Hilltak records was a Californian Independent record label that was formed in the late 1970s. Artists that produced hits for the label include 9th Creation, Patti Hendrix, Broadway, Dalton & Dubarri, and The Guess Who. The label started out as a subsidiary of Atlantic Records but terminated the relationship some time later. Background In 1978, Tom Takayoshi and Hillery Johnson co-founded Hilltak Records. The name Hilltak was a combination of their names.Billboard, March 10, 1979 - Page 93 General News Record Companies Rushing To Open Disco Divisions HILLTAKSeventies Sevens HILLTAK They had previously worked together for years. As of the time they were interviewed (published June 10, 1979), Johnson was still the vice president of special markets for the Atlantic label and would still liaise between Atlantic and the emerging Los Angeles label as well as handling the promotion and publicity. Takayoshi had left his position with Playboy Records and had taken up office in Los Angeles.Cash Box, June 10, 1978 - Page 7 New Hilltak Label Formed; Atlantic Will Distribute
The label was registered June 16, 1978, in California.California Corporates - HILLTAK RECORDS, INC. The Hilltak label was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records.Billboard, September 20, 1980 - Page 28 Counterpoint Demo Bags Binder For Singing Duo By Jean Williams Their formation was first announced at a Black Radio convention prior to June 17th. It was also confirmed by Ahmet Ertegun, the chairman of Atlantic Records and Atlantic president Jerry Greenberg.Record World, June 17, 1978 - Page 6 Hilltak Records Sets July Debut The label's catalogue had a leaning towards the disco and R&B genres.Soul Express THE MANHATTANS – part 4 (1980 – 1989) “SHINING STAR” SWEET TALKBillboard, June 10, 1978 - __General News__, Hilltak Label To Focus On R&B The idea they started with was to keep the roster low to allow them to give their personal attention to the artists. The artists they started off with were Patti Hendrix, Dalton & Dubarri and Broadway, a disco outfit put together by Willie Henderson.Billboard, June 10, 1978 - __General News__, Hilltak Label To Focus On R&BCash Box, February 24, 1979 - Page 14 Personal Contact With Artists Is Hilltak Priority by Michael Glynn
Some of the other artists that had their work released on the label were Lynne Hamilton, The Guess Who, Footloose and The 9th Creation.Global Dog Productions 45 Discography for Hilltak Records
History 1978 The focus of the Los Angeles label was to be r&b. It was announced in the June 10 issue of Billboard that the first artist that was to have a record released on the label was Patti Hendrix.Billboard, June 10, 1978 - __General News__, Hilltak Label To Focus On R&B At that time they had already acquired the recorded masters of Hendrix and Dalton & Dubarri.Cash Box, June 10, 1978 - Page 7 New Hilltak Label Formed; Atlantic Will Distribute Hendrix went on to have success with her single "Lighting a Fire (That You Can't Put Out)" in 1978 which peaked at #65 on September 23 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart.Billboard, September 16, 1978 - Page 52 Billboard Hot Soul Singles {TW 67 LW 67 Wks 5)Billboard, September 23, 1978 - Page 58 Billboard Hot Soul Singles (TW 65 LW 67 Wks 5)Billboard, September 30, 1978 - Page 68 Billboard Hot Soul Singles (TW 67 LW 65 Wks 7) It also spent a total of ten weeks in the chart.Billboard, October 21, 1978 - Page 53 Billboard Hot Soul Singles (TW 97 LW 78 Wks 10Billboard, October 28, 1978 - Page 68 Billboard Hot Soul Singles (TW _ LW _ Wks _ Broadway would have chart success with the first of two singles for the label, "Kiss You All Over" which got to #92 on the r&b chart in December, 1978.Music VF.com - Broadway (American group) Top Songs Also that month, "C'mon Little Mama" (Hilltak 7803) by The Guess Who was a sleeper in the Record World, December 2 issue Hits of the Week.Record World, December 2, 1978 - Page 1 HITS OF THE WEEK, SLEEPERS
1979 By 1979, the label had done well with albums, Magic Man by Broadway and Choice by Dalton & Dubarri.Record World, June 9, 1979 - Page 22 Black Oriented Music:Year in Review
