Red Bird Records Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller began their songwriting collaboration in the fifties with such hits as "Hound Dog" and "Kansas City". They wrote many of Elvis Presley's hits as well as songs recorded by The Drifters, The Coasters and numerous other artists.

Their first record company was Sparks records. In 1953 they released "Smokey Joe's Cafe" and "Riot in Cell Block" by The Robins along with other less successful efforts. When Atlantic Records bought Spark the pair became free-lance writers until forming Red Bird Records in 1962. Gerry Goffin and Carole King wrote such classic Number One hits as "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Take Good Care of My Baby". Burt Bacharach and Hal David met at the Bill Building in 1957 and went on to collaborate on numerous hits such as "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head". Pomus and Schumann also met the same year at the Brill Building and wrote such classics as "A Teenager in Love", "Save The Last Dance For Me" and many more.

Answer: The Dixie Cups

"People Say", "I Wonder", "Little Bell" and "Iko Iko" were other singles released by New Orleans-based The Dixie Cups but none of them managed to succeed as well as their first release, "Going to the Chapel". The song was written by Phil Spector, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich.

It was one of many hits that Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich collaborated on while with the label. Singer Joe Jones connected the girls with the Red Bird label. When Red Bird folded the act signed with ABC-Paramount but never released any hits with the new label. The Butterflys recorded "The Swim" and "Good Night Baby" on Red Bird in 1964.

The Lovejoys released "It's Mighty Nice" in 1964. The Red Bird release, "You Never Had It So Good" was done by The Four-Evers in 1966.

Answer: New York Is A Lonely Town

"New York Is A Lonely Town", "Summertime Girl" and "The Girl From Greenwich Village" were three releases by The Trade Winds on Red Bird. "New York Is A Lonely Town" was their biggest success for the label, reaching Number 32. The Trade Winds were a songwriting duo from Rhode Island named Peter Andreoli and Vincent Poncia Jr.

In the late sixties they released an album on Warner Brothers titled "The Anders & Poncia Album" and after the release the group parted ways. Poncia became a producer for artists including Ringo Starr and Kiss. Andreoli left the music business. "It's Mighty Nice" was by Red Bird artists The Lovejoys in 1964. "Top Down Time" was done by The Rockaways the same year and "You'll Always Be In Style" was a Red Bird release by Sidney Barnes in 1965.

Answer: Murray the K

Murray Kaufman worked as a live entertainer and promoter before going into radio. He assumed the named Murray the K and became an early supporter of the Beatles. He was backstage with them when they premiered on "The Ed Sullivan Show" after the Beatles sought him out upon landing in New York.

He actually did his radio broadcast the night they landed from the Beatles' hotel room at the Plaza Hotel. After earning the nickname "The Fifth Beatle" Murray was invited to the filming of "A Hard Day's Night". He also dabbled in songwriting and is one of the songwriters credited on Bobby Darin's hit, "Splish Splash".

He recorded one effort with Red Bird, but most of his albums were oldies compilation records on other labels. He was married six times and died at the age of 60 from cancer.

Answer: New York

Red Bird Records was situated in New York City. Veteran New York record label owner and promoter George Goldner entered into a business partnership with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Goldner had owned several independent labels beginning with Tico Records in 1951.

Although Red Bird was considered a girl-group label, male artists comprised over fifty percent of the label's roster. The girl groups did have the majority of the hit records during the labels 1962-1966 tenure. Lieber and Stoller wanted to write and produce records rather than manage a record company and sold the business to Goldner for a dollar.

They did enjoy a solid track record with 11 out of their initial 30 records released as singles hitting the Top Forty. Roulette Records bought the majority of their catalog.

Answer: The Fifth Estate

"Love Is All A Game" was a regional hit in the New York area when Red Bird released the single. Prior to signing with the label The Fifth Estate had a Punk-Surf style song as The D-Men titled "I Just Don't Care" which they performed on the "Hullabaloo" (1965) television show.

They had released minor hits for two different labels and were almost signed by the Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, a co-host "of Hullabaloo". When the deal fell through they changed their name to The Fifth Estate from the name of a New York underground publication and signed with Red Bird. "Love Is All a Game" was their only release before signing with Jubilee.

The band followed "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead" with a dozen other singles but never had another major hit.

They occasionally performed on the oldies circuit. The Insiders recorded "I'm Stuck On You" in 1966 for Red Bird. The Young Generation released "The Hideaway" for the label the same year and The Fifth Dimension had a 1967 hit with "Up, Up and Away" as well as other hits.

Answer: The Jelly Beans

The Jelly Beans released "I Wanna Love Him So Bad" when the five New Jersey girls were barely out of high school. Publicity shots depict four girls, however, five sang on the records. The young girls embarked on a rigorous schedule of one-nighters in support of the Top Ten hit and followed up with "Baby Be Mine".

The song made it to Number 51 on the US charts. "The Kind Of Boy You Can't Forget" was also released as a single. Although the group had hit potential Red Bird released them in 1965. The Poets released a holiday song titled "Merry Christmas Baby" in 1965.

The Frugal Sound recorded "Norwegian Wood" on Red Bird in 1966 and The New York Sounds recorded a song called "Drag Street" the same year.

Answer: The Ad Libs

The Ad Libs formed in Bayonne, New Jersey, in the early sixties. The group featured female singers backed by males singing in Doo-wop style. The group followed the Number Eight, "Boy from New York City", with "He Ain't No Angel". The song made it to Number 100.

When two follow-up releases failed to chart Red Bird dropped them from their roster. They had a minor R and B hit on another label called "Giving Up". The Darts recorded a version of "Boy from New York City" in 1978 and Manhattan Transfer released a commercially successful version three years later. Odds and Ends recorded the last cataloged record for Red Bird called "Never Learn".

The Five Cards Stud band recorded a cover of "Be-Bop-A-Lula" for the label and Seven of Us recorded a Red Bird release titled "Jamboree".

Answer: Roddie Joy

"Come Back Baby" and "Love Hit Me With A Wallop" were other Red Bird singles by Roddie Joy. Roddie Joy was not a group, but actually a singer named Rita Coleman. She signed with Cameo/Parkway Records when Red Bird folded but never had a major hit with the label. Mike Lewis and Stu Wiener produced and wrote her material.

The Latin Quarters recorded the first single done by Red Bird titled "Mira, Mira". Although it was the first cataloged recording, it was not released until after "Going to the Chapel". Jersey Red recorded the third catalog number for the label, "Shine On, Harvest Moon" in 1964 and Orpheus released "My Life" in 1965.

Answer: The Shangri Las

The Dixie Cups may have had the first Red Bird Number One hit but the 1964 hit, "Remember (Walkin' In The Sand)", began a string of hits for The Shangri-Las. Later the same year they released "Leader Of The Pack" and claimed their place in girl-group rock history. The song was written by George "Shadow" Morton, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. Morton was hired as a producer after his success at producing "Remember (Walkin' In The Sand)" and subsequent hits.
The Shangri-Las continued to release records for Red Bird until they released their final single, "Past, Present And Future", in 1966. When Red Bird folded, Mercury Records bought The Shangri-Las' contract, the only part of the Red Bird catalog not assumed by Roulette records.
The Shirelles recorded for Scepter Records. DynoVoice was The Toys' label and The Crystals were one of Phil Spector's Philles Records artists.