Biography
On June 3, 1921, Henry Stone entered the world in the Bronx, New York, where he first picked up the trumpet as a teenager after discovering the sound of jazz icon Louis Armstrong. While stationed at a military camp in New Jersey, he performed with various ensembles, and following his discharge in 1946 he began peddling records from the trunk of his automobile in Los Angeles. He later joined the Bihari Brothers’ Modern Records as a 78 rpm salesman, crisscrossing the country to supply jukebox operators. In 1952 Stone launched Crystal Recording Company in Florida along with the blues imprint Rockin’ and the gospel outlet Glory; one early success on the latter came with Rev. A. Johnson’s “God Don’t Like It.” Before Ray Charles achieved fame, Stone captured four tracks with the singer at a Tampa radio station and leased them to the Bihari Brothers. He also placed additional material from his labels with DeLuxe Records, most prominently the Cincinnati vocal group the Charms. Originally signed to Rockin’ in 1953, the Charms reached number one R&B for nine weeks with “Hearts of Stone,” followed by “Ling, Ting, Tong” at number five R&B and its flip “Bazoom (I Need Your Lovin’),” which hit number five R&B in January 1955, plus “Two Hearts,” which peaked at number eight R&B in March 1955. Stone created Chart Records in 1955 and established the publishing firms Pelican and Sherlyn, whose roster featured the Champions, the Evergreens, and bandleader-pianist Sonny Thompson. By decade’s end he added the Glades and Marlin labels. In 1960 he recorded “(Do The) Mashed Potatoes” by Nat Kendrick and the Swans on Dade; the ensemble was actually James Brown’s backing unit the JBs, and the single climbed to number eight R&B in February. Years afterward Stone cut Brown’s own “Rapp Payback” in 1980 and “Stay With Me” in April 1981 for his TK imprint. During the late 1960s he started Alston Records and signed Betty Wright, Timmy Thomas, and Clarence Reid. Wright’s “Clean Up Woman” earned gold status and reached number two R&B and number six pop in November 1971, while Reid scored a number seven R&B hit with “Nobody but You Babe” in July 1969. On Glades, Benny Latimore, known professionally as Latimore, topped the R&B chart for two weeks in September 1974 with the late-night blues staple “Let’s Straighten It Out” and later placed “Keep the Home Fire Burnin’” and “Something ’Bout ’Cha” inside the R&B Top Ten. Stone’s greatest commercial breakthrough arrived when he signed KC and the Sunshine Band to TK, yielding five number one pop singles, four number one R&B singles, and multiple gold, platinum, and multi-platinum albums.
Young Harry Wayne “KC” Casey first encountered Tone Distributors and TK Records while employed at a record store, prompting him to spend time around the company. Stone assigned the teenager the dual tasks of sweeping floors and packing shipments in the warehouse. There in 1972 KC met bassist and occasional engineer Richard Finch, and the pair quickly formed a creative alliance. Stone permitted the youths to experiment in the studio during off-hours and after midnight, where they produced numerous self-recorded demos. KC regarded Stone with an almost paternal affection. At a January 1973 wedding reception for Clarence Reid, KC first heard junkanoo, the festive, rhythm-heavy, horn-driven style native to the Bahamas. While later serving as Timmy Thomas’s assistant and booking agent for a Washington, D.C., concert, KC conceived “Blow Your Whistle” after noticing audience members enthusiastically sounding whistles; the track became KC and Finch’s debut professional release and reached number 27 R&B in September 1973. During a subsequent demo session the duo realized one composition sat too high for KC’s vocal range, so Stone and TK A&R executive Steve Alaimo recommended offering it to George McCrae. Issued in early summer 1974, “Rock Your Baby” ascended to number one on both the R&B and pop charts for two weeks in July and ultimately sold more than six million copies worldwide. The follow-up “Sound Your Funky Horn” improved slightly to number 21 R&B in February 1974. With TK’s approval, KC and Finch added lead guitarist Jerome Smith, drummer Robert Johnson, and conga player Femin Goytisolo; the resulting debut album Do It Good attracted modest domestic notice yet succeeded in Europe, driven by “Queen of Clubs,” a Top Ten hit in England and Germany. A hastily assembled touring band expanded to include eight additional musicians and singers. The fourth single, “Get Down Tonight,” hit number one R&B in April 1975 and held the pop summit for two weeks in August. Their self-titled second album appeared in July 1975. To exploit the group’s momentum, TK issued instrumental singles by the Sunshine Band, culminating in the 1979 album The Sound of Sunshine. Another album track, “That’s the Way I Like It,” duplicated the chart-topping pattern of “Get Down Tonight” on both R&B and pop lists in 1975, and the LP achieved multi-platinum status. In 1976 the band collected five Grammy Awards. “(Shake Shake Shake) Shake Your Booty” became their third number one R&B single, reigning for a month in July. The multi-platinum Saturday Night Fever soundtrack featured the band’s “Boogie Shoes.” The ensemble’s sale of tens of millions of records elevated the independent TK operation in Hialeah, Florida, and enhanced visibility for the rest of the roster.
