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EMPIRE RECORDS
500 Series
45 RPM
Research by Jay Bruder
With assistance from Buzz Busby, Wayne Busbice, Jerry Dallman, Billy
Hancock
Les Moss, Margaret Jones, Dick Spottswood, Vernon Sandusky, Al
Turner, and Frank Ruehl
Empire Records was the outlet for Ben Adelman's Empire Recording
Studios. These records date from the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Jerry Dallman of the Knight Caps, remembered "Empire Studios"
as the remodeled garage attached to the Adelman residence on Cedar
Street in Tacoma Park on the D.C./Maryland line. Dobro player, Ric
Nelson, who met and recorded for Mr. Adleman several times remembered
that he had at least three different locations for his recording
studios. The first was a building in the triangle on the east side of
Georgia Avenue at Kennedy Street, NW. The studio was then relocated to
the upper level of a moving and storage warehouse adjacent to the
railroad right of way on the Takoma Park end of Cedar Street. The
building has since been raised for the METRO station. The proximity to
the rail line frequently disrupted recording sessions as passenger and
freight trains rolled past. Finally the studio was relocated back to
Georgia Avenue at Kennedy Street, but this time, on the west side of the
street.
In the early 1950s Mr. Adelman recorded under then name "Tru-Tone Studios."
He cut some of Patsy Cline's first recordings for Mr. Claiborne of
D.C. Records. According Mrs. Adelman in a 1994 interview with Patsy
Cline biographer
Margaret Jones, he let the tapes go to Bill McCall of 4 Star Records.
Needless to say, Mrs. Claiborne never regained control of Patsy Cline's
career, but a number of curious connections between Mrs. Claiborne and
Bill McCall indicate there is basis for the
Adelman-Claiborne-Cline-McCall connection. Ben Adelman provided Bill
McCall with recordings from other Washington area country performers
including Jimmy Dean, Roy Clark, Pete Pike, Marvin Rainwater and Buck Ryan.
The business relationship continued with Bill McCall's assistant at 4
Star, Don Peirce, as Mr. Pierce moved on from 4 Star to run Hollywood
and Starday Records.
Although Ben Adelman leased or sold material to many other labels,
Empire Records was clearly his operation. Standout performances in the
Empire 500 series include Buzz Busby's
bluegrass masterpiece "Pretty Polly" (507) and Wayne Busby's "Going Back
to Dixie" (506) a much sought after rockabilly side modeled on "Folsom
Prison Blues." Al Turner contributed a scan of a most
unexpected picture sleeve for Empire 512
and pointed to additional information on the Rockin' Country Style
website which give us an additional picture sleeve image.
The listing below shows that Empire 511 was released both as a two song
single and a three song Extend Play (EP) release. How many other Empire
releases exist in multiple variants is not known. There are no
known 78 rpm releases on Empire.
Mr. Adelman moved into leasing material for budget LP's in the early
1960's.
The Adelman's used the pseudonyms of Bob and
Cindy Davis for song copyrights. They formed a joint publishing venture
with Lillian Claiborne and Phil Flowers called Lil-Phil-Ben.
Mr. Adelman died in Florida in 1970. Mrs. Kay Adelman remarried after Ben's death. She
died about 2001.
Other
unrelated activities doing business as "Empire Records" operated out of
Detroit Michigan and Hollywood, California.
Images of Empire Label Styles
EMPIRE
45-500/501 (sic)
JACK
DONOVAN and THE KNIGHT CAPS
TIME
MACHINE 2:20 JB-323
(Harlow-Drew-Edenfield)
Eagle Music, BMI
I WANNA
CRY 2:18 JB-324
(Blocker-Davis)
Eagle Music, BMI
Black on Silver. Block print, no logo. 45 rpm confirmed.
Thin press. Typeset stamper matrix numbers with delta mark.
