About
US record label. Label Code: LC 0332 / LC 00332 Roulette was a record label formed by Morris Levy, George Goldner, Joe Kolsky and Phil Khals in New York in 1957, with producers Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore as its A&R men. Goldner sold his part of the label to Levy one year later along with his own Rama, Tico Records, Gone Records, End and Gee labels. Roulette had a large jazz roster (built up by recording jazz musicians who frequented Levy's Birdland jazz club), which was further expanded in 1958 through the purchase of Roost Records. Pop chart success came with Buddy Knox, Jimmie Rodgers (2), The Playmates and Jimmy Bowen in the late 1950s along with best-selling LPs by Count Basie and Pearl Bailey. Success continued in the 1960s with Joey Dee and The Starlighters, The Essex, Al Caiola and Tommy James and The Shondells. In the late 1960s, Roulette also released a number of now very collectible psych-rock records. By the late 1970s, the label was in limbo and released only some reissues and compilations. After severe legal problems (Levy was convicted for extortion), Levy sold the label in 1989 to an / consortium, which began a series of Roulette-branded reissue CDs. The Roulette/(Royal) Roost jazz catalog was then managed by Records (with CD reissues appearing under the Roulette Jazz imprint). The Roulette pop and R&B catalog is now managed by Rhino Records (2) in North America and EMI, which owned the Roulette name and logos, elsewhere. Universal () sold (previously EMI's division, which included its Roulette holdings) in 2013 to conform to international requirements after it absorbed EMI the previous year. Please note that, after the -takeover in 1989, some releases also carry an logo. In these cases should not be added as a label, since the boxed -logo that appears with the label merely implies that was controlled by the , outside of North America, not that was a label itself". Classic orange/yellow label used since 1963. 45 RPM Catalog Number, Date and Label Identification: 4001 through 4004 (1957): Orange or red label with roulette wheel circling label. 4005 through 4050 (1957–1958): Orange or red labels with partial roulette wheel or no wheel at all. 4051 through 4420 (1958–1962): White label with six colored "spokes" (lines). 4421 through 4500 (1962–1963): Dark pink label. 4500 and higher (1963 forward): Orange label with broken line and logo circling label. All changeover numbers are approximate with Roulette. Information helpful in narrowing these down would be appreciated. In March 1968, they announced they were eliminating the 25000 & 52000 series and replacing them with the 42000 series. With singles, the 4000 series was replaced by the 7000 series. For bootlegs / counterfeit releases, see Roulette (8).
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Sub-labels
The Original Rock N' Roll Hits Of The 50's (2)
1986 reissued series on CD of the 1982 The Original Rock N' Roll Hits Of The 50's on LP and cassette.
The Original Rock N Roll Hits Of The 60's (2)
1986 reissued series on CD of the 1982 The Original Rock N Roll Hits Of The 60's on LP and cassette.
Roulette Big Band Collection
or ルーレット・ ビッグ ・バンド・ コレクション , Japanese series of reissues.
Tiger Lily Records
American label run by Morris Levy, the founder of the Roulette label. Purportedly, it was a tax scam label created by Levy, and was never intended to make a profit. Tiger Lily's modus opera...
Roost
The Roost label was founded in 1949 by Arthur Faden, Bill Faden, Monty Kay and in New York City as an offshoot of the jazz club, Shortly after founding the label, a...
Rama
Rama was a record label founded by George Goldner in 1953 in New York City. It recorded doo-wop groups such as The Crows and The Harptones. See for unofficial releases. 45 RPM ...
Master Records (4)
1960s label from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Tele House
Telemarketing label owned by Roulette active in the early 1970s. Eventually succeeded by Adam VIII Ltd., the most successful of the Roulette "As Seen On TV" labels, by 1975. Most of the Tel...
FM (6)
US label. Also appears as "FM Records". FM was a folk/jazz label founded in 1963 by two personal managers/producers, Monte Kay and Pete Kameron. Kay was the manager of Chris Connor and Herbie ...
Birdland Series
A jazz series named after the jazz nightclub in Manhattan, New York.
Basie On Roulette
The Basie On Roulette series proposes to re-issue the integral recordings made by Count Basie between 1957 and 1962 for the recording company directed by Morris Levy, the owner of Birdland. Over th...
VAMP Series
UK series for the Roulette label, around 1969 / 70
Swinger Records
1960s US Latin music label.
The Original Rock N' Roll Hits Of The 50's
Series issued by Roulette on LP and cassette in 1982, part of the series, includes The 50's/Vols.1-10 and The 60's/Vols.11-16. The series was reissued with different tracklist on ...
Pop Series (5)
Tico-Series
Western Hemisphere
USA Tax scam label with only 3 releases before Roulette moved on to Tiger Lily Records
The Original Rock N Roll Hits Of The 60's
Series issued by Roulette on LP and cassette in 1982, part of the series, includes The 50's/Vols.1-10 and The 60's/Vols.11-16. The series was reissued with different tracklist on ...
Roost Sessions Best 6
20 Original Winners
Contact Label
1957-1960: 659 10th Avenue, New York, NY 10036, U.S.A. 1960-1968: 1631 Broadway, New York, NY 10019, U.S.A. 1968-1977: 17 West 60th Street, New York, NY 10023, U.S.A. 1978-1986: 1790 Broadway, New York, NY 10019, U.S.A. (Contact info now obsolete)