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105-645: George Allen " Buddy " Miles Jr. (September 5, 1947 – February 26, 2008) was an American composer, drummer, guitarist, vocalist and producer. He was a founding member of the Electric Flag (1967), a member of Jimi Hendrix 's Band of Gypsys (1969–1970), founder and leader of the Buddy Miles Express and later, the Buddy Miles Band. Miles also played and recorded with Carlos Santana , John McLaughlin , and others. He also sang lead vocals on

210-512: A BAFTA Award for best original soundtrack the following year. Yundi's recording of three Beethoven sonatas went platinum in his native China. The label also released Andreas Ottensamer 's debut "Portraits", and the label debut of Brooklyn Rider "A Walking Fire". Milos Karadaglic's "Latino Gold" topped the UK classical charts and entered the pop charts. Banjo soloist and 15-time Grammy Award winner Bela Fleck 's concerto for banjo and orchestra "The Impostor"

315-399: A bonus CD containing an interview with Wilma Cozart Fine, and a deluxe booklet detailing the history of Mercury Living Presence. The CD set was issued worldwide and was sold by major retailers. A limited-edition six-LP box set was also issued. The CD set brings back into print dozens of titles that had not been available as manufactured CDs since the early 2000s. In 2013, Decca Classics issued

420-554: A chart placement on the R&;B charts when it was issued as a 7" single. Another track, "I'm Just A Kiss Away", was a huge dance hit amongst followers of the UK "rare groove." Miles was signed by the record label, Casablanca Records . Miles' work for the label included the album released under his own name, Bicentennial Gathering of the Tribes (1976). The album's liner notes a quote from President John F. Kennedy concerning American Indians. In

525-695: A distinctive and fresh perspective to classical music. In its first year, artist signings to the label included Icelandic neoclassical composer Olafur Arnalds , New York-based string quartet Brooklyn Rider , Chinese pianist Yundi , and Austrian clarinetist and Berlin Philharmonic soloist Andreas Ottensamer . The label also oversees the recording career of Montenegrin classical guitarist Milos Karadaglic , and has an ongoing partnership with Tori Amos , which dates back to her work with Buhr on her classically inspired Night of Hunters album for Deutsche Grammophon in 2011. Following Buhr's longstanding relationship with

630-487: A division of PolyGram K.K. (now Universal Music Japan ). In 1995, it was relaunched as Mercury Music Entertainment. It later merged with Kitty Records in 2000 and became Kitty MME. Half of it was merged into the Universal J label in 2002, the other half became known as Universal Sigma in 2004. Its artist roster included Seiko Matsuda , Yūji Oda , Delta, ZIGGY, Kinniku Shōjo Tai , and Takashi Sorimachi . After 13 years,

735-572: A featured oboe player in the late 1940s for Mercury). The first record in this new Mercury Olympian Series was Pictures at an Exhibition performed by Rafael Kubelík and the Chicago Symphony . The group that became the best known using this technique was the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra , which, under the leadership of conductor Antal Doráti , made a series of classical albums that were well reviewed and sold briskly, including

840-423: A group of his own that would feature what he called "American music." He was inspired not only by the big band blues of B.B. King , T-Bone Walker , and Guitar Slim (Eddie Jones), but also by the contemporary soul sounds of Otis Redding , Steve Cropper , Booker T. & the M.G.'s , and other Stax recording artists. He also drew inspiration from traditional country , gospel , and blues forms. Initially called

945-647: A halfway house in Oakland, California, Miles commuted almost daily to San Rafael to collaborate with a handful of musicians and songwriters at the Ice House Studios. Collaborators included Producer Jim Gaines, Pat Craig and Dave Carlson from The Tazmanian Devils, David Jenkins from Pablo Cruise, Bill Craig, Tony Saunders ( Merl Saunders ' son) and Drew Youngs. The project soon moved to the Record Plant in Sausalito , where

1050-532: A label), hence those labels control US rights to these works (in the case of The Who, they had been on US Decca Records and MCA Records in the past, their prebreakup catalogue is now on Geffen Records in North America). Mercury Classics was relaunched in 2012 as an international classical label by UMGI, appointing musicologist and record executive Dr. Alexander Buhr as managing director. The label aims to identify and work with strong creative individuals who bring

1155-674: A merger with a competitor, consolidated all of its Nashville operations under the Mercury name. Mercury Nashville took over management of all of PolyGram's country back catalog from sister labels such as Polydor (including releases once issued by MGM Records), A&M , and the small country back catalog of Motown Records (Motown released these albums under subsidiary labels). All country artists under contract to other PolyGram labels either moved to Mercury or were dropped altogether. Today, Mercury Nashville continues to be an active imprint under Universal Music Group Nashville, where it continues to manage

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1260-560: A modified Westrex mixer. For the original LPs, the mixer directly fed the custom cutting chain. At Fine Recording in New York City, the Westrex cutter head on a Scully lathe was fed by modified McIntosh 200W tube amplifiers with very little feedback in the system. Older mono records were made with a Miller cutter head. The original LP releases of the classical recordings continued through 1968. The Mercury classical-music catalogue (including

1365-709: A new band toured the California coast, and the Chitlin' Circuit in the U.S. south before disbanding in early 1989. While residing in Chicago in 1990, Miles, along with guitarists Kevon Smith and Joe Thomas, formed MST. They recorded Hell and Back in 1994, and toured the US and Europe until 1997. They were also featured in the DVD, Tribute to Jimi Hendrix – CAS (1997).. In 1992, Miles worked with bassist Bootsy Collins and guitarist Steve Salas under

