Carnival Records

Carnival Records was a record label started in 1961 by Jerry Moss and Herb Alpert, the precursor of their successful A&M Records.

They released two records, the first (701 - Tell It To The Birds / Fallout Shelter - Dore Alpert) was distributed via Dot Records outside California. Dore Alpert was the name Herb used as a vocalist in those days. The second single (702 - Love Is Back In Style / Peppermint Twist - Charlie Robinson) featured Herb Alpert on trumpet. However, they changed the name in 1962 to A&M Records because another label with the same name already existed.

Musician Joe Evans set up Carnival Records label, based in New York and then in Newark, New Jersey, in the early 1960s. The label's main focus was rhythm and blues/ soul music. The label's roster included The Manhattans, The Pretenders and Lee Williams & The Cymbals. Evans, who ran the label with only a small staff, including his wife, kept the label going in the 1970s with occasional releases with its final record coming in the early '80s. Its main success was with the Manhattans, who had a number of R&B chart and Hot 100 entries between 1965 and 1967.

Evans played saxophone with many top jazz artists for years before taking an interest in R&B, first as a musician (including Motown's touring band and the Apollo Theater house band) and then getting into the record business as a producer and writer, also running two other small labels prior to Carnival.

Carnival was also the name of a record label by the John Wanamaker department stores (est. 1861), which is credited as the first department store concept. Records produced for the John Wanamaker Carnival label were often 78 rpm records in the Jazz and Big Band genres.