HISTORY AND DISCOGRAPHY

One of the longer lasting and more successful independent labels, the Los Angeles based Imperial were major players in the 1950’s rock scene, specifically with their focus on New Orleans artists.

Founded by Lew Chudd in 1946, a Canadian who relocated to New York and worked with NBC radio before starting Crown Records. When he sold that in 1945 he headed west to California and started another record company. Like many independent labels of the 1940’s he focused on reaching a demographic that was traditionally neglected by the major labels, in this case the area’s sizable Mexican migrant population, naming his label Imperial after the heavily Hispanic Imperial Valley in California. The records he initially made were primarily Spanish language versions of pop hits but in 1949 when he was in Houston seeking to expand the market for these records outside of Southern California he stumbled upon the artist who would transform his company when he saw Dave Bartholomew performing at The Bronze Peacock Club.

Bartholomew, who was currently enjoying a national hit with “Country Boy” on DeLuxe Records, was an experienced bandleader and songwriter who was well-schooled musically as an arranger and already had some early production credits for sides cut with Chubby Newsom the previous spring. Chudd saw in Bartholomew somebody who could handle all of the aspects of record making that Chudd could not, writing, production as well as recruiting and shaping talent, and told him he’d be in New Orleans soon and hoped they could work together. Bartholomew, whose contract with DeLuxe was up, was agreeable but didn’t expect anything to come of it until Chudd showed up weeks later ready to get started.

Imperial’s success from this point forward is due almost entirely to Bartholomew, who not only shifted the label’s focus to rock ‘n’ roll, but also signed the majority of its artists out of New Orleans, Tommy Ridgley, Jewel King, Archibald, Smiley Lewis, The Spiders, Bobby Mitchell and a host of others, all of whom sold well locally and many of whom got at least one national hit. The biggest star Bartholomew brought in was Fats Domino who sold more records than any rocker of the 1950’s outside of Elvis Presley.

With Bartholomew’s many productions and Domino’s countless hits rolling off the presses, plus the reliable output of country star Slim Whitman, Imperial Records was among the most consistently strong indie labels of the decade. Aside from their virtually cornering the market on New Orleans acts their roster in the early 1950’s also included a number of Texas artists whose strongest appeal was also in the Gulf Coast region, among them blues guitarists T-Bone Walker, Pee Wee Crayton, Lil Son Jackson and rockers Goree Carter and Joe Houston. In spite of Imperial being in Los Angeles it had very few California based artists with Big Jay McNeely and Ernie Freeman being the only notable names until 1957 when Chudd signed TV star turned rocker Ricky Nelson on the basis of one hit on the small Verve label that had been cut to show his viability as an authentic musician.

With the arrival of Nelson, the label’s first white star in the field, Imperial Records had two of the five most popular rock acts of the late 1950’s, as Domino’s hits continued unabated, but they hadn’t sought to develop many new artists since the mid-1950’s, preferring instead to try reviving the careers of those who’d been stars a few years earlier, and to that end Bartholomew coaxed belated hits out of Roy Brown and Faye Adams but it was hardly a formula for remaining relevant as time went on. The few younger artists they managed to sign were either between hits, like singer/songwriters Johnny and Dorsey Burnette, or weren’t able to sustain their early popularity achieved on another label, as with Phil Spector’s first group The Teddy Bears, or simply weren’t given enough time to develop as was the case with The Mighty Hannibal (Jimmy Shaw) or Chris Kenner, one of the few New Orleans-based acts they signed after that initial seven year flurry of activity in the city, thus leaving it to other labels, Ace, Ric, Ron and Minit, to cultivate the next fertile generation of New Orleans rockers.

By the early 1960’s Imperial’s stature was falling as both Domino and Nelson’s commercial peaks were on the downside and they had no potential stars on the roster to replace them. When Fats then took a sizable offer to move to ABC-Paramount in late 1963 the face of their label for more than a decade was gone and now facing a changing industry with more corporate investment in rival companies giving him less chance to re-build a viable roster Chudd decided to shut down the label and sell Imperial’s catalog to Liberty Records in 1964, ending one of the more storied independent record companies of all-time.
 