1470-686: A part of the Mercury Music Group, a division of Universal Music Group, which Group controls the French operations of UMG labels Mercury, Fontana Records, Verve Records, Decca Records, Blue Note Records , Island Records, and Virgin Records, among others. Various other national Universal Music Group companies are known to actively use the Mercury Records trademark as an imprint for their local A&R operations, but no other Universal Music Group companies use

1575-723: A second singer to provide the "answer" parts to Page, so at Rael's suggestion, she did both voices. Though "overdubbing" had been used occasionally on 78-rpm discs in the 1930s, for Lawrence Tibbett recordings, among others, this became the first documented example of "overdubbing" using tape. The company released an enormous number of recordings under the Mercury label, as well as its subsidiaries ( Blue Rock Records , Cumberland Records, EmArcy Records , Smash Records , and Wing Records , later via Fontana Records and Limelight Records after being absorbed by Philips). In addition, they leased and purchased material by independent labels and redistributed them. Under their own label, Mercury released

1680-685: A second, 55-CD box set, along with a second six-LP box set. The CD box set included two bonus discs: a new reissue of the 1953 monophonic recording of Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" by Dorati with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, and a first-time-on-CD reissue of the premiere recording of John Corigliano 's Piano Concerto, played by Hilde Somer with the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Victor Alessandro. On January 4, 2015, Mercury co-founder Irwin Steinberg died at

1785-579: A series of drug problems hastened the band's downfall. Al Kooper left Blood, Sweat and Tears in April 1968, and was inspired by a jam recording with Moby Grape to organize the similarly structured Super Session album. The lineup included Electric Flag members Bloomfield, Brooks, and Goldberg. Bloomfield eventually dropped out of the sessions due to insomnia, and was replaced by Buffalo Springfield's Stephen Stills . Bloomfield and Kooper later toured together, while drummer and vocalist Buddy Miles went on to form

1890-461: A timely manner. In addition, Marcus Doubleday had joined the band while in the throes of heroin addiction, while Peter Strazza, Barry Goldberg and Bloomfield developed heroin problems thereafter. In November 1967, Goldberg left the band in an effort to bring his personal circumstances under control. He was replaced by Michael Fonfara , at the time playing with David Clayton-Thomas in New York, and who

1995-647: A variety of rhythm and blues and soul acts as a teenager, including Ruby & the Romantics , the Delfonics , and Wilson Pickett . In 1964, at the age of 16, Miles met Jimi Hendrix at a show in Montreal, where both were performing as sidemen for other artists. In 1967, Miles joined Hendrix in a jam session at the Malibu home of Stephen Stills . They also went on to play together again in 1968 in both Los Angeles and New York. In

2100-528: A variety of recording styles from classical music to psychedelic rock. Its subsidiaries, though, focused on their own specialized categories of music. From 1947 to 1952, John Hammond was a vice-president of Mercury Records. Mercury, under its EmArcy label, released LPs by many post-swing and bebop artists, including Clifford Brown and Max Roach , Kenny Drew , Dinah Washington , Nat Adderley , Cannonball Adderley , Ernestine Anderson , Sarah Vaughan , Maynard Ferguson , Walter Benton , Herb Geller . In

2205-448: Is credited on sessions with George Clinton /Parliament/Funkadelic. Miles stated that between late September and mid-October 1969, "Jimi was not happy. He felt powerless. He couldn't do what he wanted to do". In mid-October 1969, Hendrix founded a short-lived band called Band of Gypsys , which Miles would join. Alan Douglas and Stephan Bright were initially brought in to produce their recording sessions, but bassist Billy Cox clashed with

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2310-522: The Buddy Miles Express and play in Jimi Hendrix 's Band of Gypsys . Bloomfield developed a solo career, commencing with the release of It's Not Killing Me in 1969, which included former Electric Flag bandmate Marcus Doubleday on trumpet. Mike Bloomfield released several albums after this, including Nick Gravenites Live at the Fillmore which includes Taj Mahal doing "One More Mile". Buddy Miles started

2415-574: The California Raisins claymation TV commercials and recorded two California Raisins R&B albums. Miles was born in Omaha, Nebraska , on September 5, 1947. Miles's father played upright bass for Duke Ellington , Count Basie , Charlie Parker , Dexter Gordon , and others. By age twelve, Miles had begun touring with his father's band, the Bebops. He played with his father's band for several years. Given

2520-809: The Tower of Power and The Blues Project . The one-hour set featured material from the first album, as well as several blues covers. In 1970, the group Sweet Apple released their self-titled album on Columbia, cat no. C 30238. It was produced by Electric Flag bassist Harvey Brooks and featured two former Electric Flag members, Hoshal Wright on guitar and vocals, and Marcus Doubleday on trumpet. Live performance Live performance Other credited musicians were Danny Saunders on keyboards and vocals, Bobby Reed on bass and vocals, Steve Mitchell on drums, and Raoul Smith on saxophone and vocals. Frank Davis also played drums on two tracks. Record World reported airplay on WABX-FM in Detroit for

2625-402: The "Mercury Man", complete with a winged hat similar to its logo, to promote Mercury recordings. Some early Mercury recordings featured a caricature of him as their logo. In 1947, Jack Rael, a musician and publicist/manager, persuaded Mercury to let Patti Page (whom he managed) record a song that had been planned to be done by Vic Damone , "Confess". The budget was too small for them to hire

