The Scepter Records Story

RELEASE
May 26, 1992
LABEL
Capricorn
GENRES
Pop/Rock, Soft Rock, Frat Rock, Brill Building Pop, Uptown Soul, Early R&B, Contemporary Pop/Rock, Pop-Soul, Soul, Rock & Roll, Early Pop/Rock, Girl Groups, AM Pop, Vocal Pop

Album Review

Big Apple-based Scepter Records was among the handful of independent labels to have survived the British Invasion of the 1960s. Their longevity was rooted in a solid roster with something for every taste, ranging from the intricate harmonies of R&B vocal girl groups to loose raucous frat rock with practically everything in between. Remarkably, Scepter was not helmed by a business-savvy entrepreneur or a veteran music industry renegade. In fact, a middle-aged suburban housewife and mother was actually behind the scenes calling the shots. At the insistence of her daughter Mary Jane, Florence Greenberg was introduced to four of Mary Jane's mates who had performed in their school's talent show. In short order, those young ladies evolved into the Shirelles, and the elder Greenberg -- who was running the practically miniscule Tiara Records imprint -- would repeatedly take them to the upper echelons of pop and R&B countdowns less than three years from their first meeting. Another player in Greenberg's initial ascension was the immensely resourceful Luther Dixon, who she hired to compose and eventually supervise studio production, arranging, and publishing. They tapped into the luminous Brill Building coterie, attracting the likes of Gerry Goffin and Carole King, who penned the quartet's chart-topping crossover smash "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," as well as the equally brilliant team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. The latter would score repeatedly, providing material for Chuck Jackson ("I Wake Up Crying"), Tommy Hunt ("I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself"), and of course Dionne Warwick, whose string of hits from the Bacharach/David songbook are worthy of their own multi-volume anthology. When rock & roll proved to be more than a fad, she signed the Kingsmen, who turned "Louie Louie" into one of the most influential three minutes in the history of recorded sound. As R&B progressed into soul, Scepter once again led the way with Roy Head ("Just a Little Bit"), the Esquires ("Get On Up"), the Isley Brothers ("Twist and Shout"), and Maxine Brown ("Oh No, Not My Baby"). Scepter was even the home to B.J. Thomas, whose interpretations of "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head," "Hooked On a Feeling," "No Love at All," and "Rock and Roll Lullaby" made it to the Top 20 . While the aforementioned titles are all included in this three-disc set, so are key entries from King Curtis, the Rocky Fellers, Ronnie Milsap, Fred Hughes, the Joe Jeffrey Group, and the Buoys. At the spry age of 63, Greenberg relinquished Scepter in 1976, but not before radically altering the pop music landscape for the benefit of all breeds of enthusiasts.
Lindsay Planer, Rovi

Track Listing

  1. Dedicated to the One I Love
  2. Tonight's the Night
  3. Will You Love Me Tomorrow
  4. Boys
  5. All in My Mind
  6. I Don't Want to Cry
  7. Funny
  8. Mama Said
  9. I Wake Up Crying
  10. Blue Holiday
  11. Human
  12. Big John
  13. Baby It's You
  14. Time After Time
  15. Soldier Boy
  16. Any Day Now (My Wild Beautiful Bird)
  17. Twist and Shout
  18. Welcome Home Baby
  19. I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)
  20. Twistin' With Linda
  21. Love Is a Swingin' Thing
  22. Potato Chips
  23. I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself
  24. Don't Make Me Over
  25. Take the Last Train Home
  26. Tell Him I'm Not Home
  27. Killer Joe
  28. Foolish Little Girl
  29. Louie, Louie
  30. I Am a Witness
  31. Anyone Who Had a Heart
  32. Since I Found You
  33. Money (That's What I Want)
  34. Sha La La
  35. Oh Lord, What Are You Doing to Me
  36. Walk On By
  37. Beg Me
  38. Little Latin Lupe Lu
  39. Oh No, Not My Baby
  40. Since I Don't Have You
  41. We Find Him Guilty
  42. The Jolly Green Giant
  43. Something You Got
  44. Never Had It So Good
  45. Just a Little Bit
  46. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
  47. The Silencer
  48. Baby Cakes
  49. Mama
  50. Daddy's Home
  51. Get On Up
  52. I Say a Little Prayer
  53. And Get Away
  54. Theme from Valley of the Dolls
  55. The Eyes of a New York Woman
  56. Send My Baby Back
  57. Hooked On a Feeling
  58. My Pledge of Love
  59. Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head
  60. I'll Never Fall In Love Again
  61. Everybody's out of Town
  62. I Just Can't Help Believin'
  63. Timothy
  64. No Love at All
  65. Rock and Roll Lullaby