On March 31, The Guess Who's album, All This For a Song, Hilltak HT 19227 was listed in the Record World Hits of the Week section with the magazine calling it one of the best LPs by the group in years.Record World, March 31, 1979 - Page 1 ALBUMS
In April 1979, Broadway brought in another chart hit for the label with the Willie Henderson composition, "This Funk Is Made for Dancing".Music VF.com - Broadway (American group) Top Songs In May, the Dalton & Durbarri single, "I (You) Can Dance All By My (Your) Self" bw "Keepin' It Up" was released on Hilltak HT 7806.Billboard, May 5, 1979 – Page 81 Billboard's Top Single Picks, Soul recommendedCash Box, May 5, 1979 - Page 17 SINGLES TO WATCHRadio Report, Vol 2, No. 23 June 14, 1979 - Page 25 The Disco Directory, Record Companies with Disco Product, 'Releases: On June 23, at its fourth week in the Cash Box chart, it peaked at No. 73.Cash Box, June 23, 1979 - Page 30 CASH BOX TOP 100 and got to #123 on the Record World Singles 101 to 150 Chart.Record World, June 23, 1979 - Page 37 Record World Singles 101-150 From May 31 to June 14, it held its peak position at number 138 on the Radio Report MS Survey chart.Radio Report, Vol 2, No. 23 June 14, 1979 - Page 37 MAS SURVEY SONGS It also made #79 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart on June 30.Billboard, June 30, 1979 - Page 47 Billboard Hot Soul Singles
In September 1979 the label had shifted from Atlantic Records to use a network of nine independent distributors which included California Records in L.A. and Big State in Dallas.Billboard, September 8, 1979 - General News NEW DISTRIBS FOR HILLTAK Also around that period, "On the Inside" ( theme to the TV series, Prisoner) by Lynne Hamilton was released on Hilltak.Global Dog Productions - 45 Discography for Hilltak RecordsCash Box, September 15, 1979 - Page 12 Hilltak Drops Atlantic, Chooses Indie Distribs DJM Records had also recently signed Hilltak to a three year agreement for the UK and Ireland.Cash Box, September 8, 1979 - Page 40 INTERNATIONAL, United Kingdom
The song, "Leaving for Maui" by Footloose which made the Canadian Top TenEdmonton Journal, Nov 05, 2014 - Local News, Nov. 5, 1979: Leaving for Maui an international hit - Chris Zdeb was issued in the United States on Hilltak PW 7905.45Cat - Footloose (Hilltak) - DiscographyRecord World, December 8, 1979 - Page 14 Record World Single Picks
9th Creation had their single, "Let's Dance" bw "Shucks, You're Fine" was released on Hilltak PW 7901.Music Metason - ArtistInfo, The 9th Creation, Let's Dance / Shucks, You're Fine The record peaked spent a total of ten weeks in the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart, peaking at #45 on December 15, 1979.Billboard, December 15, 1979 - Page 22A Billboard Hot Soul Singles It also spent eleven weeks in the Cash Box Top 100 chart, peaking at #53 on December 12.Cash Box, December 29, 1979 - Page 92 CASH BOX TOP 100Cash Box, January 26, 1980 - Page 26 CASH BOX TOP 100Cash Box, February 2, 1980 - Page 35 CASH BOX TOP 100
1980 In January, 1980, "Let's Dance" was still in the Record World chart. It peaked at #47 on January 19, 1980, having spent a total of seven weeks in the Record World Black Oriented Singles chart.Record World, January 12, 1980 - Page 32 Record World Black Oriented SinglesRecord World, January 19, 1980 - Page 64 Record World Black Oriented SinglesRecord World, January 26, 1980 - Page 40 Record World Black Oriented Singles
Distributors
+ Singles Name Area Notes Atlantic Records (Relationship terminated in 1979) All South New Orleans Bib Charlotte Big State Dallas, Houston California Records Los Angeles Chips Philadelphia Malverne New York, Boston Pacific Records and Tapes San Francisco, Seattle Progress Records Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo Tone Distributors Miami Zamioski Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Cash Box, September 15, 1979 - Page 12 Hilltak Drops Atlantic, Chooses Indie Distribs
Further reading Cash Box, June 10, 1978, New Hilltak Label Formed; Atlantic Will Distribute
Post Hilltak By 1980, Takayoshi was working as general manager for Sound Music Sales in Los Angeles.Billboard, May 24, 1980 - Page 4 General News Executive Turntable Marketing
References
External links Discogs: Hilltak Records Global Dog Productions: 45 Discography for Hilltak Records MusicBrainz: Hilltak 45Cat: Hilltak Records