Scepter Records
| Scepter Records | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Founded | 1959 |
| Founder | Florence Greenberg |
| Genre | Pop, soul |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
| Location | New York City |
Scepter Records is an American record company founded in 1959 by Florence Greenberg.
Florence Greenberg founded Scepter Records from the $4000 she received after she sold Tiara Records and The Shirelles to Decca Records. When The Shirelles didn't produce any hits for Decca, they were given back to Greenberg, who promptly signed them.
By 1961 Greenberg launched a subsidiary, Wand Records. Through the two labels, they launched the careers of not only The Shirelles, but Dionne Warwick, Chuck Jackson, The Kingsmen, B.J. Thomas, Joey Dee, Maxine Brown, The Esquires, Tommy Hunt, The Guess Who, Tammi Terrell, The Independents and B.T. Express and gave The Isley Brothers their famous hit "Twist and Shout", which was later covered by The Beatles. Another related label was Citation Records, "a Scepter Records subsidiary/series that featured a fake gold record on every cover, advertising the 'best of' (Joe) Tex, Flip Wilson, Deep Purple, Wilson Pickett, the Isley Brothers, and anything else they could lease (or own the rights to)." In 1976 Florence Greenberg decided to retire from the business and sold her record labels to Springboard International. When Springboard went bankrupt, Gusto Records acquired the catalog. Dionne Warwick arranged to buy her own masters, and the Kingsmen won control of their masters via a highly publicized lawsuit.
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