Also appears as "Tops".
Formed in Los Angeles, California in 1947 as Tops Music Enterprises by Carl Doshay and Sam Dickerman, two "rack jobbers" who sold used jukebox 78 RPM records to grocery stores, drug stores, five-and-dime stores and the like when they decided to enter the record business by recording and releasing "knockoff' cover version records featuring session musicians and vocalists at a list price of 39 cents as opposed to 79 cents from the major labels.
By the mid-1950s, the company, now based in Hollywood, hired Dave Pell as house producer and arranger as the company's success was starting to overwhelm Doshay. It also began recording by then-journeyman artists past their Hit Parade heyday (Lena Horne, Mel Tormé, Pee Wee Hunt, the The Pied Pipers, Kate Smith (2), The Ink Spots) as the 45 RPM single and LP formats began taking hold.
In 1958, Doshay sold the company to Geiger counter manufacturer Precision Radiation Instruments (P.R.I) primarily to ease its tax burdens. Later that year, Tops hired publicist Bob Blythe who promptly ran Tops aground through a series of bad business decisions. A year later, Doshay suffered a heart attack and decided to sell the company for $1 million dollars. Blythe, who wanted to acquire the company to begin with, and a team of investors bought Tops/P.R.I. in 1960. Blythe took over, fired Doshay and overspent the company into bankruptcy. The investor group fired Blythe but it was far too late.
Tops and its catalog were sold to Pickwick International, Inc. and by 1963, its former rival folded the Tops/Mayfair/P.R.I. labels into its own operations.
Use Tops Music Enterprises as company
The address is the same as the later companies of the Bihari Brothers shows. Most likely they acquired this part of the company when they went bankrupt.
Note many releases were issued under 3 labels "Tops Records, MayFair & Golden tone" yet hold the same content and most times the same release info or # like these 3 Cowboys Songs For Little Buckaroos
I am looking very hard at all these Tops 45s & 78s. I am hoping to find a old long lost 4 hit Tops 45 or the same songs on 78 Tops. Sweet little sixteen & Lazy Mary. So far no luck finding this old Tops 45 I use to have. I have seeing some other songs here on Tops Label where I have seeing Hot diggity on 45 & the smae on 78 with the same 4 songs. So My search could turn up on a 78 4 hit songs. Sadly I cannot get lucky enough to find My long lost 45 I had back in 1970. Sellers who have a lot of tops 45s & 78s that have 4 hits on them, If you find on that has Sweet Little Sixteen & Lazy Mary Please do Email Me at [email protected] I will be so great full if this these two songs are found I will be for ever great full to You. My user name for this site is emdsd9321. Thank you. Jerry
emdsd9321
October 29, 2017