Cameo-Parkway Records - History

History

Cameo Records was founded in December 1956 in Philadelphia by Bernie Lowe and Kal Mann (it has no connection to a 1920s record label also called Cameo Records). Parkway, initially a subsidiary label, was formed in 1958.

Mann and Lowe had been a successful songwritng team prior to the start of label, with Mann writing lyrics and Lowe the music; their biggest hit prior to starting the label was Elvis Presley's "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear". Dave Appell joined the label from its inception as A&R director, and the three worked together as a production team on many early Cameo releases. Mann and Lowe wrote many of the label's early singles, while Mann and Appell also became a successful songwriting team that was responsible for many of the label's hits, particularly after Lowe cut back on his songwriting (c.1961/62) to attend to the business of running the label. In addition, Appel's group The Applejacks functioned as the de facto Cameo house band for the first few years of the company's existence, serving as backing musicians for the label's vocalists as well as issuing a handful of instrumental singles on their own. Lowe, also a musician, played piano on many early tracks.

The first hit for Cameo was "Butterfly" by Charlie Gracie, which reached #1 nationally in early 1957; it was also Cameo-Parkway's first of five chart toppers. Throughout the remainder of the decade Cameo continued to have hits by groups like the R&B group the Rays, who had a #3 hit with "Silhouettes" later that year. In 1958 the label had further hits with "Dinner With Drac", a novelty record by John Zacherle in the top 10, and "Mexican Hat Rock", an instrumental by The Applejacks, in the top 20.

A major factor in Cameo-Parkway's success was its relationship with the Philedelphia-based TV program American Bandstand. Being located in the same city where this popular nationally-broadcast music show was produced meant that Cameo-Parkway artists were always available to perform on the show -- especially in the event any other act should cancel. Bandstand host and producer Dick Clark has spoken of the "warm relationship" the program had with Cameo-Parkway, and the of the label's willingness to ensure that quality musical acts were always available to the program on short notice. The label benefited tremendously from the arrangement, as the exposure many Cameo-Parkway artists received on American Bandstand helped propel them to stardom.

In 1959 Bobby Rydell scored his first hits with "Kissin' Time" and "We Got Love" on Cameo. From 1960 to 1964, Rydell was the label's second largest hit maker after Chubby Checker, scoring with such hits as "Wild One" (his biggest hit, peaking at #2), "Swingin' School", "Volare", "The Cha-Cha-Cha", "Forget Him" and others.

Chubby Checker had a minor novelty hit in the summer of 1959 called "The Class", which featured Checker doing comic imitations of singers Fats Domino, The Coasters, Elvis Presley, Cozy Cole and the Chipmunks. In 1960 Checker's cover of Hank Ballard's "The Twist" became Parkway's first big hit. Although Ballard's version only reached #16 on the R&B chart in 1958, Checker's version went to #1 in 1960, and again in early 1962. Checker had several hits, including "Pony Time" (his second #1), "Let's Twist Again", "The Fly", "Slow Twistin'" (with Dee Dee Sharp), "Limbo Rock", "Popeye (The Hitchhiker)", "Birdland" and others.

Around 1961 the Cameo and Parkway labels began developing some new stars. The vocal group The Dovells, which featured Len Barry as the lead singer, released "Bristol Stomp", which reached #2 in late 1961, followed by "Bristol Twistin' Annie," "(Do The New) Continental," "Hully Gully Baby" and other dance-related songs in 1962 and 1963. "You Can't Sit Down," a vocal version of the Phil Upchurch instrumental hit, was #35 in Cash Box magazine's year end-survey for 1963. The R&B quartet The Orlons released "The Wah-Watusi", which hit #2 in the summer of 1962. They had a few more top 20 hits, including "Don't Hang Up", "South Street", "Not Me" and "Crossfire!".

Fifteen-year-old Dee Dee Sharp had done a duet with Chubby Checker on "Slow Twistin'", and recorded her first solo single, "Mashed Potato Time", on the same day. It went to #2 in the spring of 1962. More dance songs followed, including the follow-up "Gravy" and another dance song, "Ride!"

In the summer of 1963 the #1 hit "So Much in Love" by the smooth R&B group The Tymes marked the last hit from Cameo-Parkway's peak period.