DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now before we get into this story, you've got to understand the landscape. During the first half of the twentieth century, if you were an African American musician — didn't matter if you played blues, gospel, jazz, or anything else — your recordings got lumped together under one term: race music.
And that label came with a ceiling built right in. Race music was marketed strictly to African American listeners. The major record labels weren't looking to change that arrangement, and for a long time, nobody with enough money and nerve had stepped up to challenge it.
Then along comes Don D. Robey. Robey was born in 1903, and by 1949 he was a nightclub owner in Houston.
That year — a full decade before Motown Records even drew its first breath — Robey signed a blues musician named Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown to a management contract. And when Robey went to the major labels to get Brown properly recorded and marketed, he did not like what he found. That traditional race music marketing system didn't sit right with him.
So instead of working within it, he did something that took a particular kind of nerve: he built his own record label. Peacock Records. It started out of an office at 4104 Lyons.
But Peacock grew, and it grew fast. So Robey made a move that tells you something about the man — he took his former dinner club, the Bronze Peacock over at 2809 Erastus, and converted it into a full recording studio. By 1953, Peacock had a bigger home.
And 1953 turned out to be quite a year for Don Robey. Not only did he relocate, but he reached up to Memphis, Tennessee, and added Duke Records to his holdings. Same year, he created Back Beat Records as a Peacock subsidiary.
When Duke came into the fold, so did its artists — and among them were Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton and Johnny Ace. On the gospel side, Peacock was home to acts like the Bells of Joy and the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi. Now here's the part that separates an operation from an empire.
Much of the success of what became Duke-Peacock Records came down to how Robey ran the thing — utilizing numerous recording studios, production plants, and distributors spread around the country to reach the greatest number of artists and customers possible. That wasn't an accident. That was a system.
And systems like that get noticed. In 1973, ABC Dunhill purchased the Peacock, Duke, Back Beat, and Sure Shot labels. Don Robey, who'd started all of this in 1949, lived until 1975.
Today, Peacock Records is remembered as a pioneering minority recording firm — born out of one man's dissatisfaction with the way things were, right here in Houston, Texas.
What the marker says
DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20th CENTURY, THE MASS-MARKET RECORDINGS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSICIANS WERE GROUPED UNDER THE TERM "RACE MUSIC," REGARDLESS OF THEIR MUSICAL GENRE, AND THESE MUSICIANS WERE MARKETED STRICTLY TO AFRICAN AMERICAN LISTENERS. IN 1949, A DECADE BEFORE THE BIRTH OF MOTOWN RECORDS, NIGHTCLUB OWNER DON D. ROBEY (1903-1975) SIGNED BLUES MUSICIAN CLARENCE "GATEMOUTH" BROWN TO A MANAGEMENT CONTRACT AND THEN DECIDED TO CREATE HIS OWN RECORD LABEL BECAUSE OF HIS DISSATISFACTION WITH THE TRADITIONAL "RACE MUSIC" MARKETING OFFERED BY THE MAJOR RECORD LABELS. ROBEY'S PEACOCK RECORDS SOON OUTGREW AN OFFICE LOCATED AT 4104 LYONS, SO HE CONVERTED HIS FORMER DINNER CLUB, THE BRONZE PEACOCK AT 2809 ERASTUS, INTO A LARGER RECORDING STUDIO AND RELOCATED IN 1953. DURING THAT SAME YEAR, ROBEY ADDED DUKE RECORDS IN MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE TO HIS HOLDINGS AND CREATED BACK BEAT RECORDS AS A PEACOCK SUBSIDIARY. THE ACQUISITION OF DUKE RECORDS BROUGHT ROBEY THE CONTRACTS OF SEVERAL WELL-KNOWN ARTISTS, INCLUDING WILLIE MAE "BIG MAMA" THORNTON AND JOHNNY ACE. THE BELLS OF JOY AND THE FIVE BLIND BOYS OF MISSISSIPPI WERE AMONG MANY OF PEACOCK'S GOSPEL GROUPS. MUCH OF THE SUCCESS OF DUKE-PEACOCK RECORDS CAN BE CREDITED TO THE SYSTEM OF UTILIZING NUMEROUS RECORDING STUDIOS, PRODUCTION PLANTS, AND DISTRIBUTORS AROUND THE COUNTRY TO REACH THE GREATEST NUMBER OF ARTISTS AND CUSTOMERS. THE RESULTING PROMINENCE WITHIN THE RECORD BUSINESS LED TO THE PURCHASE OF THE PEACOCK, DUKE, BACK BEAT AND SURE SHOT LABELS BY ABC DUNHILL IN 1973, AND TODAY PEACOCK RECORDS IS REMEMBERED AS A PIONEERING MINORITY RECORDING FIRM.