Buddah Records

History

Kama Sutra Records helped bolster MGM Records's profits during 1965 and 1966, primarily due to the success of Kama Sutra's flagship artists The Lovin' Spoonful. Kama Sutra's head, Art Kass, ultimately grew dissatisfied with his distribution deal with MGM and founded Buddah Records in 1967, with his Kama Sutra partners, Artie Ripp, Hy Mizrahi, Phil Steinberg, and (allegedly) Italian mobster John "Sonny" Franzese.

Kass brought in 24-year-old Neil Bogart to oversee Buddah's daily operations. Bogart had been an MGM General Manager in the early 1960s before taking a VP/Sales Director position at Cameo-Parkway Records. Bogart quickly enlisted Cameo-Parkway producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz, the Ohio Express (a band signed to Kasenetz's and Katz's Super K Productions firm), and ex-Cameo artists the Five Stairsteps into the new label. Buddah's first single was "Yes, We Have No Bananas"/"The Audition" by the Mulberry Fruit Band; the label's first album was Safe as Milk by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band. Kass and Bogart also brought along the promotion department of Cameo-Parkway, which was shutting down.

Buddah initially made its mark as a bubblegum pop music label, with Ohio Express, the 1910 Fruitgum Company and Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus. However, it was The Lemon Pipers who gave Buddah its first No. 1 hit with "Green Tambourine", produced by Paul Leka, in February 1968.

The New York-area visual aids company Viewlex purchased a controlling interest in Buddah in 1968 with Ripp, Steinberg and Mizrahi departing the company at this time, leaving Kass and Bogart in charge.

As bubblegum music's popularity declined at the turn of the decade, Buddah branched out into gospel, folk-country, and R&B. Bogart, a master promoter, went to great lengths to generate hit singles for "top 40" radio airplay, and earned results. Music industry historian Bob Hyde estimated that during their heyday, Buddah and its associated labels charted over 100 singles, with about one in five singles issued by the company charting (vs. the ratio of one chart hit to 20 singles released that most "major labels" experienced in that time period).

Hit singles released by Buddah and its associated labels during 1969–1973 included:

The Brooklyn Bridge's "Worst That Could Happen" (1969)

The Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing" (1969)

The Edwin Hawkins Singers' "Oh Happy Day" (1969)

Lou Christie's "I'm Gonna Make You Mine" (1969)

Melanie's "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" and "What Have They Done to My Song Ma" (1970)

The Five Stairsteps' "O-o-h Child" (1970)

The Jaggerz' "The Rapper" (written by and featuring a young Donnie Iris) (1970)

100 Proof (Aged in Soul)'s "Somebody's Been Sleeping in My Bed" (1970)

Brewer & Shipley's "One Toke Over the Line" (1970)

Ocean's "Put Your Hand in the Hand" (1971)

Honey Cone's "Want Ads" (1971)

Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Lean on Me" (1972) and "Use Me" (1972)

Gallery's "Nice to Be With You" (1972)

Curtis Mayfield's "Super Fly" and "Freddie's Dead" (1972)

Gunhill Road's "Back When My Hair Was Short" (1973)

Charlie Daniels' "Uneasy Rider" (1973)

Stories' "Brother Louie" (1973)

Gladys Knight & The Pips' "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me" and "Midnight Train to Georgia" (1973)

While Buddah primarily focused on singles, several of its album releases, including Brewer & Shipley's Tarkio (1970), Bill Withers' Still Bill (1972), and Curtis Mayfield's Super Fly (1972), also charted well during this period.

Neil Bogart created and distributed Brut Records via Buddah Records for the Brut Fabergé company.

Bogart left Buddah in 1974 to start his own label, Casablanca Records. Shortly before Bogart's departure, Gladys Knight & the Pips emerged as Buddah's biggest success. Previously signed to Motown Records' Soul imprint, Knight and the Pips released their biggest hits, including "Midnight Train to Georgia" and "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me", for Buddah.

Jazz session drummer Norman Connors became Buddah's musical director in 1976 and helped to foster the label's move toward R&B and disco (e.g., the Andrea True Connection's "More, More, More" (1976) and Chic's "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" (1977); Chic's song charted upon its subsequent re-issue by Atlantic Records). Viewlex declared bankruptcy in 1976 and Art Kass purchased Buddah back from them, but the debt resulted in a substantial decline in the number of new releases. Arista Records took over distribution of Buddah from 1978 to 1983, with several artists, including Norman Connors and Phyllis Hyman, switching to Arista.

Buddah's final release of new product came in mid-1983, with Michael Henderson's R&B hit "Fickle" and the accompanying album of the same name. Kama Sutra's final issue came a year later, with the Fat Boys (formerly the Disco 3)'s self-titled single. Art Kass subsequently sold the label to Essex Entertainment, who managed the Buddah catalog until 1993, when they sold it to BMG. Kass formed another label, Casino Records, in partnership with former New York Dolls manager Marty Thau and concert promoter Terrell Braly, but this venture was not successful.