2730-463: The 1968 release, A Long Time Comin' , a fusion of rock, jazz , and R&B styles that charted well in the Billboard Pop Albums chart . Their initial recording was a soundtrack for The Trip , a movie about an LSD experience by Peter Fonda , written by Jack Nicholson and directed by Roger Corman . With his appreciation for blues, soul and R&B, Bloomfield wanted to create

2835-602: The 1970s playing, recording and producing with Lou Reed , among other activities, prior to developing a successful career in Canada as a member of the Downchild Blues Band and as a producer of other artists. Subsequent to completing the soundtrack to The Trip , the band commenced work on its long-awaited first album, A Long Time Comin' . The album, released in March 1968, was recorded between July 1967 and January 1968. The album

2940-476: The 1970s, Mercury released hits by musicians such as The Statler Brothers , Paper Lace , Rod Stewart , Bachman-Turner Overdrive , Cledus Maggard and The Citizen's Band , William Bell , Rush , and Reba McEntire . From late 1974 to early 1983, the company's label design featured a painting of three famous buildings that are located in Chicago: Marina City , John Hancock Center , and One IBM Plaza ,

3045-512: The American Music Band, Bloomfield organized the band that would become known as The Electric Flag in the spring of 1967, not long after he produced a session with Chicago blues harmonica player James Cotton that featured a horn section. Bloomfield decided that his new band would also have horns and would play an amalgam of the American music he loved. The group was initially formed at

3150-406: The American music magazine Seconds in 1995, Miles simply said: "The baddest of the bad. People say I'm the baddest drummer. If that's true, thank you world." A memorial concert took place on March 30, 2008, at Threadgill 's on Riverside Drive, South Austin that included performances by Bernie Worrell , The Family Stone Project, Doug Pinnick, Cyril Neville, The Sixth Chamber and surviving members of

3255-462: The Band of Gypsys to re-record songs from the original 1970 live album with guitarists Eric Gales , Kenny Olsen, Sheldon Reynolds , Andy Aledort and Gary Serkin. The album, titled The Band of Gypsys Return was released in 2006. Until his death, Miles continued to be active musically and performed many shows with proceeds going to help support victims of natural disasters and other charitable causes. Miles

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3360-530: The Bloomfield compositions from The Trip soundtrack, "Flash, Bam, Pow," was later included in the soundtrack to the 1969 film Easy Rider . The song was omitted from the release of the original soundtrack and has not been included in subsequent reissues. The band made its debut appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival , one of the first of the 1960s rock music extravaganzas. Now called the Electric Flag,

3465-628: The Buddy Miles Blues Berries album which featured Rocky Athas of Black Oak Arkansas . This lineup also contributed a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Wind Cries Mary" on the Blue Haze, Songs of Jimi Hendrix album in 2001. In addition, Miles also composed and recorded many songs with this new version of the Buddy Miles Express that are yet to be released. It was Miles' most enduring live band, with the touring lineup continuing for six years with

3570-493: The Buddy Miles Band. One song he had written and recorded with the Band of Gypsys, "Changes", was also recorded by Miles with his own band and released by Mercury Records as "Them Changes" soon after Hendrix's death. Miles' former Band of Gypsys sideman, Billy Cox, performed bass guitar on this track. The band also included bassist David Hull and guitarist Charlie Karp . The Buddy Miles Band's live album again included "Them Changes," which had become Miles' signature song. The song

3675-451: The Buddy Miles Express with a big hit "Down By the River". As noted Miles played with Hendrix in Band of Gypsies and then later with Carlos Santana. Miles died in 2008. A reunion took place in 1974, with the Electric Flag releasing The Band Kept Playing , but the recording was not a commercial or critical success and the band quickly disbanded after several months of sporadic gigs. This lineup of

3780-513: The Buddy Miles Express. The Electric Flag The Electric Flag was an American blues / rock / soul band from Chicago, led by guitarist Mike Bloomfield , keyboardist Barry Goldberg and drummer Buddy Miles , and featuring other musicians such as vocalist Nick Gravenites and bassist Harvey Brooks . Bloomfield formed the Electric Flag in 1967, following his stint with the Butterfield Blues Band . The band reached its peak with

3885-576: The Deutsche Grammophon label, some of Mercury Classics' early core classical recordings were rereleased under the aegis of sister company Deutsche Grammophon . In 2013, Mercury Classics released Olafur Arnalds ' label debut For Now I Am Winter , which entered the US Classical Chart at number one. It was followed by an EP of Arnalds' soundtrack of the ITV crime series Broadchurch , which received

3990-703: The Gang (following the dissolution of De-Lite Records in 1985), the first three albums of the 1979-86 self titled series of the Gap Band (via Total Experience Productions) and Cameo (via distribution of leader Larry Blackmon's label Atlanta Artists Records). And the label released early rapper Kurtis Blow 's hit "The Breaks" (1980) also. Mercury released blues musician Robert Cray. In 1980, Phonogram moved its headquarters from Chicago to New York City. In 1981, Mercury, along with other U.S. PolyGram-owned labels, which included Polydor , RSO Records , and Casablanca , consolidated under

