Oriole Records (UK)
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Oriole Records was a small British record label founded in 1927 by the London-based Levy Company, which owned a gramophone record subsidiary called "Levaphone". It recorded popular music in England, and also issued masters from United States Vocalion Records. The original label was discontinued in 1935.
Owner, Morris Levy (no relation to his Roulette Records namesake) revived the Oriole label in 1950. For a few years it was the exclusive UK licensee for the American Mercury Records label, with releases by artists such as Frankie Laine, Vic Damone and Patti Page. Oriole boasted a few british-made hits, mainly in the late 1950s, which included the Chas McDevitt Skiffle Group's version of "Freight Train" (featuring Nancy Whiskey on vocals); "Like I Do" by Maureen Evans, and the label's biggest hit, Russ Hamilton's "We Will Make Love", which reached number 2 in the UK charts and number 4 in the USA on Kapp Records. The label enjoyed a UK Top Ten hit in 1958 with Domenico Modugno's original recording of "Volare".
Oriole also produced cover versions of the hits of the day, which it released on its cut-price Embassy Records label, sold exclusively in Woolworths Group stores.
During the tenure of its A&R manager John Schroeder, Oriole was the first UK label to license recordings from the U.S. Motown Record's catalogue, but none of the releases charted (it was not until a few years later, and under the EMI banner, that the Detroit label would begin it's run of hits in the UK).
Oriole had its own record pressing facility, situated in leafy Aston Clinton, and Morris' brother, Jacques Levy ran the Company's recording studio (a converted ballroom) in London's Bond Street.
The Oriole record company lasted until September 1964, when it was bought, lock, stock and barrel, by the American Columbia Records giant, who were looking to set up their own label in the UK. The result was CBS Records, whereupon the Oriole label disappeared forever.