EMPIRE
45-502
JOEY KAY
BUNDLE OF
JOY
2:20
1001
(Flowers-Davis)
LILPHILBEN MUSIC, BMI
JOEY
KAY
JOHNNY BOM
BONNY 2:09
1002
(Kibler-Harlow)
TANNEN MUSIC, BMI
Black on Silver with Logo. 45 rpm copy confirmed with
Picture Sleeve.
Bell sound pressing. Handwritten stamper matrix numbers. 3L in reverse.
Writers on "Bundle of Joy" are Phil Flowers and the Adelmans. It was
published
with Lillian Claiborne.
EMPIRE
45-502/503 (sic)
ROY
FRANKLIN
SUMMER
SWEETHEART 2:49 JB-392
(Roy
Self)
Sylvan Music, ASCAP
JOANIE
2:47 JB-393
(McKenzie-Harlow)
Eagle Music, BMI
Black on Silver with Logo. 45 rpm copy confirmed
Thin press. Handwritten stamper matrix numbers.
Mentioned in an undated Washington Star Article
EMPIRE
45-504/505
PHIL
FLOWERS
LOSE 2:34 JB-414
(Kal
Mann)
Brae Musico, ASCAP
SADIE FROM
HAITI 2:37 JB-415
(Tate, Drew,
Davis)
Bendon Music Co., BMI
Black on Silver with Logo. 45 rpm copy confirmed
Thick press. Typeset stamper matrix numbers.
EMPIRE
45-506
WAYNE BUSBY
GOIN’ BACK
TO DIXIE 2:52 (SO-774)
(Wayne Busbice & Buzz
Busby) Cedar Music, BMI
BUSBY BROS.
–WAYNE & BUZZ
JUST FOR
ME 2:01 (SO-775)
(Cindy Davis – Phil
Flowers) Cedar Music, BMI
Silver on flat black paper. No Logo.
45 rpm confirmed. Sheldon press.
Address 323 Cedar St. N.W., Washington 12, D.C.
“X” on “Just For Me” side.
Cindy Davis is probably a pseudonym for Kay Adelman.
Wayne Busbice stated that the version of "Going Back to Dixie" on the
Ott label was from an earlier session (c.1957) at the Circle Studios
near the White House. Wayne guessed 1,000 to 1,500 copies were pressed of
the record on Ott (survival rates would indicate 100-150 copies
were pressed). The song was rerecorded for Empire.
EMPIRE
45-507
BUZZ BUSBY
PRETTY
POLLY 2:03 (S-864 2)
(Davis-Busby)
Cedar Music
DON’T LEAVE
ME ALONE 2:21 (S-865 2)
(Davis-Busby)
Cedar Music
Silver on flat black paper. No Logo.
45 rpm confirmed. Sheldon press.
Address 323 Cedar St. N.W., Washington 12, D.C.
“A PRODUCT OF EMPIRE RECORDING STUDIOS”
EMPIRE
45-508
SKIP
MANNING
“HAM ‘N’
EGGS” 2:25 (S-853 2)
(Cindy Davis & Skip Manning)
Cedar
Music, BMI
“DEVIL
BLUES” 2:20 (S-854 2)
(Bill Flemming-G Warren
Sears) Sylvan
Music, ASCAP
Silver on flat
black paper. No Logo.
45 rpm confirmed. Sheldon press.
Address 323 Cedar St. N.W., Washington 12, D.C.
“A PRODUCT OF EMPIRE RECORDING STUDIOS”
According to a 1963 entry in the Copyright Catalog "Skip Manning" is a
pseudonym for Phil Flowers. Cindy Davis is a pseudonym for Kay Adelman.
EMPIRE 45-EP-509
Side I
THE COUNTRY KINGS, Vocal Wade Holmes
1. HONEY BABY 979
(Dusty
Williams)
Cedar Music, BMI
THE COUNTRY KINGS, Vocal Eddie Marvin – Roy Irvin
2. I NEED YOUR LOVE
(Wade Holmes)
Cedar Music, BMI
Side II
THE COUNTRY KINGS, Vocal Pete Potter
1. YOU CAN’T HIDE FROM YOURSELF 980
(Wade Holmes)
Cedar Music, BMI
THE COUNTRY KINGS, Vocal Eddie Marvin
2. I’LL JUST PRETEND
(Dusty
Williams)
Cedar Music, BMI
Silver on blue paper. Thee ball logo.