IMPERIAL RECORDS DISCOGRAPHY (Records Reviewed To Date On Spontaneous Lunacy):

DICK LEWIS: Old Crow Boogie (5) (Imperial 5002; September, 1947)
DICK LEWIS: Snake Eye Blues (3) (Imperial 5003; October, 1947)
CHARLIE “BOOGIE WOOGIE” DAVIS: San Quentin Bait (6) (Imperial 5011; December, 1947)
CHARLIE “BOOGIE WOOGIE” DAVIS: Crack Up (4) (Imperial 5013; January, 1948)
CHARLIE “BOOGIE WOOGIE” DAVIS: Old Time Blues (3) (Imperial 5013; January, 1948)
CHARLIE “BOOGIE WOOGIE” DAVIS: 17 Million $ Baby (7) (Imperial 5019; April, 1948)
CHARLIE “BOOGIE WOOGIE” DAVIS: I Know What It’s All About (3) (Imperial 5021; May, 1948)
CHARLIE “BOOGIE WOOGIE” DAVIS: Boogie Woogie Baby (7) (Imperial 5024; May, 1948)
CHARLIE “BOOGIE WOOGIE” DAVIS: You Sure Got A Lotta Nerve (5) (Imperial 5026; June, 1948)
CHARLIE “BOOGIE WOOGIE” DAVIS: You Fine And Healthy Thing (4) (Imperial 5033; December, 1948)
CHARLIE “BOOGIE WOOGIE” DAVIS: Hey! Hey! Pretty Mama (3) (Imperial 5038; March, 1949)
CHARLIE “BOOGIE WOOGIE” DAVIS: Singing And Crying The Blues (4) (Imperial 5051; November, 1949)
TOMMY RIDGLEY: Shrewsbury Blues (6) (Imperial 5054; December, 1949)
TOMMY RIDGLEY: Early Dawn Boogie (6) (Imperial 5054; December, 1949)
JEWEL KING: 3 x 7 = 21 (9) (Imperial 5055; December, 1949)
JEWEL KING: Don’t Marry Too Soon (3) (Imperial 5055; December, 1949)
FATS DOMINO: The Fat Man ★ 10 ★ (Imperial 5058; January, 1950)
FATS DOMINO: Detroit City Blues (4) (Imperial 5058; January, 1950)
JEWEL KING: Broke My Mother’s Rule (7) (Imperial 5061; February, 1950)
JEWEL KING: I’ll Get It (7) (Imperial 5061; February, 1950)
DAVE BARTHOLOMEW: Carnival Day (4) (Imperial 5064; February, 1950)
DAVE BARTHOLOMEW: That’s How You Got Killed Before (8) (Imperial 5064; February, 1950)
FATS DOMINO: Little Bee (5) (Imperial 5065; March, 1950)
FATS DOMINO: Boogie Woogie Baby (5) (Imperial 5065; March, 1950)
CECIL GANT: When You Left Me Baby (8) (Imperial 5066; March, 1950)
SMILEY LEWIS: Tee Nah Nah (7) (Imperial 5067; March, 1950)
SMILEY LEWIS: Lowdown (5) (Imperial 5067; March, 1950)
ARCHIBALD: Stack-A-Lee (Pt. 1 & 2) ★ 10 ★ (Imperial 5068; April, 1950)
DAVE BARTHOLOMEW: Ain’t Gonna Do It (5) (Imperial 5069; April, 1950)
DAVE BARTHOLOMEW: Country Boy Goes Home (6) (Imperial 5069; April, 1950)
SMILEY LEWIS: Slide Me Down (2) (Imperial 5072; May, 1950)
SMILEY LEWIS: Growing Old (6) (Imperial 5072; May, 1950)
TOMMY RIDGLEY: Boogie Woogie Mama (5) (Imperial 5074; May, 1950)
TOMMY RIDGLEY: Lonely Man Blues (2) (Imperial 5074; May, 1950)
JEWEL KING: Keep Your Big Mouth Shut (6) (Imperial 5076; May, 1950)
JEWEL KING: Passion Blues (5) (Imperial 5076; May, 1950)
FATS DOMINO: She’s My Baby (7) (Imperial 5077; May, 1950)
