Jubilee

US label; for unofficial releases please use Jubilee (3). Jubilee was founded by Atlantic co-founder Herb Abramson with bandleader and record wholesaler Jerry Blaine (2) as "Jay-Gee Recording Corporation" (the name would appear on album covers and later 45 RPM singles) in 1946. Blaine bought Abramson's half of Jubilee one year later. The label released a number of classic doo-wop singles, including those by The Orioles, The Gallahads and The Cadillacs. The label also recorded R&B, pop and jazz by Della Reese, The Fifth Estate, Oliver (6), Mary Wells, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers and Moe Koffman. Jubilee's most successful albums were novelty and comedy recordings which included Kermit Schafer "Blooper" compilations, frat-house R&B by Doug Clark & The Hot Nuts (which had to be issued on a custom label created solely for the band's releases called Gross Records (2) due to their raunchy [for the mid-1960s] lyrics) and "party records" by Rusty Warren. One of the most valued Jubilee LPs by collectors is the 1970 debut album of country star Emmylou Harris. In 1954 Jubilee created a subsidiary called Josie Records, whose biggest stars were New Orleans funk band The Meters. And, from 1964 through 1971, although it was not explicitly stated on the labels, Jubilee also pressed and distributed the Tokens' B.T. Puppy Records label; Jubilee distributed other labels such as Chex Records, Port Records, Blaine, and Euphoria (3) (those labels *did* include a byline stating distribution by Jay-Gee Record Company, Inc.). Jubilee/Josie folded in 1971 and was sold to visual aid manufacturer Viewlex, who later sold the masters to Roulette Records, whose combined catalog holdings (including the Jubilee/Josie master tapes) are today jointly managed by Rhino Records (2) (in North America) and EMI (all other countries).