Congress Records
Congress Records was a North American record label that released pop music under various owners between 1962 and 1970 .
history
Record label 1962 
Record label 1963 
Record label 1969
In January 1962, the Canadian Neil Galligan and the American musician Bob Davie founded the record company Congress Records. Galligan was previously the general manager of the Canadian-American record company , and Davie had a worldwide hit with his composition The Green Door . Gerry Granaham was hired as artistic manager. Offices were opened in both New York and Winnipeg , Canada . Canadian-American took over the Caprice label as a subsidiary. The performers Linda Scott and James Ray also moved from Canadian-American to Congress. Scott had previously released two top 10 hits with their old company, Ray had two top 50 titles with Caprice until the move. While Ray was unable to build on his successes at Congress, Linda Scott became the driving force behind the new company. Her first Congress title Yessiree , at the same time the first Congress single from 1962 with catalog number 101, was placed on the Billboard Hot 100 and rose to number 60. Her follow-up titles Never In A Million Years (56th) and I Left My Heart in the Balcony (74th) also found their way into the Hot 100.
Scott's singles remained the only sales successes until September 1962, too little to exist as an independent label. In June 1963, Congress Records was sold to the New York record company Kapp Records . Congress became a sub-label, Galligan became a sales manager, and Davie became a production division. The single cataloging was completed with the number 111 and continued with numbers 200. The previous stars Scott and Ray started unsuccessfully with the numbers 200 and 201. Success did not return until no. 208, Shirley Ellis , the new hopeful at Congress, brought Congress back to the Hot 100 after an eleven-month break in January 1964 with her title What the Nitty Gritty Is most successful congress single. With The Name Game , Ellis came in 3rd place in 1965, the best result in the history of the Congress label, and with The Clapping Song , another top 10 hit followed in the same year in 8th place. In addition to her, who placed four times in the Hot 100, this was only achieved once by the British group The Dave Clark Five , who reached number 53 with the song I Knew It All the Time in June 1964.
Once again it was not enough to be financially successful. Since the same was true for the parent company Kapp, David Kapp sold his empire in 1967 to the Chicago music company MCA . While the Kapp label was retained, MCA initially stopped production at the Congress. It was not until 1969 that the Congress label was revived and now appeared with the addition of "a Division of MCA Inc." The catalog numbers now began with 6000, and the first single with the title Smile A Little Smile For Me was sung by the British band The Flying Machine became a success. The title rose to number five in the Hot 100. Apart from a second Flying Machine title Baby Make It Soon (87th) and the Elton John title Border Song (92nd), no other Congress singles made it to the Hot 100. Elton John's Border Song (catalog number 6022) was definitely the last Congress single.
Between 1962 and 1970, about 210 singles were released under the Congress label, 13 of which were listed on the Billboard Hot 100. Between 1962 and 1965 three vinyl long-playing records were released (see under discography).
Listings on Billboard Hot 100
| year | title | Interpreter | Cat.No. | rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Yessiree | Linda Scott | 101 | 60. |
| 1962 | Never in a Million Years | Linda Scott | 103 | 56. |
| 1962 | I Left My Heart in the Balcony | Linda Scott | 106 | 74. |
| 1964 | The nitty gritty | Shirley Ellis | 202 | 8th. |
| 1964 | Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed | Linda Scott | 204 | 100. |
| 1964 | What the Nitty Gritty Is | Shirley Ellis | 208 | 72. |
| 1964 | I know it all the time | The Dave Clark Five | 212 | 53. |
| 1965 | The Name Game | Shirley Ellis | 230 | 3. |
| 1965 | The clapping song | Shirley Ellis | 234 | 8th. |
| 1965 | The Puzzle Song | Shirley Ellis | 238 | 78. |
| 1969 | Smile A Little Smile For Me | The Flying Machine | 6000 | 5. |
| 1970 | Baby Make It Soon | The Flying Machine | 6012 | 87. |
| 1970 | Border song | Elton John | 6022 | 92. |
LP discography
- Linda - Linda Scott (CGL 3001 / CGS 3001, 1962)
- Track: I Wonder, I Wonder, I Wonder - Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter - Never In A Million Years - I'll Walk Alone / Yessiree - The Lovliest Night Of The Year - Goody Goody - To Each His Own / The Things I Love - Through The Summer - Why Do Fools Fall In Love - Yours
- Shirley Ellis in Action (CGL 3002 / CGS 3002, 1964)
- Track: Such A Night - Bring It On Home To Me - The Nitty Gritty - CC Rider / Takin 'Care Of Business - Don't Let Go - Stagger Lee / Stardust - Shy One - Kansas City - Get Out - (That's) What The Nitty Gritty Is
- The Name Game - Shirley Ellis (CGL 3003 / CGS 3003, 1965)
- Track: The Name Game - Don't Let Go / Kansas City - Shy One / Stardust - The Nitty Gritty - Such A Night - CC Rider - I Will Never Forget - Stagger Lee - Whisper To Me Wind - Bring It On Home To Me
literature
- US magazine Billboard , years 1962 to 1970