• Images
• Videos
• Documents
• Books
• Articles

History

In the beginning, Modern bought master recordings from other small labels, as with the purchase of 32 unreleased Gold Star Records master recordings by Lightnin' Hopkins and Lil' Son Jackson for $2,500 from Bill Quinn in 1951.³ The Biharis also often used pseudonyms to give themselves writing credit on songs.⁴ Saul Bihari, for example, (whose middle name was Samuel) used the name Sam Ling as a songwriting pseudonym. Having started as an R&B label, Modern was later one of the few R&B labels to routinely cover rhythm and blues hits on other labels, apparently in an attempt to broaden their appeal and reach the popular market.

In 1958, the Bihari brothers formed Kent Records and stopped issuing records on Modern.⁵ In 1964, the Modern imprint was revived and the Ikettes released a few successful singles in 1965,⁶ but the company went bankrupt a few years later and ceased operations. The catalog went with the management into Kent Records. This back catalog was eventually licensed to the UK label Ace Records in the 1980s and later sold outright during the 1990s. Ace Records of the U.K. now owns the master tapes.⁷

Management and staff

• Saul, Jules and Joe Bihari were the main people who ran the label. Their older brother Lester was only there sporadically.⁸
• Ike Turner was a talent scout and session musician for Modern Records in the 1950s.⁹ Artists Turner discovered for Modern include Bobby "Blue" Bland, Howlin' Wolf, and Rosco Gordon.¹⁰ According to B.B. King and Joe Bihari, Turner introduced King to the Bihari brothers which led to his RPM releases.¹¹
• Tony Hilder was an A&R man for Modern Records in the late 1950s. Later he went on to form his own labels, first CT Records¹² and later owner and president of Impact Records.¹³¹⁴
• Austin McCoy was an artist, session musician and recording session director with Modern Records. He left Modern in late 1950 to take up an A&R post with Mercury Records at their Beverly Hills office.¹⁵

Albums

• Modern Music: The First Year – 1945 (Ace CDTOP 1339, 2012)

The following albums were released in mono with catalogue numbers "M-70nn" and in stereo with catalogue numbers "MST-8nn":

• –00 Era of Tommy Dorsey
• –01 Era of Benny Goodman
• –02 Era of Charlie Barnet
• –03 Era of Glenn Miller
• –04 Era of Woody Herman
• –05 Era of the Big Bands
• –06 Dixieland
• –07 Polka Party Time
• –08 Honky Tonk Piano
• –09 The Strauss Waltzes
• –10 Day Dreams
• –11 Organ Gems
• –12 Cha Cha Cha
• –13 Sing-A-Long
• –14 Rock and Roll Party
• –15 The Heart of Spain
• –16 Oldies and Goodies
• –17 Progressive Percussion
• –18 Hawaiian Holiday
• –19 Era of Hank Williams
• –20 Tradewinds to Hawaii
• –21 Dynamic Percussion
• –22 Mambo Cha Cha Cha
• –23 The Fabulous Ink Spots

Selected singles

Subsidiaries

• Kent Records
• Crown Records
• Flair Records
• Meteor Records
• RPM Records
• Yuletide Records (Christmas music)

External links

• Crown Records Discography
• Modern Records Story
• Modern Records on the Internet Archive's Great 78 Project

References

1. Encyclopedia of the Blues, Volume 1. Routledge. 2006. p. 700. ↩

2. Yardley, William (December 11, 2013). "Joe Bihari, Who Put Early R&B on Record, Dies at 88". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/12/arts/music/joe-bihari-who-put-early-rb-on-record-dies-at-88.html ↩

3. "Modern Buys 32 Hopkins, Jackson Masters for $2,500". Billboard. September 29, 1951. p. 26. Retrieved August 21, 2024. https://books.google.com/books?id=3UQEAAAAMBAJ&dq=september+1951+billboard+quinn+modern&pg=PA26 ↩