FATS DOMINO: Hide Away Blues (5) (Imperial 5077; May, 1950)
ARCHIBALD: Shake Shake Baby (6) (Imperial 5082; June, 1950)
ARCHIBALD: Ballin’ With Archie (4) (Imperial 5082; June, 1950)
FATS DOMINO: Hey! La Bas Boogie (7) (Imperial 5085; July, 1950)
FATS DOMINO: Brand New Baby (4) (Imperial 5085; July, 1950)
JEWEL KING: Low Down Feeling (6) (Imperial 5087; July, 1950)
JEWEL KING: I Love A Fellow (6) (Imperial 5087; July, 1950)
DAVE BARTHOLOMEW: Messy Bessie (4) (Imperial 5089; August, 1950)
DAVE BARTHOLOMEW: Frantic Chick (2) (Imperial 5089; August, 1950)
BIG JOE TURNER: Jumpin’ Tonight (7) (Imperial 5090; August, 1950)
BIG JOE TURNER: Story To Tell (6) (Imperial 5090; August, 1950)
BIG JOE TURNER: Love My Baby (8) (Imperial 5093; September, 1950)
BIG JOE TURNER: Lucille (5) (Imperial 5093; September, 1950)
DAVE BARTHOLOMEW: Going To Chow (3) (Imperial 5096; September, 1950)
DAVE BARTHOLOMEW: Ah Cubanas (3) (Imperial 5096; September, 1950)
FATS DOMINO: Every Night About This Time (7) (Imperial 5099; September, 1950)
FATS DOMINO: Korea Blues (1) (Imperial 5099; September, 1950)
ARCHIBALD: She’s Scattered Everywhere (8) (Imperial 5101; September, 1950)
ARCHIBALD: My Gal (3) (Imperial 5101; September, 1950)
SMILEY LEWIS: Dirty People (8) (Imperial 5102; October, 1950)
SMILEY LEWIS: If You Ever Loved A Woman (4) (Imperial 5102; October, 1950)
FATS DOMINO: Tired Of Crying (5) (Imperial 5114; February, 1951)
FATS DOMINO: What’s The Matter Baby (4) (Imperial 5114; February, 1951)
BIG JAY McNEELY (with THREE DOTS AND A DASH): All That Wine Is Gone (9) (Imperial 5115; March, 1951)
BIG JAY McNEELY (with THREE DOTS AND A DASH): Don’t Cry Baby (4) (Imperial 5115; March, 1951)
FATS DOMINO: Don’t You Lie To Me (7) (Imperial 5123; May, 1951)
FATS DOMINO: Sometimes I Wonder (5) (Imperial 5123; May, 1951)
SMILEY LEWIS: Bee’s Boogie (6) (Imperial 5124; May, 1951)
SMILEY LEWIS: My Baby Was Right (5) (Imperial 5124; May, 1951)
BIG JAY McNEELY: Insect Ball (4) (Imperial 5130; June, 1951)
BIG JAY McNEELY (ft. JESSE BELVIN): Sad Story (3) (Imperial 5130; June, 1951)
FATS DOMINO: Right From Wrong (4) (Imperial 5138; July, 1951)
FATS DOMINO: No No Baby (7) (Imperial 5138; July, 1951)
FATS DOMINO: Rockin’ Chair (6) (Imperial 5145; September, 1951)
FATS DOMINO: Careless Love (6) (Imperial 5145; September, 1951)
JAMES WAYNE: Home Town Blues (4) (Imperial 5151; October, 1951)
JAMES WAYNE: When Night Falls (2) (Imperial 5151; October, 1951)
GOREE CARTER: Every Dog Has His Day (5) (Imperial 5152; October, 1951)
GOREE CARTER: You’ve Got Everything (5) (Imperial 5152; October, 1951)
SMILIN’ JOE: Second Hand Love (5) (Imperial 5159; November, 1951)