Additional TK Top Ten entries from the era included Little Beaver (Willie Hale)’s “Party Down,” Peter Brown’s “Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me,” “Dance With Me,” and “Crank It Up (Funk Town) Pt. 1.” In 1979 crooner Bobby Caldwell joined TK despite the stylistic contrast with the label’s disco-soul-blues roster; his debut single “What You Won’t Do for Love” reached number six R&B and number nine pop in fall 1978, and several album tracks received heavy rotation on R&B-oriented FM outlets. Caldwell and manager Henry Marx later formed Sindrome Records, acquiring the masters from TK and reissuing the catalog plus new material tailored for smooth-jazz radio. TK scored another smash with Anita Ward’s “Ring My Bell,” written and produced by Frederick Knight (“I’ve Been Lonely So Long”); the song climbed to number one R&B in six weeks, remained there for five weeks, and topped the pop chart for two weeks in summer 1979. Its distinctive “boingy” synthesizer effect prompted numerous imitators, and DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince delivered a million-selling Top Twenty R&B/pop cover in 1991. George McCrae’s wife Gwen McCrae notched three hits: “For Your Love,” the number one R&B single “Rockin’ Chair,” and “Love Insurance.” Rock outfit Foxy’s “Get Off” held number one R&B for two weeks in summer 1978.
By the close of the 1970s, tensions arose among KC, Finch, and TK, a situation some observers linked to weaker chart performance, although shifting public tastes may also have contributed. The title track of KC and the Sunshine Band’s fifth album Do You Wanna Go Party (June 1979) reached number eight R&B. To diversify the set, the duo included ballads; the B-side “Please Don’t Go” gradually advanced to number one pop in January 1980. That same year TK filed for bankruptcy. After moving more than 75 million albums and millions of singles on TK, KC and the Sunshine Band signed with Epic Records, yet none of the subsequent releases charted and the group disbanded. Ironically, KC’s next hit arrived only after he partnered with a Southern businessman to create the independent MECA label; he licensed back the European single “Give It Up” from Epic, and it became a Top Twenty pop success in the United States in 1983. In the 1990s the TK catalog passed to Rhino Records, which has issued numerous reissues. Several major hip-hop acts have sampled TK recordings for their own tracks. Henry Stone passed away on August 7, 2014, in Miami, Florida.
