Philles Records
Philles Records was an American record label formed in 1961 by Phil Spector and Lester Sill, the label taking its name from a hybrid of their first names. Initially, the label was distributed by Jamie/Guyden in Philadelphia. In 1962, Spector purchased Sill's stock to become sole owner, at a mere 21 years of age America's youngest label chief.
The label issued twelve albums over the course of its existence, but with the exception of A Christmas Gift for You, the focus was always on the single. By most accounts, 39 singles were issued on the label. However, Philles 125 is a reissue of Philles 119, with the B-side "Winter Wonderland" substituted for the original flipside, "Harry and Milt Meet Hal B." This, and many other flipsides, were deliberately undistinguished instrumentals, which were intended to focus attention on the A-sides. At first they were credited to the A-side artists, later to the 'Phil Spector Group'. Also, most discographies, including the one in the Back to Mono booklet, list two items with catalogue number Philles 123: "Stumble And Fall" by Darlene Love was withdrawn (but both stock and promos exist) and replaced with "Walking in the Rain" by The Ronettes. Despite the prior claim that Philles 134, 135, and 136 were not released in the United States, promo and regular stock copies of all three exist, as well as the withdrawn Darlene Love single listed above. The withdrawn "(Let's Dance) The Screw" by The Crystals only exists as promo copies.
All singles were produced by Spector, with five exceptions: Philles 101, 103, and 104 were produced by Sill prior to his departure from the company; Philles 133 by Jeff Barry, and Philles 134 by Bob Crewe. None of the non-Spector productions charted, while every one of Spector's productions made the charts in the U.S., with the exceptions of Philles 132, one of the two Philles 123's, the withdrawn Philles 105, and the holiday single both times. Eighteen Philles records made the Top 40, the label topping the charts twice with Philles 106 in 1962, and again with Philles 124 in 1965.
The label ceased operations in 1967, and Spector did not return to production work for another two years. The Philles catalog is now administered by Universal Music Group which acquired the catalogue when it bought EMI's recorded music operations, with Sony Music's Legacy Recordings imprint handling distribution rights for the Philles catalog through a new licensing deal which was finalized in September 2009.[1] Prior to this deal, the Philles reissues were handled by ABKCO Records.
Notable artists
- The Crystals
- Darlene Love
- Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans
- The Ronettes
- The Righteous Brothers
- Ike & Tina Turner
Singles discography
| Catalogue | Release Date | Chart Peak | Song Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philles 100 | 1/6/62 | #20 | There's No Other (Like My Baby) | Phil Spector and Leroy Bates | The Crystals | 2:31 |
| Philles 101 | /62 | Here I Stand | Tony Mottola | Joel Scott | ||
| Philles 102 | 5/26/62 | #13 | Uptown | Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann | The Crystals | 2:19 |
| Philles 103 | /62 | Malagueña | Ernesto Lecuona | Ali Hassan | ||
| Philles 104 | /62 | Lt. Colonel Bogey's Parade | Lester Sill | Steve Douglas and His Merry Men | ||
| Philles 105 | /62 | withdrawn | He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss) | Gerry Goffin and Carole King | The Crystals | 2:32 |
| Philles 106 | 11/3/62 | #1 | He's A Rebel | Gene Pitney | The Crystals | 2:25 |
| Philles 107 | 1/12/63 | #8 | Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah | Ray Gilbert and Allie Wrubel | Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans | 2:49 |
| Philles 108 | 2/16/63 | #43 | Puddin' N' Tain | Gary Pipkin, Alonzo Willis, Brice Coefield | The Alley Cats | 2:48 |
| Philles 109 | 2/16/63 | #11 | He's Sure The Boy I Love | Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil | The Crystals | 2:44 |
| Philles 110 | 3/30/63 | #38 | Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Hearts | Ellie Greenwich, Tony Powers, Phil Spector | Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans | 2:48 |
| Philles 111 | ?/??/63 | withdrawn | (Let's Dance) The Screw, Part 1 | Spector | The Crystals | |
| Philles 111 | 5/11/63 | #39 | (Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry | Greenwich, Powers, Spector | Darlene Love | 2:48 |
| Philles 112 | 6/8/63 | #3 | Da Doo Ron Ron | Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, Phil Spector | The Crystals | 2:17 |
| Philles 113 | 7/13/63 | #63 | Not Too Young To Get Married | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans | 2:27 |