4095-523: The Gun 's Adrian Gurvitz called Chapter VII , as well as drummed on a song from Gurvitz's project Three Man Army's album Third of a Lifetime . The Chapter VII album cover included photos of Miles and his family along with some shots of Carlos Santana, Jimi Hendrix, and Sly Stone. In 1974 Miles released All The Faces Of Buddy Miles on CBS produced by Johnny Bristol , an album aimed at the funk and soul market. It included "Pull Yourself Together," which gave Miles

4200-532: The Living Presence catalogue) is currently managed by Decca Label Group through Philips Records, which reissued the recordings on LP and then CD. In turn, Mercury now manages the pop/rock catalog of Philips Records. In 2012, Decca Classics, the current owner of the Mercury Living Presence label, issued a value-priced 51-CD box that included 50 of the 1990s CD titles (remastered by Wilma Cozart Fine),

4305-608: The Mercury Records division of UMG France, the Mercury Studios film division (which absorbed Eagle Rock Entertainment , acquired by UMG in 2014), the classical music label Mercury KX, and catalogue reissues in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Japan, and Brazil, as well. In 2024, Mercury Records became part of Universal Music Group-owned Republic Corps , joining sister labels Republic Records , Island Records ,[Casablanca Records]] and Def Jam Recordings . In 1951, under

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4410-608: The Oklahoma-based three-piece Hanson . Mercury, by having Thin Lizzy, Bon Jovi, Cinderella, Def Leppard, Kiss, the Scorpions, and various other rock acts on their roster, became a premiere label for hard rock music. Most of these bands were on Vertigo Records in Europe (that label specialized in progressive rock and hard rock including subgenres like glam metal ). In late 1998, PolyGram

4515-525: The Platters , Brook Benton , the Diamonds, and Patti Page . In 1961, Philips , a Dutch electronics company and owner of Philips Records , which had lost its distribution deal with Columbia Records outside North America, played a key role in Mercury's future by signing an exchange agreement with the American record company. A year later, Mercury was sold to Consolidated Electronics Industries Corp. (Conelco), which

4620-593: The United States and overseas, with nearly 1000 concerts and festivals to their credit. In 1997, Miles relocated to Fort Worth, Texas. Soon, he began collaborating with a young guitarist from Dallas, Lance Lopez . He went on to mentor Lopez, co-producing Lopez's debut album, First Things First , with Jay Newland . The Lopez album was released independently in 1999. Miles was also seen in the Hendrix-family owned official video release, The Making of Electric Ladyland on Rhino Records . The video featured interviews with

4725-541: The age of 94. This division of Mercury handled US distribution of most pre-1998 Polydor Records pop/rock releases currently under UMG control. Some exceptions remain, however. Some artists based outside the US did not have their releases on Polydor in North America, signing to various other labels, instead. Some of these bands, such as The Who , did sign to a label that also is now part of the UMG family (or later absorbed by such

4830-568: The band featured Bloomfield, Goldberg, Miles, and Gravenites, along with new member Roger Troy on bass and vocals. On July 28 and 29, 2007, a concert took place at the Monterey County Fairgrounds , commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Monterey Pop Festival. One of the acts featured was a one-time reunion of The Electric Flag, anchored by original members Gravenites, Goldberg, and former member Hunter, backed by members of

4935-503: The band's original material, Miles Davis praised the Bloomfield–Goldberg composition, "Over-Lovin' You", in a Down Beat Blindfold Test in 1968. By June 1968, only months after the release of the album, Bloomfield quit the group, based on exhaustion brought on by continuing insomnia that was ineffectively medicated through heroin. In the weeks prior to his departure, there had been much public speculation as to whether Bloomfield

5040-485: The box set Songs for Groovy Children: The Fillmore East Concerts . The original versions of " Stepping Stone " and "Izabella", songs which he recorded for the 1970 single with Cox and Hendrix, were restored and included on the 2001 compilation Voodoo Child: The Jimi Hendrix Collection . Three other songs that were recorded with Cox and Hendrix were used for early posthumous Hendrix albums, including The Cry of Love and Rainbow Bridge . Additional studio recordings by

5145-446: The breakup of the Electric Flag, Miles put together a new band with Jim McCarty, who later became the guitarist for Cactus. This new group performed and recorded as the Buddy Miles Express . In 1969, Hendrix wrote a short poem as a liner note for Expressway To Your Skull , the first studio album recorded by the Buddy Miles Express. Hendrix went on to produce four of the tracks on the group's follow-up album, Electric Church . The title of

5250-555: The cannon shots, and the bells of the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Carillon at the Riverside Church in Chicago. Besides Mercury's mono and stereo versions of the 1812 , only one other classical album rang up gold-record sales in the 1950s in the U.S. The New York Times music critic Howard Taubman described the Mercury sound on Pictures at an Exhibition as "being in the living presence of

5355-415: The company. Philips and German electronics giant Siemens reorganized their joint-ventured record operations, Grammophon-Philips Group, home of Deutsche Grammophon , Philips Records, and Polydor to become PolyGram in 1972. That year, PolyGram bought Mercury from NAPC. Mercury's corporate name was changed to Phonogram Inc. to match a related company in the UK that operated the Mercury label there. During

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5460-510: The contract with Bill Graham for two dates at the Fillmore East . Hendrix had been talking about a Band of Gypsys "jam" LP since late 1968, after the settlement with Ed Chalpin . The recording of the Fillmore East concert was initially a single LP, but additional cuts from the concerts have been released on a double CD, Live at the Fillmore East . During the 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 months before

