Karen Carpenter, March 4th RIP

March 5 2026

Sweeper From Evelyn Laurie Records 

Origins and Founders

Laurie Records was founded in March 1958 by Robert and Gene Schwartz and Allan I. Sussel, with arranger Eliot Greenberg joining as a minority partner in the early 1960s. The label’s name came from Sussel’s daughter, Laura “Laurie” Sue Sussel. Sussel had previously run Jamie Records, and Laurie became his more successful second act.

🎵 Breakthrough Artists and Sound

Laurie quickly carved out a niche in the late‑1950s/early‑1960s New York pop scene. Its roster included:

• Dion & The Belmonts — the label’s first major hitmakers with “I Wonder Why” (1958).

• The Chiffons — girl‑group staples with a polished Brill Building sound.

• The Mystics, The Jarmels, Bobby Goldsboro, and The Royal Guardsmen.

• Laurie also served as the U.S. outlet for Gerry & The Pacemakers, linking the label to the British Invasion.

A key creative force was songwriter Ernie Maresca, who penned several of Dion’s biggest hits and became part of the label’s internal engine.

🏢 Business Evolution and Subsidiaries

Laurie operated several subsidiary labels—Rust Records, Legrand Records, and others—allowing it to diversify its catalog and distribution footprint. The company maintained steady output through the 1960s and 1970s, typically anchored by one major act at a time.

By the early 1980s, Laurie rebranded as 3C Records, and its master recordings eventually came under the Capitol Records division of Universal Music Group.

Broadcast Bulletin (Daily Updates)

Album Showcase

Birthdays 

Vault Vinyl's

Beatles and Elvis 

Legacy and Lore 

Visual Archives 

Gold Star Oldies Radio  Steaming Directories 

Legends Remembered & Celebrated — Gold Star Oldies  Tributes

March 1, 1958 — Buddy Holly and the Crickets begin their first and only U.K. tour at London's Trocadero Club, playing 25 dates of two sets a night in what would prove to be a major influence on the burgeoning British rock scene. Future groups pay their homage as the Hollies derive their name from him, the Beatles choose their name as a play on Crickets, and the Rolling Stones have their first major hit with Holly’s “Not Fade Away.”

March 2, 1942 — Charlie Christian (right), the first major electric guitar soloist, dies of tuberculosis at age 25. Influenced by horn players, he liberated the instrument from the rhythm section, turning it into a distinct solo voice equivalent to a saxophone or trumpet, in jazz specifically and in music generally, capable of the same levels of expressiveness and intensity. His music is embedded in the very core of all guitarlore, influencing blues, rock, country and popular electric guitarists for decades to follow.
                    1955 — Bo Diddley makes his first record in Chicago — his eponymous hit "Bo Diddley" on the Checker label — an R&B version of the traditional lullaby "Hush Little Baby" and the first popular American disc to introduce a West African rhythm now called "shave and a haircut."

March 3, 1956 — Singer-actress Gale Storm peaks at #10 with her version of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers' #6 hit "Why Do Fools Fall In Love," the first time a white cover artist fails to top a black act on the pop charts.
                   1957 — The head of the Catholic archdiocese in Chicago, Cardinal Samuel Strich, forbids the playing of rock and roll in Catholic schools and recreational activities due to its "tribal rhythms" and "encouragement to behave in a hedonistic manner." Nevertheless, rock records continue to sell well in the area.

March 5, 1955 — Music publishing giant Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) responds to escalating complaints about suggestive R&B lyrics by announcing its commitment to increase surveillance of such lyrics.
                               — Elvis Presley performs on television for the first time, shaking his hips on a regional broadcast of The Louisiana Hayride.
                   1960 — Sgt. Presley is discharged from the U.S. Army and is hustled to Nashville, where he records "Stuck on You" b/w "Fame and Fortune," his first tracks in stereo.
                   1963 — Patsy Cline dies in a plane crash near Camden, Tennessee, when her manager-pilot fails to land their small Piper aircraft safely on a highway during bad weather. Perishing with them are country stars Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins. They were returning from Kansas City, Kansas, where, ironically, they had performed at a benefit for the family of a country music disc jockey killed in an automobile accident the month before.

Sources:
Eight Days a Week (Ron Smith)
On This Day in Black Music History (Jay Warner)
Chronology of American Popular Music, 1900-2000 (Frank Hoffman)

Birthdays Singers and Song Writers 

1958 - Andy Gibb

English singer and songwriter Andy Gibb, the younger brother of Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb, of The Bee Gees. Through the early 1980s, he released eight singles which reached the Top 20 of the US Hot 100, three of which went to No.1: 'I Just Want to Be Your Everything' (1977), '(Love Is) Thicker Than Water' (1977), and 'Shadow Dancing' (1978). Gibb would later struggle with drug addiction and depression. He died on 10 March 1988, five days after his 30th birthday.

1938 - Paul Evans

American rock and roll singer and songwriter Paul Evans, who was most prominent in the 1950s and 1960s. As a performer with The Curls he scored the 1959 hit 'Seven Little Girls Sitting in the Backseat' which reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1933 - Tommy Tucker

American blues singer-songwriter and pianist Tommy Tucker who scored the 1964 US No.11 hit 'Hi Heel Sneakers'. Tucker left the music industry in the late 1960s, taking a position as a real estate agent in New Jersey. He died on 22 January 1982 aged 48, after being overcome by poisonous fumes while he was renovating the floors of his New York City home.

Early Beatles News

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