Young Harry Wayne “KC” Casey first encountered Tone Distributors and TK Records while employed at a record store, prompting him to spend time around the company. Stone assigned the teenager the dual tasks of sweeping floors and packing shipments in the warehouse. There in 1972 KC met bassist and occasional engineer Richard Finch, and the pair quickly formed a creative alliance. Stone permitted the youths to experiment in the studio during off-hours and after midnight, where they produced numerous self-recorded demos. KC regarded Stone with an almost paternal affection. At a January 1973 wedding reception for Clarence Reid, KC first heard junkanoo, the festive, rhythm-heavy, horn-driven style native to the Bahamas. While later serving as Timmy Thomas’s assistant and booking agent for a Washington, D.C., concert, KC conceived “Blow Your Whistle” after noticing audience members enthusiastically sounding whistles; the track became KC and Finch’s debut professional release and reached number 27 R&B in September 1973. During a subsequent demo session the duo realized one composition sat too high for KC’s vocal range, so Stone and TK A&R executive Steve Alaimo recommended offering it to George McCrae. Issued in early summer 1974, “Rock Your Baby” ascended to number one on both the R&B and pop charts for two weeks in July and ultimately sold more than six million copies worldwide. The follow-up “Sound Your Funky Horn” improved slightly to number 21 R&B in February 1974. With TK’s approval, KC and Finch added lead guitarist Jerome Smith, drummer Robert Johnson, and conga player Femin Goytisolo; the resulting debut album Do It Good attracted modest domestic notice yet succeeded in Europe, driven by “Queen of Clubs,” a Top Ten hit in England and Germany. A hastily assembled touring band expanded to include eight additional musicians and singers. The fourth single, “Get Down Tonight,” hit number one R&B in April 1975 and held the pop summit for two weeks in August. Their self-titled second album appeared in July 1975. To exploit the group’s momentum, TK issued instrumental singles by the Sunshine Band, culminating in the 1979 album The Sound of Sunshine. Another album track, “That’s the Way I Like It,” duplicated the chart-topping pattern of “Get Down Tonight” on both R&B and pop lists in 1975, and the LP achieved multi-platinum status. In 1976 the band collected five Grammy Awards. “(Shake Shake Shake) Shake Your Booty” became their third number one R&B single, reigning for a month in July. The multi-platinum Saturday Night Fever soundtrack featured the band’s “Boogie Shoes.” The ensemble’s sale of tens of millions of records elevated the independent TK operation in Hialeah, Florida, and enhanced visibility for the rest of the roster.
Additional TK Top Ten entries from the era included Little Beaver (Willie Hale)’s “Party Down,” Peter Brown’s “Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me,” “Dance With Me,” and “Crank It Up (Funk Town) Pt. 1.” In 1979 crooner Bobby Caldwell joined TK despite the stylistic contrast with the label’s disco-soul-blues roster; his debut single “What You Won’t Do for Love” reached number six R&B and number nine pop in fall 1978, and several album tracks received heavy rotation on R&B-oriented FM outlets. Caldwell and manager Henry Marx later formed Sindrome Records, acquiring the masters from TK and reissuing the catalog plus new material tailored for smooth-jazz radio. TK scored another smash with Anita Ward’s “Ring My Bell,” written and produced by Frederick Knight (“I’ve Been Lonely So Long”); the song climbed to number one R&B in six weeks, remained there for five weeks, and topped the pop chart for two weeks in summer 1979. Its distinctive “boingy” synthesizer effect prompted numerous imitators, and DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince delivered a million-selling Top Twenty R&B/pop cover in 1991. George McCrae’s wife Gwen McCrae notched three hits: “For Your Love,” the number one R&B single “Rockin’ Chair,” and “Love Insurance.” Rock outfit Foxy’s “Get Off” held number one R&B for two weeks in summer 1978.
By the close of the 1970s, tensions arose among KC, Finch, and TK, a situation some observers linked to weaker chart performance, although shifting public tastes may also have contributed. The title track of KC and the Sunshine Band’s fifth album Do You Wanna Go Party (June 1979) reached number eight R&B. To diversify the set, the duo included ballads; the B-side “Please Don’t Go” gradually advanced to number one pop in January 1980. That same year TK filed for bankruptcy. After moving more than 75 million albums and millions of singles on TK, KC and the Sunshine Band signed with Epic Records, yet none of the subsequent releases charted and the group disbanded. Ironically, KC’s next hit arrived only after he partnered with a Southern businessman to create the independent MECA label; he licensed back the European single “Give It Up” from Epic, and it became a Top Twenty pop success in the United States in 1983. In the 1990s the TK catalog passed to Rhino Records, which has issued numerous reissues. Several major hip-hop acts have sampled TK recordings for their own tracks. Henry Stone passed away on August 7, 2014, in Miami, Florida.
Albums
