Little David Records
| Little David Records | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Parent company | Warner Music Group |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Founder |
Flip Wilson Monte Kay |
| Defunct | 1980 |
| Status | Defunct |
| Distributor(s) | Independent (1970–1971) Atlantic Records (1971–1974) Warner Bros. Records (1974–1975) Atlantic Records (1975–1980) |
| Genre | Comedy, jazz, soft rock |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
Little David Records was a record label started in 1969 by up-and-coming comedian Flip Wilson and his manager, veteran jazz producer Monte Kay. The label focused mainly on comedy albums, with some jazz and soft rock releases. Little David was independently distributed for its first year but was picked up by Atlantic Records for most of its existence, except for a year under Warner Bros. Records.
The label's logo depicted biblical David wielding a sling, ready to fight Goliath.
The small label produced two Grammy Award-winning comedy albums, and five Gold records to become highly profitable. Kay and Wilson parted ways in 1977. The label was sold to comedian George Carlin, who folded the catalog into Eardrum Records in the 1980s.
Comedian Flip Wilson hired Monte Kay as his manager in 1963 when Wilson was 30 and Kay was 39. Kay was known for founding the jazz club Birdland in 1949. He had been producing jazz records, and managing jazz musicians ever since. Kay booked Wilson at comedy clubs in New York City and Los Angeles, and in 1965 he arranged for Wilson to appear on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Wilson had already released a few comedy albums, the last two with Atlantic Records, but he was interested in taking greater control. In 1969, Kay and Wilson co-founded Little David Records to release new albums, starting with The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress (named for a comedy line spoken by Wilson's character Geraldine), and to sign other comedians and musicians. Released in February 1970, The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress won the 1970 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording at the 13th Annual Grammy Awards held in March 1971. The album was certified Gold on July 22, 1970.
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