Groove Records

{{Infobox record label  | name = Groove Records | image = | image_size = | parent = RCA Victor | founded = {{start date|1953}} | founder = | defunct = {{end date|1965}} | status = Absorbed into RCA Victor: Defunct | distributor = RCA Victor Records | genre = Rhythm & Blues (first incarnation), Country (second incarnation) | country = United States | location = New York City | url = }} '''Groove Records''' was a subsidiary of RCA Victor, founded by ''Billboard'' writer Bob Rolontz in 1953 as a rhythm and blues label.<ref name="gillett">{{cite book | first=Charlie | last=Gillett | year= 1996 | title= The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll | edition= (2nd Ed.) | publisher= Da Capo Press | location=New York, N.Y. | page= 86 | isbn= 0-306-80683-5}}</ref> The label tried hard to break into the R&B market; Piano Red had its first hit but Mickey & Sylvia was Groove's first big seller. Groove also recorded King Curtis, Arthur Crudup, Brook Benton and George Benson. Following Mickey & Sylvia's big hit "Love Is Strange" in 1957, Groove was deactivated and the label's remaining artists switched over to the RCA Victor Vik subsidiary.<ref name="shaw">{{cite book | first= Arnold | last= Shaw | year= 1978 | title= Honkers and Shouters | url= https://archive.org/details/honkersshouterst00shaw | url-access= registration | edition= | publisher=Macmillan Publishing Company | location= New York | pages= [https://archive.org/details/honkersshouterst00shaw/page/460 460–466] | isbn= 0-02-061740-2}}</ref>

In 1961, Groove was revived as a budget singles label primarily for country music, with a few pop and R&B artists.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1961/Billboard%201961-10-09.pdf|title=Billboard|date=1961-10-09|website=Americanradiohistory.com|access-date=2022-03-21}}</ref> The label was given a full revival in 1963.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eQsEAAAAMBAJ&q=rca+revives+groove+full+scale&pg=PA5|page=5 |title=Billboard - Google Books|date=1963-03-16 |access-date=2014-06-14}}</ref> Artists who recorded for the later incarnation of Groove included Anthony Swete,<ref>Who Sampled - [https://www.whosampled.com/Anthony-Swete/Judy-in-Disguise/ Judy in Disguise by Anthony Swete]</ref> Sonny James, Justin Tubb, Marty Paich, Johnny Nash, Jack Scott, Johnnie Ray, Skip Battin, and Charlie Rich.<ref>[http://www.globaldogproductions.info/g/groove.html Global Dog Productions - 45 RPM Groove Records discography]. Globaldogproductions.info, Retrieved 2012-02-12.</ref> This version of the Groove label was dissolved in 1965.

==See also== * List of record labels

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:American record labels Category:RCA Records Category:Record labels established in 1953 Category:Rhythm and blues record labels