No address. Sheldon press.
“A PRODUCT OF EMPIRE RECORDING STUDIOS”
EMPIRE
EP-45-510
Side I
WAYNE BUSBY
1. FIRST
BATTLE OF BULL RUN (S-981)
(Wayne Busbice)
1:40 Cedar Music, BMI
2. I CARRY
A TORCH
(Peters-Buscbice)
2:01 Cedar Music, BMI
Side II
WAYNE BUSBY
1. LIVE
YOUR LIFE WITH CARE (S-982)
(Wayne Busbice)
1:40 Cedar Music, BMI
2. I JUST
COULDN’T TELL YOU GOODBYE
(Wayne Busbice)
2:40 Cedar Music, BMI
Silver script on blue. Three circle logo.
45 rpm copy confirmed. Sheldon press.
No address.
“A PRODUCT OF EMPIRE RECORDING STUDIOS”
EMPIRE 45-511 (not EP?)
Carl & Norman
We're Happy
(Sally Rowe - McMillan - Cox) 2:04 Condor Music Claiborne Music, BMI
Flip Unlisted
Silver on blue 45rpm confirmed, 3 circles. Found on Rockin'
Country Style Website courtesy Jos Wouters.
EMPIRE
45-EP-511
circa June 1961
Side I
Carl & Norman
We're Happy
(Sally Rowe
- McMillan - Cox) 2:04 Condor Music Claiborne Music, BMI
Side II
Johnny Brown
Time After Time
(J.
Brown) 2:27
Little Angel
(J.
Brown) 2:06
Silver on black 45rpm EP confirmed, 3 circles. Found on Rockin' Country Style
Website courtesy T. Gordon.
Listed as "Limited Sales Potential" in Billboard Magazine June 26, 1961
p 46.
Link to EP picture sleeve from Terry Gordon's Rockin' Country Style
website, source John Burton
EMPIRE
45-512
circa March 1961
LUKE GORDON
13 STEPS
AWAY 2:55 (S-1335)
(L. GORDON)
Cedar Music, BMI
LONELY
HEARTACHE 2:27 (S-1336)
(L. GORDON)
Cedar Music, BMI
Silver script on blue. Three circle logo.
45 rpm copy confirmed. Sheldon press.
No address.
“A PRODUCT OF EMPIRE RECORDING STUDIOS”
Date sticker on both sides of label for March 1961.
Picture Sleeve courtesy of Al Turner!
EMPIRE
45-513
circa 1961- 1962
WAYNE BUSBY
BACK HOME
(IN THE AIR NATIONAL GUARD) 1:57
(Wayne Busbice)
Cedar Music, BMI
I'LL BE
BACK (AFTER PEACE HAS COME TO BERLIN) 2:22
(Wayne Busbice)
Cedar Music, BMI
Silver script on blue. Three circle logo.
45 rpm copy confirmed. Sheldon press.
No address.
“A PRODUCT OF EMPIRE RECORDING STUDIOS”
Label
shot courtesy of Tom Engle.
EMPIRE
45-513
March 1962
Carl &
Norman
Climbing Up
The Ladder
Love Has No
Strings
Rockin Country Style Website courtesy Jos Wouters & Udo Frank.
Billboard Pop Review 10 March 1962
EMPIRE
45-514
KEITH
DANIELS AND HIS BLUE RIDGE RAMBLERS, Featuring Del McCoury on Banjo
MOCKING
MANDOLIN 2:27 EM-2027
(Keith
Daniels)
Cedar Music, BMI
YOU'RE MY
EVERYTHING 2:40
EM-2028
(Keith Daniels)
Cedar Music, BMI
Silver script on blue. Three circle logo.
45 rpm copy confirmed. Sheldon press.
No address. Siver on Blue
“A PRODUCT OF EMPIRE RECORDING STUDIOS”
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