Tear Drop Records

Tear Drop Records was a record label founded in Winnie, Texas, in the early 1960s by recording pioneer and radio personality, Huey P Meaux. As a deejay, Meaux was known as the "Crazy Cajun", a name that stuck with him throughout his long, music career.

In 1964, Meaux moved his Tear Drop label and his Crazy Cajun Enterprises to Conroe, Texas, where he partnered with a seasoned record producer, Foy Lee. They not only continued to release new material, but also started various subsidiary labels including Capri Records, Tribe Records, and Eric Records. Together, Meaux and Lee produced many chart singles on the Tear Drop label. They became nationally distributed by Jay Gee Records (J/G) which was owned by Jamie Records in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Tear Drop's biggest hit was "Talk to Me" by Sunny & The Sunglows from San Antonio, Texas, which broke into Billboard's Top 100. Meaux and Lee also scored another hit in 1964 by Gene Summers & The Tom Toms entitled "Big Blue Diamonds" on their newly formed Capri Records label and later released Summers' rockabilly classic, "Alabama Shake", also on Capri.

In the 1970s, Meaux reactivated the Crazy Cajun record label and began to produce records by early-1960s rocker, Freddy Fender. He scored the biggest hit of his career when Fender's "Before The Next Teardrop Falls" single broke through all chart boundaries and went platinum selling over a million copies. By this time, Meaux had purchased both the SugarHill Recording Studios in Houston, Texas, and the TNT Records pressing plant in San Antonio.

Select discography

Albums

Singles

Note: Kenny James (#3002) is actually Jimmy Donley

Sources

"Down in Houston: Bayou City Blues"
Osborne's Record Guide
Texas Monthly Magazine
A Guide to the Huey Meaux Papers, 1940-1994
Texas Music Industry Directory (published by The Texas Music Office) Office of the Governor, Austin, Texas
Born To Be A Loser: The Jimmy Donley Story by Johnnie Allan and Dr Bernice Larson Webb; Copyright 1992 by Jadfel Publishing Lafayette, LA
Chicano Soul: Recordings and History of An American Culture by Ruben Molina; Copyright 2007 by Mictlan Publishing; 1st Edition.
Review: 'South Texas" Collects Producer's Checkered Career, (Huey P. Meaux). (NPR Web Site:Playlist-Transcript; 08-12-13).
Houston Bound: Culture And Color In A Jim Crow City by Tyina L. Steptoe; Copyright 2015 by University Of California Press Oakland, California.
House Of Hits: The Story Of Houston's Gold Star/Sugar Hill Recording Studios by Andy Bradley and Roger Wood: Copyright 2010 by University Of Texas Press Austin, Texas.


See also

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