5565-450: The country back catalog that once belonged to PolyGram (MCA Nashville manages what Universal had already owned at the time of the PolyGram merger). In 1958, Mercury switched its distribution in the UK from Pye to EMI, and in 1964 to Philips. Mercury operated as an imprint in the UK under Phonogram, a division of Dutch electronics company Philips from the mid-1960s until 1998, when Phonogram

5670-560: The death of Hendrix, which he mentioned on the inner cover of the album. Released in 1971, We Got to Live Together was produced by Miles and Robin McBride. Also in 1971, although the Electric Flag had been inactive for nearly three years, Columbia released a greatest hits album. In 1974, Miles and the Electric Flag re-formed briefly and released another album, The Band Kept Playing , on the Atlantic label. Miles went on to produce other records as

5775-434: The direction of recording engineer C. Robert (Bob) Fine and recording director David Hall , Mercury Records initiated a recording technique using a single microphone to record symphony orchestras. Fine had for several years used a single microphone for Mercury small-ensemble classical recordings produced by John Hammond and later Mitch Miller (indeed, Miller, using his full name of Mitchell Miller, made several recordings as

5880-603: The duration of the three-month collaboration called the 'Band of Gypsys'. In the end, the band produced the LP for Chalpin and Capitol, as well as a single for Reprise. During a one-off charity event for the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam committee a month later, Hendrix had a minor meltdown on stage. Speculations include a possibly drug-related meltdown on stage, as well as an act of sabotage on

5985-514: The first-ever complete recordings of Tchaikovsky 's ballets Swan Lake , The Sleeping Beauty , and The Nutcracker . Dorati's 1954 one-microphone monaural recording (Mercury MG 50054) and 1958 three-microphone stereo rerecording (Mercury MG 50054) of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture included dramatic overdub recordings of 1812-era artillery and the bells of the Yale University Carillon . A stereo release in 1960 featured new recordings of

6090-510: The group in San Francisco, under Albert Grossman 's management, and immediately began working on the band's first project: the soundtrack for the film The Trip . Actor Peter Fonda approached Bloomfield for the project, as a replacement for Gram Parsons ' International Submarine Band . Director Roger Corman did not find the music of Parsons' band appropriate for a movie about the LSD experience. At

6195-461: The group produced over 15 songs, ranging from funky, soulful grooves to R&B ballads. "Anna", the title song of the proposed album, helped Miles land his next recording job with the California Raisins . However, during the album's production, the Record Plant was seized by the government when its owner was indicted on drug trafficking charges. The musicians and employees working there began calling

6300-517: The group was well received by the audience of 7,000, though its performance fell short of Bloomfield's high standards. Following Monterey, the band toured the Northeast and perform in the San Francisco area while working on a recording for Columbia Records. Though a critical success, the band remained largely unknown to the general public due in part to the band's inability to complete its first album in

6405-554: The iTunes top 10 in more than 20 countries. Influential classical music website Alto Riot named Mercury Classics its Label of the Year 2013. In 2016, Mercury Classics became Mercury KX and changed its focus to post-classical music Mercury's Nashville unit dates back to 1957, when Mercury formed a joint venture with Starday Records specifically for releasing artists performing country music. Mercury bought out Starday's half in 1958. In 1997, PolyGram, looking to cut costs in anticipation of

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6510-523: The instigation of Bloomfield, and the assistance of Barry Goldberg. Harvey Brooks, who had previously worked with Bloomfield in 1965, recording Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited , joined as bassist, and recommended Buddy Miles , then 19 years old, who was the drummer at the time for Wilson Pickett . Brooks was working with Murray the K on the "Music in the Fifth Dimension" show at the RKO Theatre and

6615-420: The invitation, preferring to remain with the Detroit Wheels . Bloomfield next approached Nick Gravenites , originally also from Chicago, who agreed. Peter Strazza, whom Goldberg knew from Chicago, joined on tenor saxophone. Jazz guitarist Larry Coryell , who had developed his career in Seattle while a university student, recommended Seattle-based Marcus Doubleday on trumpet. Bloomfield and Goldberg developed

6720-420: The label announced it was stopping the production of CD and vinyl singles, and would only release them physically as "rare exceptions". In 2012, signings on Mercury included Pixie Lott , Arcade Fire , Amy Macdonald , Noah and the Whale , Chase & Status , Jake Bugg , and Bo Bruce . In July, Mercury announced that Mike Smith was joining as president of its music division. In March 2013, Mercury UK

6825-522: The label as a key marketing differentiator, nor do they operate frontline divisions based on the Mercury label. The Mercury label was first launched in Japan in 1952, by Taihei Onkyo . The company's name was later changed to Nippon Mercury in 1953, however, the Mercury label started to be handled by King Records in 1957, and later by Nippon Victor . It was relaunched in 1970 by Nippon Victor and Matsushita Corporation , as Nippon Phonogram. It operated several Phonogram labels in Japan. In 1993, it became

6930-427: The label's history, Mercury opened two pressing plants, one in Chicago and the other in St. Louis, Missouri . By hiring two promoters, Tiny Hill and Jimmy Hilliard, they penetrated the pop market with names such as Frankie Laine , Vic Damone , Tony Fontane , and Patti Page . In 1946, Mercury hired Eddie Gaedel , an American with dwarfism, most notable for participating in a Major League Baseball game, to portray

7035-412: The late 1950s, Mercury released jazz recordings of multiple artists, including Max Roach, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young , Dizzy Gillespie , and Buddy Rich. During the 1960s albums were released by artists including Gene Ammons , Quincy Jones , Buddy Rich , Cannonball Adderley , Dinah Washington , Max Roach , Paul Bley and Jimmy Smith. During the 1950s, Mercury released hits of musicians such as