JAMES WAYNE: A Two Faced Man (5) (Imperial 5160; November, 1951)
JAMES WAYNE: Bad Weather Blues (5) (Imperial 5160; November, 1951)
BIG JAY McNEELY (with THREE DOTS AND A DASH): Let’s Do It (3) (Imperial 5164; November, 1951)
BIG JAY McNEELY (with THREE DOTS AND A DASH): I’ll Never Love Again (3) (Imperial 5164; November, 1951)
JAMES WAYNE: Ageable Woman (7) (Imperial 5166; January, 1952)
JAMES WAYNE: Vacant Pillow Blues (5) (Imperial 5166; January, 1952)
FATS DOMINO: You Know I Miss You (6) (Imperial 5167; January, 1952)
FATS DOMINO: I’ll Be Gone (6) (Imperial 5167; January, 1952)
BIG JAY McNEELY: Tall Brown Woman (2) (Imperial 5169; January, 1952)
BIG JAY McNEELY: The Deacon Blows For Ray (5) (Imperial 5169; January, 1952)
BIG JAY McNEELY: Deacon Rides Again (6) (Imperial 5170; February, 1952)
BIG JAY McNEELY: Blow, Blow, Blow (9) (Imperial 5170; February, 1952)
BIG JAY McNEELY: Jay Walk (6) (Imperial 5176; March, 1952)
BIG JAY McNEELY: Night Ride (5) (Imperial 5176; March, 1952)
FATS DOMINO: Goin’ Home (8) (Imperial 5180; March, 1952)
FATS DOMINO: Reeling And Rocking (4) (Imperial 5180; March, 1952)
JOE HOUSTON: Ace Of Clubs (3) (Imperial 5183; April, 1952)
BIG JAY McNEELY: Old Black Mule (2) (Imperial 5186; May, 1952)
SMILIN’ JOE: Won’t Settle Down (4) (Imperial 5187; May, 1952)
SMILIN’ JOE: Misery (4) (Imperial 5187; May, 1952)
SMILEY LEWIS: The Bells Are Ringing (9) (Imperial 5194; June, 1952)
SMILEY LEWIS: Lillie Mae (7) (Imperial 5194; June, 1952)
JOE HOUSTON: Hurricane (7) (Imperial 5196; June, 1952)
JOE HOUSTON: Bobby-Sox Ramble (4) (Imperial 5196; June, 1952)
TOMMY RIDGLEY: Lavinia (5) (Imperial 5198; July, 1952)
TOMMY RIDGLEY: I Live My Life (3) (Imperial 5198; July, 1952)
FATS DOMINO: Poor Poor Me (5) (Imperial 5197; July, 1952)
FATS DOMINO: Trust In Me (8) (Imperial 5197; July, 1952)
JOE HOUSTON: Earthquake (8) (Imperial 5201; August, 1952)
JOE HOUSTON: Trouble, Trouble, Trouble (4) (Imperial 5201; August, 1952)
SMILEY LEWIS: Gumbo Blues (7) (Imperial 5208; October, 1952)
SMILEY LEWIS: It’s So Peaceful (7) (Imperial 5208; October, 1952)
FATS DOMINO: How Long (7) (Imperial 5209; October, 1952)
FATS DOMINO: Dreaming (6) (Imperial 5209; October, 1952)
DAVE BARTHOLOMEW: Who Drank My Beer While I Was In The Rear (9) (Imperial 5210; November, 1952)
DAVE BARTHOLOMEW: Little Girl Sing Ding-A-Ling (3) (Imperial 5210; November, 1952)
ARCHIBALD: Great Big Eyes (3) (Imperial 5212; November, 1952)
ARCHIBALD: Early Morning Blues (3) (Imperial 5212; November, 1952)
TOMMY RIDGLEY: Monkey Man (3) (Imperial 5214; December, 1952)
TOMMY RIDGLEY: Nobody Cares (5) (Imperial 5214; December, 1952)