Mushroom Records (Canada)

For the Mushroom Records company from Australia, see Mushroom Records.

Mushroom Records was a recording label company founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, by brothers Wink and Dick Vogel in 1974. ^[1] Shelly Siegel was the label's Vice-president and creative director. Mushroom released approximately 15 LPs and 50 singles between 1974 and 1980.

The Mushroom label released recordings in Canada through a distribution arrangement with A&M Records^[2]. It was distributed in the United States through a network of independent distributors, which included Fourth Street East in Chatsworth, California. The company was also incorporated in the U.S. and maintained a second office on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. Some Mushroom recordings were also released in Europe through Arista Records.

During the 1970s, Mushroom released several successful albums from artists such as Doucette, Heart, and Chilliwack, but Siegel's sudden death due to aneurysm on 17 January 1979 led to the demise of the label in 1980. Heart's two Mushroom albums were later purchased and re-issued by Capitol Records when the band moved to that label in 1985.

Mushroom Studios, a Vancouver recording studio, is a separate operation from the record label. The studio was built by Aragon Records in 1966, 8 years before the formation of the Mushroom label. The studio was also known Can Base Studios (the name derived from a company that was its principal investor) during the early 1970s when the Mushroom record label began. The studio and label formed a partnership during the label's existence, and many of its albums were recorded there. In the mid 1970s the studio employed producer Mike Flicker and musician Howard Leese, known for their work with Heart. The studio was purchased by Hipposonic Studios in January 2006 and renamed Hippowest Music Ltd., and is still in operation as of 2008.

Partial list of Mushroom Records (Canada) Artists 1974-1980

• Alexis (Alexis Rose Radlin)
• Chilliwack
• Rick Dees
• Doucette
• Heart
• Jayson Hoover
• Paul Horn
• Ian Matthews
• New World Electronic Chamber Ensemble
• Songbird
• Spring
• Richard Stepp

See also

• List of record labels
• Hipposonic Studios

References

1. ^ The History of Metropolitan Vancouver 1974, Vancouverhistory.ca. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
2. ^ Mushroom-Black & White Cutout Deal, Billboard Magazine, November 24, 1979. Retrieved 2010-03-23.

External links

• Jam!/The Canadian Pop Encyclopedia: Doucette Mushroom artists, mentioning the label.
• Mushroom Records Discography (incomplete)
• Victoria Jazz Society: Dixon House Band Includes references to Mushroom, Siegel.
• A history of Aragon, Mushroom, and Hippowest