7140-443: The latter LP was taken from Hendrix's poem on the first. In 1969 he appeared on British jazz guitarist John McLaughlin 's album Devotion . In 1970, after the Buddy Miles Express split up, Miles began a collaboration with Hendrix and bassist Billy Cox. Together, they formed Band of Gypsys, producing one self-titled live album before disbanding. Later in 1970, while recording the album We Got to Live Together , Miles learned of

7245-404: The latter which was Mercury's headquarters during that period, having moved from its long-time address at 35 East Wacker Drive . Mercury released soul musicians such as the Dells and Marvin Sease. From the 1970s through the early 1980s, Mercury released albums of funk musicians such as Ohio Players , the Bar-Kays , Con Funk Shun , and Hamilton Bohannon . Mercury released albums by Kool &

7350-481: The majority of players who were involved in recording the album. The video includes footage of Miles playing his drum tracks in the studio against the original multi-track recordings of Hendrix. In 1999, Miles performed on the late Bruce Cameron 's album, Midnight Daydream , which included other Hendrix alumni Billy Cox, Mitch Mitchell , Jack Bruce , and others. In 2000, Miles and Leach collaborated with Stevie Ray Vaughan 's "Double Trouble" rhythm section, creating

7455-403: The mid 1970s, Miles recorded Roadrunner co-produced by long time friend Jim Paris. In 1980 Paris and Miles re-united, and together they produced Sneak Attack with Miles's new band The Regiment, released by Atlantic Records in 1981. Miles served a prison term for grand theft in the late 1970s and later another term for auto theft in the early 1980s. In late 1984 and early 1985 while living in

7560-602: The new name PolyGram Records, Inc. (now UMG Recordings ). Under PolyGram, Mercury absorbed the artists and catalogue of Casablanca Records (also home to the 20th Century Records back catalogue), which consisted of hard rockers Kiss and disco stars Donna Summer and the Village People , and primarily became a rock/pop/new wave label with Van Morrison , Thin Lizzy , All About Eve , Julian Cope , Scorpions , Rush , John Cougar Mellencamp , Big Country , Tears for Fears , Bon Jovi , Cinderella , and Def Leppard as well as

7665-535: The newly created Def Soul Records. Mercury's former country unit became Mercury Nashville Records . However, Mercury Records was relaunched in 2007 as a label under The Island Def Jam Music Group, appointing record executive David Massey as the President and CEO of the new venture. The label was defunct in 2015. On April 11, 2022, Republic Records announced that they had acquired Mercury Records, and it will continue as their imprint. The Mercury name also survives on

7770-424: The nickname "Buddy" by his aunt after the drummer Buddy Rich , he was often seen as a teenager hanging out and recording at Universal Promotions Corporation recording studios, which later became Rainbow Recording Studios. Miles did not finish high school. In order to become a professional musician, he dropped out of Omaha North High in 1965. Omaha North High awarded him an honorary degree in 1998. Miles played with

7875-599: The orchestra" and Mercury eventually began releasing their classical recordings under the 'Living Presence' series' name. The recordings were produced by Mercury vice president Wilma Cozart , who later married Bob Fine. Cozart took over recording director duties in 1953 and also produced the CD reissues of more than half of the Mercury Living Presence catalog in the 1990s. By the late 1950s, the Mercury Living Presence crew included session musical supervisors Harold Lawrence and Clair van Ausdall and associate engineer Robert Eberenz. Besides

7980-495: The pair, deeming them unworthy. Cox stormed out of the sessions after a furious row with Bright and went home to Nashville for two weeks, before being coaxed back. At the end of Douglas and Bright's one-and-a-half months together, they had only produced one usable backing track, "Room Full of Mirrors". Douglas and Bright resigned, stating pressures from the record label, Hendrix's manager Michael Jeffery, and Hendrix's own "lack of interest". The same day Douglas resigned, Hendrix signed

8085-570: The part of Jeffery. Miles said about the incident years later, "Jeffery slipped [Hendrix] two half-tabs of acid on stage as he went on... [Hendrix] just freaked out. I told Jeffery he was an out-and-out complete idiot... One of the biggest reasons why Jimi is dead is because of that guy." Miles and Jeffery already had a strained relationship, as Jeffery was uncomfortable with Hendrix's and Miles' close friendship. After this one-off charity event at Madison Square Garden in January 1970, Jeffery told Miles that he

8190-629: The recordings with the Chicago and Minneapolis orchestras, Mercury also recorded Howard Hanson with the Eastman Rochester Orchestra, Frederick Fennell with the Eastman Wind Ensemble , and Paul Paray with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra . In late 1955, Mercury began using three omnidirectional microphones to make stereo recordings on three-track tape. The technique was an expansion on the mono process—center

8295-495: The release of Yundi's new album Emperor/Fantasy , including Beethoven's 5th Piano Concerto with Berlin Philharmonic and Daniel Harding, Mercury Classics held the top two spots on the UK classical chart. In May 2014, the label released Tori Amos' 14th studio album Unrepentant Geraldines . The album entered the US Billboard top 200 at number seven, charted in UK (number 13), Netherlands (number 10), and Germany (number 15), and hit

