CAMEO-PARKWAY RECORDS: All The Odds & Ends Vol. 14 (Novelty, Instrumental, Rock, Soul)

Cameo Records was founded in December 1956 in Philadelphia by Bernie Lowe and Kal Mann (it has no connection to a 1920s record label also called Cameo Records). Parkway, initially a subsidiary label, was formed in 1958...
...Mann and Lowe had been a successful songwriting team prior to the start of label, with Mann writing lyrics and Lowe the music; their biggest hit prior to starting the label was Elvis Presley's "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear". Dave Appell joined the label from its inception as A&R director, and the three worked together as a production team on many early Cameo releases. Mann and Lowe wrote many of the label's early singles, while Mann and Appell also became a successful songwriting team that was responsible for many of the label's hits, particularly after Lowe cut back on his songwriting (c.1961/62) to attend to the business of running the label. In addition, Appel's group The Applejacks functioned as the de facto Cameo house band for the first few years of the company's existence, serving as backing musicians for the label's vocalists as well as issuing a handful of instrumental singles on their own. Lowe, also a musician, played piano on many early tracks.
The first hit for Cameo was "Butterfly" by Charlie Gracie, which reached #1 nationally in early 1957; it was also Cameo-Parkway's first of five chart toppers. Throughout the remainder of the decade Cameo continued to have hits by groups like the R&B group the Rays, who had a #3 hit with "Silhouettes" later that year. In 1958 the label had further hits with "Dinner With Drac", a novelty record by John Zacherle in the top 10, and "Mexican Hat Rock", an instrumental by The Applejacks, in the top 20.
A major factor in Cameo-Parkway's success was its relationship with the Philadelphia-based TV program American Bandstand. Being located in the same city where this popular nationally-broadcast music show was produced meant that Cameo-Parkway artists were always available to perform on the show—especially in the event any other act should cancel. Bandstand host and producer Dick Clark has spoken of the "warm relationship" the program had with Cameo-Parkway, and the of the label's willingness to ensure that quality musical acts were always available to the program on short notice. The label benefited tremendously from the arrangement, as the exposure many Cameo-Parkway artists received on American Bandstand helped propel them to stardom.
Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameo-Parkway_Records
Read more about this legendary label here:
http://aln2.albumlinernotes.com/Cameo_Parkway_1957-1967.html
trax:
1. Mona - The Teddy Boys 2. Alone In The Night - The Ventrills 3. Cartoons - Ronnie Lavelle 4. Sweet Georgia Brown - The Carroll Brothers 5. Lunch With Mother Goose - John Zacherle 6. Party Lights - The Palace Guard 7. The Twist - The Little Sisters 8. Beg, Borrow And Steal - The Ohio Express 9. The Ballad Of Batman - The Campers 10. Beautiful Girl - Ed McMahon 11. Beatle Teen Beat - Larry Halloway 12. I Love Ya, I Love Ya, I Love Ya - Timmie Rogers 13. I Was There - The Delfonics 14. You've Been Untrue - The Delfonics 15. Wild Thing - Senator Bobby 16. Grandma's House - The Squirrels 17. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes - Buddy Savitt 18. Down On The Funny Farm - Josephine XIII 19. Just Me, And My Mom And Dad - Dan Daniels 20. Dummy Doll - John Zacherle 21. Devoted To You - Ray Brown & The Whispers 22. Get Together - The Two Of Us 23. Witchcraft - Helene O'Connell 24. Indian Love Call - The Thin Men 25. Chitter Chatter Baby - Dave Appell & The Apple Jacks 26. Does The Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavor - Hermione Gingold 27. Let's Twist Again - Meyer Davis & His Orchestra
...originally served by Gyro1966...