The One-Derful Collection; Midas Records

"The fifth installment of the One-derful! Collection focuses on Midas, the gritty soul & funk imprint of this legendary R&B label group. Midas is preceded by the One-derful!, Mar-V-Lus, M-Pac!, and Halo compilations and will be followed by Toddlin' Town. This series marks the first in-depth study of what was once one of Chicago’s most prominent African-American run labels."

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One-derful! Collection: M-Pac! Records

The third installment of the One-derful! Collection focuses on M-Pac!, the blues and hard soul imprint of this legendary R&B label group. M-Pac! is preceded by the One-derful! and Mar-V-Lus compilations and will be followed by releases of the Halo, Midas, and Toddlin' Town sub-labels. This series marks the first in-depth study of what was once one of Chicago’s most prominent African-American run labels.



M-Pac! Records is available in 2xLP and CD formats, and within the grooves of these 24 tracks lie superb group harmonies from The Ringleaders and The Accents, gritty hard soul leads from Willie Parker and Stacy Johnson, and songs from one of Chicago's most under-appreciated soul shouters in Harold Burrage, plus 10 tracks that were never issued!

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The One-Derful! Collection; Mar-V-Lus Records

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More from One-derful!

"The second installment of the One-derful! Collection focuses on Mar-V-Lus, the teen-oriented imprint of this legendary R&B label group. Mar-V-Lus is preceded by the One-derful! Records compilation and will be followed by releases of the M-Pac!, Halo, Midas, and Toddlin' Town sub-labels. This series marks the first in-depth study of what was once one of Chicago’s most prominent African-American run labels.
Mar-V-Lus Records is available in 2xLP and CD formats, and within the grooves of these 25 tracks lie classic dance numbers from Alvin Cash, pure harmonies from The Du-Ettes, soulful funk from Josephine Taylor, aching deep ballads from Johnny Sayles, teen laments from Miss Madeline & The Young Folk, and Detroit influenced uptempo floor fillers from Joseph Moore, The Blenders, and The Ulti-mations, plus 10 tracks that were never issued!"

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The One-Derful Collection, Disc 1

"One-derful! Records is available in 2xLP and CD formats, and within the grooves of these 25 tracks lie orchestrated soul classics from McKinley Mitchell and Betty Everett, raucous mid-1960s R&B dancers from the Five Du-Tones which shake every bone, superb deep soul ballads from Otis Clay, and extraordinary group harmony sides from The Sharpees and The Admirations, plus 12 tracks that have never been issued!

Central to One-derful! is the Leaner family. By 1962 when brothers George and Ernie Leaner started One-derful! Records, they were revered figures on Chicago's Record Row and beyond. They distributed material from labels like Motown and Stax and One-derful! attracted top talent. It wasn't uncommon for a WVON DJ to help One-derful! sign their newest discovery, or for their singers, musicians, songwriters, or producers to have Chess or Motown on their resumes. Nearly 20 years prior, George and Ernie started work at their sister's Groove Record Shop. Before long, George was an assistant to legendary blues producer Lester Melrose, and later the brothers helped run Parkway Records – recording historic 78s featuring Little Walter and Muddy Waters. They did all of this before launching United Record Distributors in 1950 – regarded as the nation's first black owned record distributor. In addition, their uncle Al Benson was the most influential Radio DJ on Chicago's South Side. His on-air support and occasional partnerships with the Chess brothers proved crucial to their early success. He also helped many DJs get their start, including Vivian Carter who later formed Vee-Jay Records. In fact, United Record Distributors hosted her wedding. The Leaner name also turns up in connection with many of the greats in blues and soul: George Leaner produced an early release for Berry Gordy's Tamla label, and in the 1970s Ernie Leaner and Stax's Al Bell partnered to form Ernie's Onestop and a chain of Record World stores. The Leaner family were among the most important black businessmen of music's golden era, yet much of their history has only been superficially documented until now."

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The One-Derful Collection; Halo Records

The Gospel subsidiary of the One-Derful labels.

"The fourth installment of the One-derful! Collection focuses on Halo, the gospel imprint of this legendary R&B label group. Halo is preceded by the One-derful!, Mar-V-Lus, and M-Pac! compilations and will be followed by releases of the Midas and Toddlin' Town sub-labels. This series marks the first in-depth study of what was once one of Chicago’s most prominent African-American run labels.

Halo Records is available in 2xLP and CD formats, and within the grooves of these 25 tracks lie soulful songs from groups like the Salem Travelers, the Gospel Souls, Lucy Rodgers, and the Redemption Harmonizers, plus 9 tracks that were never issued! Halo's focus and determination was to make gospel music that secular ears could hear and enjoy. They were trying to make R&B gospel, and the main producer behind its aesthetic, Monk Higgins, later took this sound and had great success at Chess Records.

Central to Halo is the Leaner family. In the early 1960s when brothers George and Ernie Leaner added the Halo sub-label to their One-derful! label, they were revered figures on Chicago's Record Row and beyond. They distributed material from labels like Motown and Stax and they attracted top talent. It wasn't uncommon for a WVON DJ to help the Leaners sign their newest discovery, or for their singers, musicians, songwriters, or producers to have Chess or Motown on their resumes.


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