SPECIALTY RECORDS
Specialty Records was an American record label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by Art Rupe. It was known for rhythm and blues, gospel, and early rock and roll, having recorded Little Richard, Guitar Slim, Percy Mayfield, and Lloyd Price. Rupe started the company under the name Juke Box Records but changed it to Specialty when he parted company with a couple of his original partners. The record label was sold to Fantasy Records in 1991 and is now part of the Concord Music Group. The music publishing unit was sold to Sony/ATV Music Publishing. (More from Wikipedia)
An incredible album that I picked up several years ago, This is How it All Began – on Specialty Records – is not the typical compilation album, but a carefully selected series of songs that looked (and sounded) like they might have come from someone’s doctoral dissertation on the origins of rock music. I only have the disk now naturally, but I remember that it was divided into four sections, with “Gospel” being the first. The four songs that start the album are these: “It’s Getting Late in the Evening” by Chosen Gospel Singers; “By and By” by the Soul Stirrers; “Somebody Touched Me” by Prof. Alex Bradford; and “Trouble in My Way” by the Swan Silvertones.
(July 2014)