8400-530: The same members. The band continued on with Miles and Leach and a host of other players until Miles's passing. The Miles/Leach duo, along with sax man Patrick Gage and bassist Dave Blackerby, also released the Buddy Miles Express' final album, Road to Sturgis , a benefit CD for the Children's Craniofacial Foundation. Miles and Leach continued writing new but unreleased music until just days before Miles' passing. Also in 2004, Miles reunited yet again with Billy Cox of

8505-486: The same year, Miles moved to Chicago where he teamed with guitarist Mike Bloomfield and vocalist Nick Gravenites to form the Electric Flag , a blues / soul /rock band. In addition to playing drums, Miles sometimes sang lead vocals for the band, which made its live debut at the Monterey Pop Festival in mid-1967. In early 1968, the band released A Long Time Comin' , its first album for Columbia. The Electric Flag's second album, An American Music Band , followed late

8610-440: The same year. Shortly after that release, the group disbanded. In the same year, Hendrix used several guest artists, including Miles, during the recording of his album, Electric Ladyland . Miles played drums on one long jam that was eventually split into two album cuts, "Rainy Day, Dream Away" and "Still Raining, Still Dreaming", with a different song, " 1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be) ", edited in between. At age 21, after

8715-623: The soundtrack attracted positive critical notice. As described by David Dann in his biography of the Electric Flag, "The record was also one of the most adventurous for pop music in 1967, sampling freely from jazz, rock, blues and classical idioms, and doing so with wit and intelligence. It very much favored the eclectic approach toward American musical forms that Bloomfield wanted the new band to embody. That Michael could create such unusual and wide-ranging pieces said much for his appreciation and knowledge of those forms, and displayed his characteristic fearlessness when it came to experimentation." One of

8820-535: The studio "Club Fed"; hence the name "The Club Fed Sessions". The album was never released. In 1986, Miles performed vocals for the California Raisins claymation ad campaign, most notably singing " I Heard It Through the Grapevine ", and also performed lead vocals on two California Raisins albums featuring 1960s R&B covers. In 1986 and 1987, he rejoined Carlos Santana as a vocalist on Santana's album Freedom . In 1987–1988, Miles moved to Southern California and with

8925-438: The supergroup moniker Hardware , which released one album called Third Eye Open . From 1994 to 2007, Miles formulated his new version of the Buddy Miles Express in the New York City area, with Charlie Torres on bass guitar and vocals, Rod Kohn on guitar and vocals, Mark "Muggie Doo" Leach on Hammond B3, background vocals, and keyboards, and Kenn Moutenot on drums and vocals and handling management. They toured nearly nonstop in

9030-403: The three-track tapes or magnetic film, with a 3-2 mix occurring in the mastering room. The same technique—and restored vintage equipment of the same type—was used during the CD reissues. Specifically, three-track tapes were recorded on Ampex 300-3 (½-in, three-track) machines at 15 in/sec. The 35-mm magnetic film recordings were made on three-track Westrex film recorders. The 3-2 mixdown was done on

9135-465: The time, the Electric Flag was rehearsing in Gram Parsons' Laurel Canyon , California home. Bloomfield was solely credited for all of the compositions on the album. He hired keyboardist Paul Beaver to add texture to the soundtrack, through the use of one of the first Moog Synthesizers on record. The soundtrack recording was reportedly completed in ten days. While the movie received mixed reviews,

9240-468: The trio in various stages of development were released on South Saturn Delta , The Jimi Hendrix Experience box set, Burning Desire , West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology , and People, Hell and Angels . At the age of 60, Buddy Miles died on February 26, 2008, at his home in Austin, Texas, with his family by his side. According to his website, he died of congestive heart disease. Miles

9345-557: The two nights' worth of recordings for the LP, the band rehearsed and recorded in New York City. Hendrix was required to give his next LP to Chalpin to be released by the Capitol Records label, but he had become entangled in litigation concerning the contract with Chalpin's PPX record company that he had signed, his agreement with Jeffery & Chandler prior to the contract, and becoming internationally recognized. This fact led to Miles and Billy Cox being hired as full-time employees for

9450-589: The week of November 28, 1970. including outtakes and selections from the band's Monterey Pop Festival appearance Mercury Records Since the separation of Island Records , Motown , Mercury Records, and Def Jam Recordings combining the Island Def Jam Music Group , Mercury Records has been placed under Island Records, although its back catalogue is still owned by the Island Def Jam Music Group (now Island Records). Mercury Records

9555-504: Was able to compete with the more established record labels, and thus became an established record label itself. Mercury Record Corporation was formed in Chicago in 1945 by Irving Green, Berle Adams , Ray Greenberg, and Arthur Talmadge . The company was a major force in R&;B , doo wop , soul music , pop doo wop, pop soul, blues , pop, rock and roll , jazz and classical music . Early in

9660-751: Was absorbed into Virgin EMI by Universal Music. Virgin EMI was rebranded as EMI Records in June 2020. Launched in 1955 exclusively as a full-service local (Australian) A&R operation. Mercury Records first known Australian artist was Keith Potger in 1968, but the label was put into hibernation in 1999 in favour of the Universal label until 2007–2013. Some successful Australian artists on Mercury included: INXS , Kamahl , Bullamakanka , Darren Hayes , Carl Riseley, The Preatures , Tiddas , Dragon, Teen Queens , Melissa Tkautz and Karise Eden . In France, Mercury Records operates as

