Abbott Records
| Abbott Records | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1951 |
| Founder | Fabor Robison |
| Defunct | 1958 |
| Status | Defunct |
| Genre | Country, rockabilly |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
Abbott Records was an American record label operated by music promoter and producer Fabor Robison from 1951 to about 1958. Abbott Records released mainly country and western music, rockabilly and — towards the end of its existence — mainstream pop vocal selections, enjoying considerable chart success for a label of its modest means.
After serving a stint in the U.S. Army during World War II, Arkansas native Fabor Robison (b. 1911 — d. 1986) settled in Southern California and began to work as a talent scout. In late 1949 or early 1950, Robison discovered singer Johnny Horton, who had lately won a talent contest in Texas and had returned to his native Los Angeles, bought Western clothes, and was looking for a gig. Robison placed Horton on Cliffie Stone's Hometown Jamboree program, based out of Pasadena, California, which aired on KXLA on radio and KCOP (later KLAC) on television. Robison also set up a recording deal for Horton with the tiny Cormac Records label, but that concern soon folded. Disgusted, Robison decided to found his own record label and found an investor in pharmacist Sid Abbott; Robison subsequently named the label after his partner. At first, Abbott Records existed solely to record Horton, and the label's first ten releases were devoted to him, though some were duets with Billy Barton. None of the initial slate of releases attracted much in the way of attention, and in mid–1952 Robison sold Horton's recording contract to Mercury Records, a Chicago-based recording company which had a division in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Also in 1952, Johnny Horton joined the cast of Louisiana Hayride, based out of KWKH in Shreveport, an association Horton would enjoy the rest of his days. Likewise, Robison discovered the talent pool at the Louisiana Hayride and began to record their artist roster extensively. Robison took a special interest in singer Jim Reeves, to such extent that Johnny Horton became aggravated with Robison and dropped him as manager; Robison countered by representing Reeves instead. Reeves' records of "Mexican Joe" and "Bimbo" became the first chart hits on the Abbott Label.
In 1953, Abbott was doing well enough that Fabor Robison was able to buy out the share of his partner, Sid Abbott. In order to diversify the label's offerings, Robison founded the Fabor Records imprint as a subsidiary of Abbott, though at first these records carried the same artist pool—drawn from the Louisiana Hayride—as featured on the parent. These artists included pianist Floyd Cramer, the Browns, Smiley Burnette, Dorsey Burnette and Mitchell Torok, whose "Caribbean" was Abbott's next chart hit in 1953. Many of these recordings featured members of the Louisiana Hayride house band as accompanists and were recorded at KWKH studios in Shreveport. However, Robison also used the Sun Studio in Memphis on occasion, in addition to continuing to record in Los Angeles; in one instance he is known to have accepted a master submitted through the mail directly from an artist. Early Abbott issues bear an address in Malibu, and by the mid-1950s the label is listed as located in Hollywood, but the later Fabor Records releases revert to a Malibu address.
...
Wikipedia