Arthur Shimkin - founder of BELL RECORDS
Arthur Shimkin bought the BELL label from Benny Bell in 1952 and was the owner of BELL RECORDS between 1952 and 1960. His creativity and feeling for marketing have led to the wonderful BELL RECORD series of records, enjoyed by so many people in the 1950's and onwards.
Born in Brooklyn, NY on October 8th 1922, Mr. Shimkin created Golden Records in 1948, the first record company devoted exclusively to publishing children's records. In the 1950's he created the Golden Records Libraries, thus creating the largest children's record company in the world. Working with such artists as Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Cab Calloway, Jimmy Durante, Captain Kangaroo, Mr. Rogers, Shari Lewis, Alfred Hitchcock... he inspired major stars from film, radio and television to lend their talents to entertaining and educating children...[read more]
The BELL RECORDS history
In 1952 Arthur Shimkin bought the Bell label from Benny Bell and became President of the company. Head of A&R was Morty Palitz and the musical director was Sy Oliver.
The original Bell records of the '50s generally tended toward cover versions of popular hits of the times. In it's early stages, Bell recorded popular music and comedy. The orchestral backup was first-rate on many of these recordings, with bands such as Sy Oliver and Burt Bacharach appearing.
By 1959, Al Massler was President of Bell. Massler formed Mala Records in 1959 as a subsidiary label to Bell, Mala recorded popular, rock and roll and R&B music. Massler also formed another subsidiary, Amy Records, in 1960. Amy recorded popular, rock and roll, ethnic, comedy and R&B. After Massler became president, they concentrated more on albums, much like budget pop labels such as Strand...[read more]
BELL RECORDS related projects