9765-531: Was an affiliate of Philips under its U.S. Trust division; in 1963, Mercury switched British distribution from EMI to Philips. In 1962, Mercury began marketing a line of phonographs made by Philips bearing the Mercury brand name. In July 1967, Mercury Records became the first U.S. record label to release cassette music tapes ( Musicassettes ). In 1969, Mercury changed its corporate name to Mercury Record Productions Inc., while its parent Conelco became North American Philips Corp. (NAPC) after Philips bought control of

9870-503: Was at Wilson Pickett's sound check/rehearsal watching Pickett fine Miles $ 50 a pop for missed cues. After the rehearsal Brooks approached Miles telling him about Bloomfield's credits, asking if he wanted to meet and talk about Bloomfield's new band. Miles was persuaded by Goldberg, Bloomfield and Brooks to leave Pickett. Initially, Bloomfield and Goldberg had asked Mitch Ryder to be the vocalist, since Bloomfield and Goldberg had been contributing to some Ryder recording sessions. Ryder declined

9975-408: Was bought by Seagram , which then absorbed the company into its Universal Music Group unit. Under the reorganization, Mercury Records was closed and folded into the newly formed The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG). Mercury's pop roster was predominantly taken over by Island Records , while its hip-hop acts found a new home at Def Jam Recordings , and some of Mercury's R&B acts were moved to

10080-679: Was bought by Universal Music. In March 2013, its artist roster was moved to Virgin EMI in a restructuring of Universal's UK labels. In 2005, Jason Iley was appointed the new managing director of Mercury. He joined the company from Island Records, where he was general manager. In July 2005, Iley appointed Paul Adam to senior artist and repertoire (A&R) director of the label; the two had previously worked together at Island Records. In October 2006, U2 decided to leave Island Records and moved to Mercury Records, reportedly to rejoin Iley, with whom they had worked previously at Island Records. In March 2011,

10185-422: Was cremated, and there was no funeral. The day before Miles died, he heard Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton playing "Them Changes" at Madison Square Garden through his cell phone. "Them Changes" is now part of Clapton's set on tour as a tribute to Miles. The UK-based newspaper The Independent ran an almost full-page obituary in its Friday, February 29, 2008, edition. Asked how he would like to be remembered by

10290-448: Was fired and the Band of Gypsys was no more. Although Cox, and presumably Miles as well, had already been paid off as full-time salaried employees with a $ 1,000 bonus for their services the week before. While with Hendrix, Miles recorded a number of jams, demos, and songs. Over the years, more material recorded at the Fillmore East on New Years 1969–1970 has been issued. In 2019, the complete performances from all four shows were released on

10395-444: Was leaving the group or whether the group was leaving him. Miles, rather than Bloomfield, had become the de facto leader of the group. Miles brought in guitarist Hoshal Wright as Bloomfield's replacement. Though they strove to carry on under Miles' direction, the Electric Flag was effectively finished. They issued the late 1968 album The Electric Flag: An American Music Band , but personality conflicts, differing aesthetics, and

10500-506: Was one of the first pop recordings to blend sound and voice samples with music. By early 1968, drummer Buddy Miles had become a dominant force in the band's musical direction. The group's repertory by then included numerous contemporary soul covers, featuring Miles on vocals, plus many classic blues tunes. The band produced fewer than a dozen original pieces, mostly written by vocalist Nick Gravenites. Bloomfield's original "American music" concept appeared to have narrowed considerably. In terms of

10605-514: Was recommended by Buddy Miles. Fonfara was fired by Albert Grossman by December, after a drug bust in Los Angeles . As a result, he was replaced by Herb Rich , who had to perform a dual role on keyboards and sax. He had to handle that role until saxophonist Stemsy Hunter , who was a friend of Miles came on board in early 1968. Fonfara was shortly thereafter selected as the keyboard player for Rhinoceros , where he rebuilt his musical career. He spent

10710-649: Was released a fourth time on a live record Miles recorded with Carlos Santana . It was mentioned in the February 10 issue of Billboard , in both the From The Music Capitals of the World section and Sam Sutherland's Studio Track section that Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper were to reunite with Buddy Miles to record an album for the Columbia label. It was to be released around mid 1973. In 1973, Miles recorded an album with

10815-543: Was released in the fall. In 2014, Mercury Classics released "Aranjuez", Milos Karadaglic's recording of iconic guitar concertos by Joaquin Rodrigo, featuring Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The album topped the iTunes Classical charts in more than 10 countries and the classical charts in the US, UK, France, New Zealand, and Denmark, where it peaked in the pop charts at number 17. With

10920-486: Was started in Chicago in 1945 and over several decades, saw great success. The success of Mercury has been attributed to the use of alternative marketing techniques to promote records. The conventional method of record promotion used by major labels such as RCA Victor , Decca Records , and Capitol Records was dependent on radio airplay, but Mercury Records co-founder Irving Green decided to promote new records using jukeboxes instead. By lowering promotion costs, Mercury

11025-690: Was still paramount. Once the center, single microphone was set, the sides were set to provide the depth and width heard in the stereo recordings. The center microphone still fed the mono LP releases, which accompanied stereo LPs well into the 1960s. From 1961, Mercury enhanced the three-microphone stereo technique by using 35-mm magnetic film instead of half-inch tape for recording. The greater emulsion thickness, track width, and speed (90 ft/min or 18 in/sec) of 35-mm magnetic film increased prevention of tape layer print-through and gained in addition extended frequency range and transient response. The Mercury 'Living Presence' stereo records were mastered directly from

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