More on the Embassy label

I heard from Michael White, who has researched the Embassy label, sold in the UK through Woolworths stores from the early 50s till the mid-60s (see previous three posts).

You can contact Michael by email if you have any information for him.

He has yet to publish his full account of Embassy and its artists, but in the meantime here are some items of interest:

• Johnny Worth who, as Les Vandyke, wrote a number of hits for Adam Faith and Eden Kane, recorded covers of his own songs under his own name for Embassy;
• Elvis Costello's father Ross McManus, a vocalist with the Joe Loss Orchestra, recorded for Embassy using the names David Ross and Hal Burton;
• Ray Pilgrim was a vocalist with the Oscar Rabin Orchestra. He also recorded for Embassy as Bobby Stevens, and recorded with Embassy groups including The Jaybirds (not to be confused with another, later band called The Jaybirds that included Alvin Lee). He also recorded for associated label Oriole.
• A song co-written by Ray Pilgrim and recorded by Dick Jordan, Little Christine, charted Top 10 in Belgium, was covered by other Belgian artists, and was released in the US on Everest (#19360, 1960).

Fascinating stuff, I reckon.