In 1953, Vivian and James Bracken from Gary, Ind., borrowed $500 from a pawnbroker to start a record company. Thirteen years later, Vee-Jay Records became the country's biggest independent, ...

It's not often that you hear of a record company being destroyed by success, but that was the fate of one of America's most prominent blues, jazz, and soul labels, Vee-Jay Records. The music they ...

Frankie Valli attends the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons 50th Anniversary Celebration on Oct. 19, 2012, at the Broadway Theatre in New York. (Jason Kempin/Getty Images) The Feb. 4 Arts & Style ...

The label acquires the home of Little Richard, John Lee Hooker, Betty Everett, Jimmy Reed, Jerry Butler, Staple Singers, Gene Chandler, The Dells and the first U.S. releases by the Beatles. By Roy ...

Vee-Jay Records, founded with $500 in 1953, rose to become the most successful African American-owned label of its day, anticipating Motown during a time when small, independent record companies were ...

Origins: As most Beatles fans know, the Fab Four recorded for EMI, and the executives at EMI's American subsidiary, Capitol Records, were so square that they declined to issue any of the Beatles' ...

John Lennon receives an award for sales of The Beatles’ 'Twist & Shout' from Vee-Jay president Randy Wood. It wasn’t recorded as a single and The Beatles weren’t signed to Vee-Jay or its subsidiaries.

Brow Beat is following the Beatles in “real time,” 50 years later, from their first chart-topper to their final rooftop concert. In our latest weekly installment, we check in with the group as they ...

Vee-Jay: The Definitive Collection collects blues, soul and R&B from acts like John Lee Hooker, The Spaniels, Jay McShann, The Staple Sisters and Jimmy Reed. In 1953, Vivian and James Bracken from ...