Cobra Records

In 1956, Eli Toscana started Abco records on Chicago’s West Side with financial backing from another Chicago record label-owner, Joe Brown owner of J.O.B records. Toscana liked gambling and Abco closed the same year but he immediately found another willing partner in Howard Bedno and the two of them began COBRA records at Roosevelt Road. Someone said that the label took its personality,not from its owners, but from its chief employee. Willie Dixon was their main man –their Artistic Director-and according to him their primitive studio was behind Eli Toscano’s Record Shop with speakers mounted on trash-cans but, for the first time in his career, he had full control over the recording process and it was he who put Otis Rush, Buddy Guy and Magic Sam under contract. First out was Otis Rush with a Dixon song “I cant quit you baby” but before recording could begin , Dixon had to go out and buy a guitar amp as Toscano’s shaky economy didn’t include petty cash. Marketing of the first release was as easy as offering a local radio DJ a percentage of the sales if he played it regularily on his programme. This seemed to work as the first few releases sold well. Dixon never thought it worth recording himself as he realised that Cobras resources did not stretch to proper marketing and noted that ,even though the recordings were selling well, the company was in bad shape. He never ever got his promised 50% of the profits as Eli Toscano was gambling away all of the money- plus some-and when his body was fished out of Lake Michigan in the early months of 1959,Willie went back to Chess Records Cobra and its sister label Artistic Records ceased to be.

Cobras other partner,Howard Bedno, seemed to keep a low profile and his obituary in 2006 mentions Cobra but puts more emphasis on his short stint with Vee-Jay Records where he was involved with the early Beatles discs and had a long ,respected career in the Chicago music scene up to his death aged 88.

External links

• singles disgography