“B.B. King Recorded a Little Beaver Song,” Says Henry Stone

“I recorded B.B. King down here in Miami in 1984. He’s a terrific guy, personally, yaknow? So my opportunity came up to record him for Universal Records. It wasn’t my label of course, but I did the session. He cut a Little Beaver song called “Katie Pearl.” It was never released. I don’t know why. I […]

Here’s How The Independent Record Business in L.A. Started

“During the time of the  Second World War, records were made of shellac, but shellac came from India, so during The War we couldn’t get it in the U.S. They couldn’t bring the stuff in on the ships. There was no record business. After The War, shipping resumed, and that’s when the independent business in […]

Henry Stone’s 78rpm Record Distribution Business In Photos

Article ©Jacob Katel Henry Stone began distributing 78rpm records out of the trunk of his car in Los Angeles after he got out of the Army after WWII. He founded a ratings chart called The Indie Index, and worked with labels like Aladdin, and Modern Records to push their sounds throughout greater L.A. and anywhere […]

Flashback Friday: Henry Stone Recalls The Hit Records of January 15th, 1949

Henry Stone’s brain was sharper than a French guillotine. Even at the age of 91, he could go back 65 years in his mind’s eye and recall detailed minutiae from the hit records of January 15th, 1949. During one interview in 2011 I pulled out an ad for a tiny shop called The Record Box […]