Gallo Record Company
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| Gallo Record Company | |
|---|---|
| Image:Gallo2.gif | |
| Parent company | Avusa/Warner Music Group |
| Founded | 1926 |
| Founder | Eric Gallo (Gallo Records), Arnold Golembo (Gramophone Record Company) |
| Distributing label | Gallo Record Company (South Africa) Gallo Music International / Warner Music (international) |
| Genre | All |
| Country of origin | South Africa |
| Official website | Official website of Gallo Record Company |
Gallo Record Company is the largest record label in Africa. It is based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and is jointly owned by Johnnic Communications and Warner Music Group. The current Gallo Record Company is a hybrid of two rival South African record labels: the original Gallo Africa (1926 - 1985) and G.R.C. (Gramophone Record Company, 1939 - 1985). In 1985 Gallo Africa acquired G.R.C.; as a result, Gallo Africa became known as Gallo-GRC. Five years after this "merger", the whole company was renamed Gallo Record Company.
[edit] History
The company owns over 75% of all recordings ever made in South Africa [1], including those by artists such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Stimela, West Nkosi, and Makgona Tsohle Band among others.
Eric Gallo founded the original Gallo Record Company - Gallo Africa - in Johannesburg, South Africa under 'Gallotone Recordings' in 1926. Gallo was South Africa's first recording company and became home to a number of classic recordings, including the infamous "Mbube" (recorded in 1939 by Solomon Linda and his "Original Evening Birds"). In 1964, Gallo recruited black talent scout Rupert Bopape into the fold. Bopape formed the Mavuthela division, recording what was then called "black music". Mavuthela became home to famous and local artists, and was promoted as "South Africa's Motown" (the acclaimed Mavuthela quintet the Mahotella Queens were perhaps the South African equivalent to Motown's trio of stars The Supremes).
Arnold Golembo founded the Gramophone Record Company (G.R.C.) in Johannesburg in 1939. GRC obtained the South African franchise for Capitol Records label in 1946 (later moved to EMI Brigadiers), and the franchise for CBS in 1956.
In 1985, G.R.C. was incorporated into Gallo Africa. The company was named Gallo-GRC, and incorporated Gallo's production stable Mavuthela and GRC's production stable Isibaya Esikhulu; both stables had been fierce rivals from around the mid-1960s up to Gallo's take-over of G.R.C. The company was renamed Gallo Record Company in 1990.
Producers at Gallo included West Nkosi, who was an influential and intimidating figure at the company from 1964 until his death in 1997. Nkosi was a member of the Makgona Tsohle Band, which backed up all of Mavuthela's (1964 - 1985) artists such as Abafana Baseqhudeni, Mahlathini, Mahotella Queens, and others. Nkosi introduced to Gallo some of its most well-known artists; these included Ladysmith Black Mambazo (in 1972) and Mpharanyana and the Cannibals (in 1975).
Other figures at Gallo included talent scouts Rupert Bopape and Louis Petierson as well as musician-composer-arrangers such as Shadrack Piliso, Marks Mankwane, Hilda Tloubatla, Lucky Monama, Joseph Shabalala, Simon Mahlathini Nkabinde and Thandi Nkomo. Helena Paparizou also signed to the label for the release of her international album The Game Of Love, released on November 13, 2006 in South Africa.
In 2006, Johnnic Communications (Gallo's parent company, which changed its name to Avusa in November 2007) merged with the South African branch of Warner Music International, forming Warner Music Gallo Africa, making Gallo's entire music archive digitally available for the first time. These include rare pressings as well as classic hits by artists such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Lucky Dube, Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Letta Mbulu, Juluka, and many others.
