White Whale Records was an American independent record label , founded in 1965 by Ted Feigin and Lee Lasseff in Los Angeles, California , and probably best known as the record label of The Turtles and a handful of one-hit wonder bands.
17-427: White Whale, in addition to releasing almost all of The Turtles' discography, also released Nino Tempo & April Stevens 's single "All Strung Out (On You)", a hit single by Rene y Rene titled "Lo Mucho Que Ti Quiero", an album by Liz Damon's Orient Express , and the only album by Texas band The Clique . Warren Zevon was a staff songwriter for the label, and they issued some of his earliest recordings (as part of
34-641: A concept album , The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands (on which "Elenore" was featured). When the Turtles disbanded in the early 1970s, White Whale lost their big moneymaker; in retaliation, and to prevent Kaylan and Volman from continuing their musical careers, White Whale insisted they held the rights to not only the Turtles' name and back catalog, but Kaylan and Volman's individual given names. Kaylan and Volman responded by moving into session work and continuing under
51-414: A brother and sister singing act from Niagara Falls, New York . Formed in the early 1960s when Nino Tempo and April Stevens signed as a duo with Atco Records , they had a string of Billboard hits and earned a Grammy Award as "best rock & roll record of the year" for the single " Deep Purple ". "Deep Purple" (1963) is notable for April Stevens speaking the lyrics in a low, sweet voice during
68-436: A pseudonym, Flo and Eddie ; White Whale Records, on the other hand, went out of business not long after. The label's final releases were the single " 1900 Yesterday " by Liz Damon's Orient Express and a self-titled album by the same group; although both charted (the single reaching a respectable #33), it wasn't enough to keep the company going. White Whale's assets were sold at auction in 1974, at which point Kaylan and Volman won
85-542: Is headed by Evan Cohen, a music-business and copyright lawyer and nephew of Herb Cohen , the late former manager of Frank Zappa , Tim Buckley , Linda Ronstadt , and Tom Waits . In August 2015, the label announced that it was signing several new artists, including Puro Instinct, Drinking Flowers, Cellars, and Band Aparte. In 2017, Manifesto released a complete box set of recordings by Allan Holdsworth , and has also unearthed further recordings by Tim Buckley and Screamin' Jay Hawkins. In November 2018, Manifesto released
102-467: The Turtles, they were known as "The Crossfires"; a surf music band looking to change their style, as surf music was fading. The label encouraged a name change to "The Tyrtles", in the manner of The Beatles and The Byrds . The band accepted the new name, but not the variant spelling. Relations between the label and the band were not always smooth, with White Whale pressuring the band for "more hits", then for singers Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman to fire
119-501: The duo Lyme & Cybele). Dobie Gray also recorded for the label, recording the first chart version of " I Never Promised You a Rose Garden ," which later became a much bigger hit for Lynn Anderson . Three compilations of singles from the label have been released on compact disc: Happy Together: The Very Best of White Whale Records , and two volumes of the Phantom Jukebox series, on Rev-Ola records. [1] When White Whale signed
136-522: The duo would employ this tactic again on "Whispering." Producer Ahmet Ertegün had originally intended "Deep Purple" to be the B-side of a song called "I've Been Carrying A Torch For You So Long That It Burned A Great Big Hole In My Heart". He did not share Tempo's belief that it would be a hit, calling it "the most embarrassing thing" the duo had ever recorded. When radio stations preferred "Deep Purple," Ertegun relented, and so "I've Been Carrying A Torch ..."
153-422: The entire catalogue of Dead Kennedys in 2001 after the band obtained the rights from Alternative Tentacles . Manifesto is also the home of an imprint of Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan of The Turtles , called FloEdCo; this imprint has released albums by The Turtles and Flo & Eddie . In November 2015, Manifesto re-released the entire catalogue of Lee Michaels that had been on A&M Records . Manifesto
170-588: The later disc All Strung Out as Nino Tempo & April Stevens' "greatest triumph", declaring it "one of the greatest Phil Spector-inspired productions of all time". For years following their charting singles, the duo continued recording, but failed to achieve continued sales success. However, in February 1973 the duo scored a number 5 hit in the Netherlands with " Love Story " on A&M Records , two years after Andy Williams took that same song to number 13 in what
187-438: The only artists to have albums issued on the label. The label also provided US distribution for a single by Freddie Mercury under the alias "Larry Lurex". One of Anthem's last signings was the duo of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks , whose Buckingham Nicks LP was released via Polydor in 1973. (Polydor issued several albums with credits to "Anthem Record Productions" after the label lost distribution with United Artists
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#1732859587208204-572: The previous year.) Anthem Records was officially dissolved that same year. While Flo & Eddie Inc (distributed by Manifesto Records ) controls The Turtles' catalog the rest of the White Whale catalog is currently controlled by Concord Music 's Craft Recordings under Varese Sarabande . Since the 1990s, several CD reissues and compilations of White Whale material have been released. Nino Tempo %26 April Stevens Nino Tempo & April Stevens ( Antonino and Carol Vincinette LoTempio ) were
221-405: The rest of the group, and work instead with hired musicians, in order to save money. Kaylan wrote the song " Elenore " as a humorous take on "Happy Together" (the only #1 hit for both the group and the White Whale label), which ironically became a hit itself. He and Volman also democratized the group, insisting everyone share in the writing and vocal duties, despite what the label wanted, and recorded
238-562: The rights to the Turtles' master recordings . Kaylan and Volman would not earn the rights to their own names (or the Turtles') again until 1983. Feigin and Lasseff folded White Whale Records in 1971 and created a new label called Anthem Records (not to be confused with the later Canadian label of the same name .) Anthem was initially distributed in the United States by United Artists . Two White Whale acts were transferred to Anthem ( Liz Damon's Orient Express and The Dillards ), and they are
255-414: The second half of the song while her brother sings. When the duo first recorded the song as a demo, Tempo forgot the words, and Stevens spoke the lyrics to remind him. The producers thought the spoken interlude was "cute" and wanted to include it but, according to Stevens, her brother was not as easily convinced: "He didn't want anyone talking while he was singing!" However, Nino must have come around, since
272-557: Was the longest title of a flipside of a Billboard number one record, until Prince's " When Doves Cry " in 1984 had "17 Days ..." on its flipside. Despite being considered "rock and roll," "Deep Purple" also reached number one on Billboard' s Adult Contemporary singles chart. The record had been preceded in 1962 by a single in a similar style, "Sweet and Lovely," and was followed by a series of singles of more oldies similarly arranged, including "Whispering", "Stardust", and "Tea for Two". Music journalist Richie Unterberger has described
289-514: Was then the Veronica Top 40 . Manifesto Records Manifesto Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California that has released records by Dead Kennedys , Tim Buckley , Cinerama , Concrete Blonde , Cranes , The Czars , Screamin' Jay Hawkins , Lilys , The Rugburns , Sing-Sing , Ken Stringfellow , Tom Waits , and The Wedding Present . Manifesto released
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