Elektra Records

21 videos • 57 views • by Country King 1950–1971: Founding and early history Elektra was formed in 1950, as the Elektra-Stratford Record Corporation, with a singles label called Stratford Records,[2] by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt in Holzman's St. John's College dorm room.[3] Each invested $300. The usual spelling of the Greek mythological Pleiad Electra[4] was changed. Holzman famously explained, "I gave her the 'K' that I lacked". He found the 'C' in the original name "too soft", but liked the "solid bite" of the letter 'K', citing its use in the Kodak name.[4][5] The first Elektra LP, New Songs (EKLP 1 released March 1951), was a collection of Lieder and similar art songs, which sold few copies. During the 1950s and early 1960s, the label concentrated on folk music recordings, releasing a number of best-selling albums by Theodore Bikel, Ed McCurdy, Oscar Brand, and Judy Collins, and protest singers such as Phil Ochs and Tom Paxton.[6] Holzman also recorded Josh White, who was without a record deal as a result of McCarthyite blacklisting.