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21-644: In addition to the Buddah imprint, the company distributed many other independent labels, including Kama Sutra Records (after Kama Sutra cut their distribution ties with MGM in 1969), Curtom Records ( Curtis Mayfield ), T-Neck Records (the Isley Brothers ), Charisma Records ( Genesis , Monty Python ), Sussex Records ( Bill Withers ), Hot Wax Records ( Holland-Dozier-Holland post- Motown productions) and smaller subsidiaries. Kama Sutra Records helped bolster MGM Records's profits during 1965 and 1966, primarily due to

42-569: A controlling interest in Buddah in 1968 with Ripp, Steinberg and Mizrahi departing the company at this time, leaving Kass and Bogart in charge. As bubblegum music's popularity declined at the turn of the decade, Buddah branched out into gospel, folk-country, and R&B. Bogart, a master promoter, went to great lengths to generate hit singles for " top 40 " radio airplay, and got results; music industry historian Bob Hyde has estimated that, during their heyday, Buddah and its associated labels charted over 100 singles, with about one in five singles issued by

63-691: The Brut Fabergé company. Bogart left Buddah in 1974 to start his own label, Casablanca Records . Shortly before Bogart's departure, Gladys Knight & the Pips emerged as Buddah's biggest success. Previously signed to Motown Records ' Soul imprint, Knight and the Pips released their biggest hits, including " Midnight Train to Georgia " and " You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me ", for Buddah. Jazz session drummer Norman Connors became Buddah's musical director in 1976 and helped to foster

84-627: The Arista label when Buddah was bought out in 1978 and achieved a crossover to the disco scene in 1980 when he had the hit 'Take it to the Limit', which was released on 12" single. The B side, "Black Cow" (an instrumental) was written by Steely Dan 's Walter Becker and Donald Fagen . In 1988 he had a hit on Capitol Records with "I Am Your Melody" (with B-side "Samba for Maria") from his LP Passion which he produced featuring singer Spencer Harrison (1962–1994). Connors also introduced another up and coming singer on

105-541: The accompanying album of the same name. Kama Sutra's final issue came a year later, with the Fat Boys (formerly the Disco 3)'s self-titled single. Art Kass subsequently sold the label to Essex Entertainment, who managed the Buddah catalog until 1993, when they sold it to BMG . Kass formed another label, Casino Records, in partnership with former New York Dolls manager Marty Thau and concert promoter Terrell Braly , but this venture

126-539: The company charting (vs. the ratio of one chart hit to 20 singles released that most "major labels" experienced in that time period). Hit singles released by Buddah and its associated labels during 1969–1973 included: While Buddah primarily focused on singles, several of its album releases, including Brewer & Shipley's Tarkio (1970), Bill Withers' Still Bill (1972), and Curtis Mayfield's Super Fly (1972), also charted well during this period. Neil Bogart created and distributed Brut Records via Buddah Records for

147-461: The company was more of a logo and dropped most of its more famous acts. In 1980, Curtom was disbanded. At this point, the only artists attached to the label were Linda Clifford , Mayfield and Today, Tomorrow, Forever. Norman Connors Norman Connors (born March 1, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, composer, arranger, and producer who has led a number of influential jazz and R&B groups. He also achieved several big R&B hits of

168-430: The day, especially with love ballads. He is possibly best known for the 1976 hit, " You Are My Starship " on which lead vocals were sung by Michael Henderson . Connors lived in the same Philadelphia neighbourhood as comedian/actor Bill Cosby and had an interest in jazz from a very early age when he began to play drums. Whilst at elementary school, Connors was exposed to jazz extensively and became heavily influenced by

189-475: The demise of Curtom in the late 1970s: the rise of disco and the collapse of the black film market. In 1976, the company felt prosperous enough to invest in the film Short Eyes . Pruter noted that by the late 70s the label was "mostly releasing second-rate disco" and that the soundtrack to Short Eyes did poorly following the collapse of the black movies losing their audience. Curtom switched from Warner Brothers to RSO for distribution by 1979, ad this time,

210-498: The drummer Lex Humphries and the younger brother of bassist and Jazz-Messenger player, Spanky DeBrest . He first met his idol, Miles Davis , aged just 13 in 1960. He once sat in for Elvin Jones at a John Coltrane performance he attended while in middle school . Connors studied music at Temple University and Juilliard . His first recording was on Archie Shepp 's 1967 release, Magic of JuJu . He played with Pharoah Sanders for

231-593: The early 1960s before taking a VP/Sales Director position at Cameo-Parkway Records . Bogart quickly enlisted Cameo-Parkway producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz , the Ohio Express (a band signed to Kasenetz's and Katz's Super K Productions firm), and ex-Cameo artists the Five Stairsteps into the new label. Buddah's first single was "Yes, We Have No Bananas"/"The Audition" by the Mulberry Fruit Band;

