Duke Records
Duke Records was an American record label started in 1952 in Memphis, Tennessee, by David James Mattis and Bill Fitzgerald, who ran Tri-State Recording. Its first release was Roscoe Gordon’s “Hey Fat Girl” on Duke R-1 (later R-101). In 1952 Don Robey, founder of Peacock Records, took control of Duke. The labels were based at the Bronze Peacock club in Houston and focused on R&B and gospel music. Robey started Back Beat Records in 1957 to release soul music, and Sure Shot Records; Peacock concentrated on gospel.
Duke’s biggest star was Bobby “Blue” Bland, who worked with arranger Joe Scott for many years. Johnny Ace was a major early Duke artist with several top R&B hits, including three number-one records, before his death. Junior Parker also played a big role, recording many singles for Duke from 1953 to 1966 and earning seven Top 20 Billboard hits.
Robey sold the labels to ABC Dunhill Records on May 23, 1973; Duke’s imprint names were kept by ABC, with Bobby Bland staying with the new label. Notable artists who recorded on Duke, Peacock and Back Beat included Bland, Ace and Parker. Today Universal Music Group owns Robey’s labels through its 1979 purchase of ABC Records.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 11:53 (CET).