  • Don Byas ( Verso / Recto BS 131; July 7, 1949)
  • Erroll Garner ( The Way You Look Tonight / Turquoise BS 144, I Can't Give You Anything But Love / Flamingo BS 149; September 1949)
  • Charlie Parker All Stars ( Crazeology / Relaxing at Camarillo BS 162; December 21, 1947)
  • Lester Young & His Band ( You're Driving me Crazy / New Lester Leaps In BS 165, September 1946)
  • Charlie Parker Quintet ( Bird of Paradise / Dexterity BS 183; October 1947)
  • Coleman Hawkins Quartet ( Imagination / Cattin 'At Keynote BS 206; New York, February 17, 1944)
  • Joe Sullivan Jazz Quartet ( Chicago Blues / Michigan Square BS 211; New York, December 9, 1945)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Dregni: Django: The Life And Music of a Gypsy Legend . Oxford University Press, 2004, ISBN 9780195167528 , pp. 234 f. (English; limited preview in Google Book Search; accessed on July 18, 2017).
  2. ↑ Michael Dregni: Django Reinhardt And The Illustrated History of Gypsy Jazz . Fulcrum Publishing, 2006, ISBN 9781933108100 , p. 127 (English; limited preview in Google Book Search; accessed July 18, 2017).
  3. ↑ Reinhardt's recordings for the Blue Star label until 1953 are on the CD Pêche à la Mouche: The Great Blue Star Sessions 1947/1953
  4. ↑ Michael Dregni: Django: The Life And Music of a Gypsy Legend . Oxford University Press, 2004, ISBN 9780195167528 , p. 235 (English; limited preview in Google Book Search; accessed July 18, 2017).
  5. ↑ Tammy Lynn Kernodle: Soul on Soul: The Life and Music of Mary Lou Williams . UPNE, 2004, ISBN 9781555536060 , p. 166 (English; limited preview in Google Book Search; accessed July 18, 2017).
  6. ↑ Quincy Jones: Q: The Authobiography of Quincy Jones . Crown / Archetype, 2002, ISBN 9780385504744 , o. S. (English; limited preview in Google Book Search; accessed on July 18, 2017).
  7. ^ Clarence Bernard Henry: Quincy Jones: His Life in Music . University Press of Mississippi, 2013, ISBN 9781617038617 , p. 19 (English; limited preview in Google Book Search; accessed July 18, 2017).
  8. ^ Philippe Carles , André Clergeat, Jean-Louis Comolli : Le nouveau dictionnaire du jazz . R. Laffont, Paris 2011 (French).
  9. ^ Atlantic in New French Tie Up . In: Billboard-Magazin , February 2, 1959, p. 2 (English; digitized version in the Google book search; accessed on July 18, 2017).
  10. ^ The Barcley Story . In: Billboard-Magazin , May 30, 1970, p. 68 (English; digitized version in the Google book search; accessed on July 18, 2017).
  11. ↑ Barclay released Dalida EPs, referred to as "Super 45"
  12. ↑ Bertrand Dicale: Les chansons qui ont tout changé . Fayard, 2011, ISBN 9782213665368 , o. S (French; limited preview in Google Book Search; accessed July 18, 2017).
  13. ↑ En Direct de l'Olympia on chartsurfer.de . Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  14. ^ Daniel Ichbiah: 50 ans des chansons Françaises . 2012, ISBN 9791091410168 , p. 1929 (French; limited preview in Google Book Search; accessed July 18, 2017).
  15. ↑ 'The Last Waltz' Chalks up it's 16th Recorded Version . In: Billboard-Magazin , December 9, 1967, p. 80 (English; limited preview in Google Book Search; accessed July 18, 2017).
  16. ^ Patrick O'Connor: Eddie Barclay . In: The Guardian , May 16, 2005. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  17. ^ The Mojo Collection: 4th Edition . Canongate Books, 2007, ISBN 9781847676436 , p. 393 (English; limited preview in Google Book Search; accessed July 18, 2017).
  18. ↑ Hot Roaster Making Barclay a pop Giant . In: Billboard-Magazin , May 28, 1966, p. 32 (English; digitized in the Google book search; accessed on July 18, 2017).
  19. ^ Barbara Lebrun: Protest Music in France . Ashgate Publishing, 2009, ISBN 9780754664727 , p. 15 (English; limited preview in Google Book Search; accessed July 18, 2017).
  20. ↑ Chris Tinker: Georges Brassens and Jacques Brel . Liverpool University Press, 2005, ISBN 9780853237587 , p. 2 (English; limited preview in Google Book Search; accessed July 18, 2017).
  21. ^ Eric Drott: Music and the Elusive Revolution (= California Studies in 20th Century Music , Volume 12). University of California Press, 2011, ISBN 9780520950085 , p. 166 (English; limited preview in Google Book Search; accessed July 18, 2017).
  22. ↑ Biz Legend Barclay Dies . In: Billboard-Magazin , May 28, 2005, p. 61 (English; digitized version in Google Book Search; accessed on July 18, 2017).
  23. ↑ They Did it Marouani's Way . In: Billboard-Magazin , May 30, 1970, p. 70 (English; limited preview in Google Book Search; accessed July 18, 2017).
  24. ↑ John Shepherd, David Horn, Peter Wicke, Dave Laing, Paul Oliver: Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: Media , Volume 1. A&C Black, 2003, ISBN 9780826463210 , p. 690 (English; limited preview in Google Book search; accessed July 18, 2017).