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252-549: The hit songs from Mayfield's group The Impressions released by ABC Records . At the inception, Mayfield was the company principal producer and A&R person. Other staff included Johnny Pate and Donny Hathaway . Pate left in 1972. Most of the artists on Curtom did not write their own music, which lead to the studio producers such as LeRoy Hutson , Lowrell Simon , Ed Townsend , Gil Askey and Marvin Yanch and Chuck Jackson to produce and write music. The first release on Curtom

273-655: The label's first album was Safe as Milk by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band . Kass and Bogart also brought along the promotion department of Cameo-Parkway, which was shutting down. Buddah initially made its mark as a bubblegum pop music label, with Ohio Express, the 1910 Fruitgum Company and Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus . However, it was The Lemon Pipers who gave Buddah its first No. 1 hit with " Green Tambourine ", produced by Paul Leka , in February 1968. The New York-area visual aids company Viewlex purchased

294-739: The label's move toward R&B and disco (e.g., the Andrea True Connection 's "More, More, More" (1976) and Chic 's " Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah) " (1977); Chic's song charted upon its subsequent re-issue by Atlantic Records ). Viewlex declared bankruptcy in 1976 and Art Kass purchased Buddah back from them, but the debt resulted in a substantial decline in the number of new releases. Arista Records took over distribution of Buddah from 1978 to 1983, with several artists, including Norman Connors and Phyllis Hyman, switching to Arista. Buddah's final release of new product came in mid-1983, with Michael Henderson's R&B hit "Fickle" and

315-465: The next few years until signing in 1972 with jazz label, Cobblestone Records , a division of Buddah Records, and releasing his first record as a bandleader. Connors began to focus more on R&B material in the mid-1970s after signing with Buddah Records and then becoming the label's A&R manager. He scored several US hits with songs featuring guest vocalists such as Michael Henderson , Jean Carn , and Phyllis Hyman . The most successful of these

336-450: The success of Kama Sutra's flagship artists The Lovin' Spoonful . Kama Sutra's head, Art Kass, ultimately grew dissatisfied with his distribution deal with MGM and founded Buddah Records in 1967, with his Kama Sutra partners, Artie Ripp, Hy Mizrahi, Phil Steinberg, and (allegedly) Italian mobster John "Sonny" Franzese . Kass brought in 24-year-old Neil Bogart to oversee Buddah's daily operations. Bogart had been an MGM General Manager in

357-463: Was This Is My Country released in 1968. Mayfield was not involved on the business aspects of the label, and instead had manager Marv Stuart focus on those things. Stuart took over direction of the company from Eddie Thomas in 1970, and formally took charge in May 1971. Mayfield said he taught the music business to Stuart and that Stuart "through his own know-how and his own go-getting-ness, he learned. He

378-525: Was "You Are My Starship" (#4 R&B, #27 Pop), featuring Henderson in 1976, while "Valentine Love", his first chart success, made #10 R&B in 1975, with vocals from Henderson and Jean Carne . Dee Dee Bridgewater also performed with him on the jazz album "Love from the Sun". He has also produced recordings for various artists, including collaborators like Jean Carn, Phyllis Hyman, Al Johnson , Norman Brown , and saxophonist Marion Meadows . Connors switched to

399-466: Was a record label founded by Curtis Mayfield and Eddie Thomas in March 1968 as an independently distributed music label. It was located at 8541 South Stony Island Boulevard. The name of the label came from a hybrid of the names "Curtis" and "Thomas". Prior to Curtom, Mayfield had started two other labels: Windy C and Mayfield which both had closed down. The company's motto was "We're a Winner", taken from one

420-547: Was able to find weak spots in Curtom and he turned them around." In June 1968, distribution of the label was assumed by the New York-based label Buddah Records . Curtom grew enough to take over RCA Studio in 1973. In 1975, Curtom moved to Warner Brothers for distribution. By 1976, company had gross sales ranging between nine and 10 million dollars. Robert Pruter, author of the book Chicago Soul stated that two factors led to

441-913: Was not successful. Buddah, now known as Buddha Records, was re-activated by BMG in September 1998 as a reissue label, which was subsequently reorganized as BMG Heritage Records on January 1, 2002. The Buddah/Buddha catalogue is now owned by Sony Music Entertainment and managed by Legacy Recordings . Buddah distributed many labels during its history, including the following: Other Buddah subsidiaries or associated labels included Radio Active Gold (for reissue singles), Team, Super K , Royal American, Symbolic, Eleuthera, Ember, Pace, Desert Moon, Pi Kappa, Southwind, April, Thomas, Harbour, Music Merchant, National General, and Brut. The following artists released at least one recording for Buddah Records, or for one of Buddah's subsidiaries/distributed labels as noted in parentheses: Curtom Records Curtom Records

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