Holiday Inn Records

Holiday Inn Records
Parent company	Holiday Inn
Founded	1961
Founder	D. Wayne Foster
Distributor(s)	Holiday Inn
Genre	Rock Pop R&B Country Soul
Country of origin	United States

Holiday Inn Records was a record label founded by D. Wayne Foster in 1961. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for Foster and Kemmons Wilson, as an independent business venture. Foster ran the label in 1961-1963, with a selection of artists including The Roller Coasters, Jimmy Foster, Frank Starr, Kenny Lund, Rusty Curry, Buck Griffin, Stan Daniel, and Tookie Collom.

Sam Phillips of Sun Records later ran the label on behalf of Wilson, recording artists including Charlie Feathers, Dolly Holiday, Diane Hull, Lee Adkins, Greg Todd and The Jacks, Jerry Dyke, The Climates, and Ironing Board Sam, Portrait of Fun, Robert and Randy, Larry Brinkley, Larry and The Accommodations, Gary Ellison, Charlie Freeman, Charlie's Children, Load of Mischief, and Bill Haley and his Comets.

History

D. Wayne Foster and Kemmons Wilson founded Holiday Inn Records in 1961 as an independent recording business. At this time, Foster was Holiday Inn's National Contract Sales Manager. The cause for the start of Holiday Inn Records was Foster's discovery of a group named The Roller Coasters. Bringing the group to the Owen Bradley's Studio in Nashville, TN to record, created the first Holiday Inn Record. The song was named "Rim Shot, part 1" and "Rim Shot, part 2" by The Roller Coasters. Published by Beaik Pub., BMI 0001, instrumental, Record #1..

Initially, Holiday Inn Records recorded a number of acts whom Foster personally discovered, and in most cases he would be involved in the recording sessions with the assistances of Neal Matthews Jr. from the Jordanairs. Several notable artists were signed in the first year including The Roller Coasters, Jimmy Foster, Frank Starr, Kenny Lund, Rusty Curry, Buck Griffin, Stan Daniel, and Tookie Collom. Some of the studio musicians Foster picked consisted of Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer, Boots Randolph.

In 1963, Wayne Foster had only a small amount of time to devote to producing records for the label with his many other more profitable business ventures. Inevitably, after producing eleven more records, Foster decided to leave Holiday Inn for his other business interests. This left Wilson needing to find someone to take care of Holiday Inn Records. He asked his old friend Sam Phillips of Sun Records. Since Sam had invested in the Holiday Inn Hotel chain earlier, he later recorded other artists on the Holiday Inn Record label for Wilson.

References

• Foster, D. Wayne. retrieved from 2008 audio interview recording; http://www.HolidayInnRecords.com.

External links

• [1]