| Philles 114 | 9/7/63 | #26 | Wait Til My Bobby Gets Home | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | Darlene Love | 2:23 |
| Philles 115 | 9/14/63 | #6 | Then He Kissed Me | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | The Crystals | 2:37 |
| Philles 116 | 10/12/63 | #2 | Be My Baby | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | The Ronettes | 2:40 |
| Philles 117 | 11/23/63 | #53 | A Fine Fine Boy | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | Darlene Love | 2:46 |
| Philles 118 | 2/1/64 | #24 | Baby, I Love You | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | The Ronettes | 2:50 |
| Philles 119 | 11/63 | Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | Darlene Love | 2:45 | |
| Philles 119x | 2/8/64 | #92 | Little Boy | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | The Crystals | 2:59 |
| Philles 120 | 5/16/64 | #39 | The Best Part of Breakin' Up | Vini Poncia, Pete Andreoli, Phil Spector | The Ronettes | 3:02 |
| Philles 121 | 8/1/64 | #34 | Do I Love You? | Poncia, Andreoli, Spector | The Ronettes | 2:50 |
| Philles 122 | 8/1/64 | #98 | All Grown Up | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | The Crystals | 2:49 |
| Philles 123 | /64 | withdrawn | Stumble And Fall | Poncia, Andreoli, Spector | Darlene Love | 2:22 |
| Philles 123 | 12/5/64 | #23 | Walking in the Rain | Weil, Mann, Spector | The Ronettes | 3:16 |
| Philles 124 | 2/6/65 | #1 | You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' | Weil, Mann, Spector | The Righteous Brothers | 3:46 |
| Philles 125 | 12/64 | Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | Darlene Love | 2:45 | |
| Philles 126 | 3/6/65 | #52 | Born to Be Together | Weil, Mann, Spector | The Ronettes | 2:57 |
| Philles 127 | 5/15/65 | #9 | Just Once in My Life | Goffin, King, Spector | The Righteous Brothers | 3:56 |
| Philles 128 | 6/12/65 | #75 | Is This What I Get for Loving You? | Goffin, King, Spector | The Ronettes | 3:21 |
| Philles 129 | 8/28/65 | #4 | Unchained Melody (originally B side to "Hung On You") | Hy Zaret and Alex North / "Hung on You" by Gerry Goffin, Carole King and Phil Spector | The Righteous Brothers | 3:37 |
| Philles 130 | 1/8/66 | #5 | Ebb Tide | Carl Sigman and Robert Maxwell | The Righteous Brothers | 2:48 |
| Philles 131 | 6/18/66 | #88 | River Deep - Mountain High | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | Ike and Tina Turner | 3:40 |
| Philles 132 | /66 | #118 | White Cliffs of Dover | Walter Kent and Nat Burton | The Righteous Brothers | 2:20 |
| Philles 133 | 10/29/66 | #100 | I Can Hear Music | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | The Ronettes | 3:00 |
| Philles 134 | /66 | A Man Is A Man Is A Man | Antell | Ike and Tina Turner | 2:49 | |
| Philles 135 | /67 | #114 | I'll Never Need More Than This | Greenwich, Barry, Spector | Ike and Tina Turner | 3:27 |
| Philles 136 | /67 | A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knockin' Everyday) | Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland | Ike and Tina Turner | 2:57 |
Albums discography
| Catalogue | Release Date | Chart Peak | Album Title | Artist | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philles 4000 | 8/62 | Twist Uptown | The Crystals | ||
| Philles 4001 | 2/63 | #131 | He's a Rebel | The Crystals | |
| Philles 4002 | 2/63 | Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah | Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans | ||
| Philles 4003 | 7/63 | Sing the Greatest Hits, Vol. I | The Crystals | ||
| Philles 4004 | 10/63 | Philles Records Present Today's Hits | Various Artists | ||
| Philles 4005 | 11/22/63 | #13 | A Christmas Gift for You | Various Artists | 34:12 |
| Philles 4006 | 11/64 | #96 | Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes featuring Veronica | The Ronettes | |
| Philles 4007 | /65 | #4 | You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' | The Righteous Brothers | |
| Philles 4008 | /65 | #9 | Just Once in My Life | The Righteous Brothers | |
| Philles 4009 | /65 | #16 | Back to Back | The Righteous Brothers | |
| Philles 4010 | /65 | Lenny Bruce Is Out Again | Lenny Bruce | ||
| Philles 4011++ | 9/66 | River Deep - Mountain High | Ike and Tina Turner |
++Only a few copies of the album were pressed, and covers never made, before it was canceled by Philles. This LP was released on A&M Records in 1969.
See also
References
- ↑ "Sony Music Entertainment and EMI Music Publishing Strike Historic New Licensing Deal To... - NEW YORK, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/". Prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