Buddah, now known as Buddha Records, was re-activated by BMG in September 1998 as a reissue label, which was subsequently reorganized as BMG Heritage Records on January 1, 2002. The Buddah/Buddha catalogue is now owned by Sony Music Entertainment and managed by Legacy Recordings.

Subsidiary and affiliated labels

Buddah distributed many labels during its history, including the following:

the wholly owned subsidiary Kama Sutra Records, from 1969 (when Kama Sutra's distribution deal with MGM Records expired) to 1976.

Curtom Records, founded and owned by Curtis Mayfield, (1968–1974)

Sussex Records, owned by Clarence Avant, (1971–1973)

T-Neck Records, owned by the Isley Brothers, (1969–1973)

Charisma Records, the U.K.-based label founded by Tony Stratton Smith, distributed 1971–1973. Buddah adopted the Gill Ultra Bold font Charisma used on their "Mad Hatter" label to create a uniform branding for its key labels (Buddah, Kama Sutra, Charisma) in 1973, although Charisma's distribution deal with Buddah ended later that year.

Hot Wax Records, owned by Motown songwriting trio Holland-Dozier-Holland, 1969–1973.

Cobblestone Records, a jazz label.

Pavilion Records, a short-lived gospel music imprint best known for its release of "Oh Happy Day" by The Edwin Hawkins Singers in 1969.

Studio One Records, the Jamaican label founded by Coxsone Dodd. Buddah released various selections from Studio One's back catalog in 1978.

Other Buddah subsidiaries or associated labels included Radio Active Gold (for reissue singles), Team, Super K, Royal American, Symbolic, Eleuthera, Ember, Pace, Desert Moon, Pi Kappa, Southwind, April, Thomas, Harbour, Music Merchant, National General, and Brut.

Label design variations

1967: "Buddah Records" in stylized black letters at the bottom. Singles were designated with green labels, albums with red labels

1968–1972: Multi-color "kaleidoscope" label with silhouette of a Shiva deity (not Buddha) at the bottom of the label between the words "Buddah" and "Records" (same format for both singles and albums)

1972–1978: Maroon label with pink circle around outer edge, "Buddah Records" at top of label in white letters (deliberately borrowing from the Gill Ultra Bold font used on Charisma Records's "Mad Hatter" label for a uniform branding). Singles feature the head of a Buddha statue at the top of the label, albums show the entire statue at the bottom. When Arista took over distribution in 1978, the Arista logo and disclaimer were added by stamp at the bottom, starting with this label format

1978–1983: Black label with multi–colored "B" logo at top in a box, "Buddah" in white letters under the "B" in a subsection of the box, Arista logo and disclaimer at the bottom (same format for singles and albums)

Associated labels artists

The following artists released at least one recording for Buddah Records, or for one of Buddah's subsidiaries/distributed labels as noted in parentheses:

Compilation discography and Billboard chart peak positions

Bubble Gum Music Is the Naked Truth (#105) – Buddah BDS-5032—3/69

Hits by 1910 Fruitgum Company, Ohio Express, The Lemon Pipers, Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus, and Shadows of Knight

Buddah's 360 Degree Dial-A-Hit—Buddah BDS-5039—1969

Tracks from Buddah, Kama Sutra and Curtom artists

The Amazing Mets (#197) – Buddah 1969—11/69

Songs by the 1969 World Series Champions New York Mets (take note of the appropriately issued label number)

Dick Clark / 20 Years Of Rock & Roll (#27) – Buddah BDS-5133—7/73

2-LP set of hits from 1953 to 1972. Original copies (with gatefold cover) include booklet and bonus 7" cardboard record "Inside Stories with Dick Clark" (reissues have none of the extras)

The Buddah Box—Essex Entertainment 7060–1993

3-CD set of 45 tracks by various Buddah artists (1965–1984). Includes 28-page booklet with label history and photos

Discography

BDS–5000 – The Best from Buddah – Various Artists [1969]

BDS 5001 – Safe As Milk – Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band [1967]

BDS 5002 – The Beauty of Bruno – Tony Bruno [1967]

BDS 5003 –

BDS 5004 –

BDS 5005 – Calypso Go Go – Lord Burgess and His Sun Islanders [1968]

BDS 5006 –

BDS 5007 – Penny's Arcade – Penny Nichols [1968]

BDS 5008 – Our Family Portrait – 5 Stairsteps & Cubie [1968]

BDS 5009 – Green Tambourine – Lemon Pipers [1968]

BDS 5010 – Simon Says – 1910 Fruitgum Co. [1968]

BDS 5011 – The Treasure of San Gennaro (Soundtrack) – Armando Trovaioli [1968]

BDS 5012 – The Barry Goldberg Reunion – There's No Hole In My Soul [1968]

BDS 5013 –

BDS 5014 – Incense and Oldies – Various [1968]

BDS 5015 – Checkmate – Lemon Pipers & The 1910 Fruitgum Co. [1968]

BDS 5016 – Jungle Marmalade – Lemon Pipers [1968]

BDS 5017 – Classmates – Various [1968]