Merritone

1960s Jamaican label founded in 1966 by Ken Khouri within the Federal Records (3) roster, seeing rocksteady as a departure from the ska phase, yet paying tribute to the Mighty Merritone sound system (run by the Blake brothers, Trevor, Tyrone, & Winston) of the previous decade. A lot of recording from 1966 to 1968 are prod & arrenged by Sam Mitchell (4) and [a420174] Heralding the new era with Hopeton Lewis' Take It Easy, Merritone was a successful and influential [yet short-lived] label thanks to the talents of some of the island's best engineers and session musicians [Louis Davidson, Ernest Ranglin, Lynn Taitt and Sam Mitchell in charge] in the hi-tech facilities of Federal Recording Studios. In the early '70s company operations appear to have undergone a move to the U.S.A. with the creation of Merritone Ltd., Jamaican labels A Big Recording and Merri Disc and publishing company Merritone Music (also appearing as Merritone More Music, Merritone Music Corp. or Merritone Music, N.Y.), while the label Merritone (2) resurfaced with a new design often featuring the slogan 'Merritone Motivated'.