4. Yardley, William (December 11, 2013). "Joe Bihari, Who Put Early R&B on Record, Dies at 88". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/12/arts/music/joe-bihari-who-put-early-rb-on-record-dies-at-88.html ↩

5. "Kent Launches R-B Singles" (PDF). Billboard. March 24, 1958. p. 3. https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/50s/1958/Billboard%201958-03-23.pdf ↩

6. "The Ikettes Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography". musicvf.com. Retrieved 2021-01-28. https://www.musicvf.com/The+Ikettes.art ↩

7. Gillett, Charlie (1996). The Rise of Rock and Roll (2nd ed.). New York: Da Capo Press. pp. 85–86. ISBN 0-306-80683-5. 0-306-80683-5 ↩

8. Kostelanetz, Richard; Reiswig, Jesse, eds. (2005). The B.B. King Reader: 6 Decades of Commentary. Hal Leonard. p. 7. ISBN 9780634099274. 9780634099274 ↩

9. Yardley, William (December 11, 2013). "Joe Bihari, Who Put Early R&B on Record, Dies at 88". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/12/arts/music/joe-bihari-who-put-early-rb-on-record-dies-at-88.html ↩

10. Turner, Ike; Cawthorne, Nigel (1999). Takin' Back My Name: The Confessions of Ike Turner. London: Virgin. ISBN 9781852278502. OCLC 43321298. 9781852278502 ↩

11. Kostelanetz, Richard; Reiswig, Jesse, eds. (2005). The B.B. King Reader: 6 Decades of Commentary. Hal Leonard. p. 7. ISBN 9780634099274. 9780634099274 ↩

12. Tony Hilder Biography at AllMusic https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000005010 ↩

13. Billboard Music Week May 8, 1961 Page 4 Music As Written, Hollywood https://books.google.com/books?id=ACEEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22IMpact+Records%22Tony+Hilder%22&pg=PA4 ↩

14. Surfin' Guitars: Instrumental Surf Bands of the Sixties, Robert J. Dalley Page 259, Page 298, Page 299 /wiki/Surfin%27_Guitars:_Instrumental_Surf_Bands_of_the_Sixties ↩

15. The Billboard December 16, 1950 Page 12 McCoy Joins Modern Staff https://books.google.com/books?id=zB0EAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22Modern+Records%22Billboard+Manager&pg=PA12 ↩

16. "Best-Selling Retail Race Records" (PDF). Billboard. November 6, 1948. p. 31. https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/40s/1948/Billboard%201948-11-06.pdf ↩

17. "Most Played Juke Box Race Records" (PDF). Billboard. February 19, 1949. p. 32. https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/40s/1949/Billboard%201949-02-19.pdf ↩

18. "Advance Rhythm & Blues Record Releases" (PDF). Billboard. October 22, 1949. p. 67. https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/40s/1949/Billboard%201949-10-22b.pdf ↩

19. "Most-Played Juke Box Rhythm & Blues Records" (PDF). Billboard. January 14, 1950. p. 33. https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/50s/1950/Billboard%201950-01-14.pdf ↩

20. "Bubbling Under The Hot 100" (PDF). Billboard. February 13, 1965. p. 28. https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1965/Billboard%201965-02-13.pdf ↩

21. "The Ikettes Chart History". Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/music/the-ikettes ↩

22. "Top Selling Rhythm & Blues Singles" (PDF). Billboard. June 19, 1965. p. 43. https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/60s/1965/Billboard%201965-06-19.pdf ↩

23. "The Ikettes Chart History". Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/music/the-ikettes ↩

24. "Bubbling Under The Hot 100" (PDF). Billboard. August 7, 1965. p. 20. https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/60s/1965/Billboard%201965-08-07.pdf ↩

25. "Bubbling Under The Hot 100" (PDF). Billboard. February 5, 1966. p. 24. https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/60s/1966/Billboard%201966-02-05.pdf ↩