MY MOD STORY

EARLY ROOTS

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ATLANTIC RECORDS

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You're dressed up, you've hit town and your ready to dance the night away.

No matter if you were a mod or not you have probably liked a song or an artist that was on the Atlantic Label. Most of their early releases in the UK came out on The LONDON label (see LONDON label) but when they started on their own over here they captured the soul and R & B scene along with MOTOWN. Atlantic also released the STAX label in the UK until it came out in its own right in the mid sixties.
Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson set up Atlantic Records in New York in 1947 with an idea to bring to the public popular black music such as jazz, soul and R'n'B. During the 1950s they struck gold with hits by Lavern Baker, Joe Turner, The Drifters, Coasters, Ray Charles and the label became respected in the music business. In 1953, Jerry Wexler joined the company and helped it even further with his marketing skills,

But it was in the sixties that the Atlantic label took off in England and, although the early part of the decade was made up of releases that were more of a rock and roll flavour, by 64 The Mods had discovered the label that by now was heading more into soul. A main factor was Wexlers love of the southern soul sound of artists such as Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Joe Tex, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd. and all the others that were to be loved by the mods

I doubt if there is an old mod out there who has not got an ATLANTIC record in their top ten records and the label was a main factor in getting people onto the dance floor.
For a list of some of the classic ATLANTIC and STAX tracks of the sixties click the button below.