Salsoul Records
Salsoul Records is an American record label started in 1974 by three Cayre brothers—Joseph, Kenneth, and Stanley—in New York City. It put out about 300 singles, many of them disco and post-disco 12-inch releases, plus several albums in the 1970s and early 1980s.
The label began in 1974, went out of business in 1985, and came back in 1992. In 2010, Verse Music Group licensed the Bethlehem Music Company catalogs that included Salsoul, along with other catalogs, for five years. Verse’s catalogs were bought by BMG Rights Management in 2015.
The name Salsoul came from artist Joe Bataan, who had recorded early sessions for the Cayres. “Salsoul” is street slang for urban Latinos who mixed soul and salsa music. Bataan’s first single “The Bottle” and his Afro-Filipino album were released on the early Salsoul label before a deal with RCA.
Ken Cayre brought in top Philadelphia soul session players from the MFSB circle, including Vince Montana, Norman Harris, Ronnie Baker, Earl Young, Bunny Sigler, and others. Earl Young helped create the signature 16-beat hi-hat disco rhythm, and Baker made a powerful bass sound on MFSB’s “Love is the Message.” The label also worked with the girl group First Choice, who had hits on the Philly Groove label and were brought to Salsoul. They recorded “Doctor Love” (1977) and “Let No Man Put Asunder.”
Montana arranged and produced the second single and the first big hit for Salsoul, the song “Salsoul Hustle” (1975) by the Salsoul Orchestra, which included many Philly session players. As the label grew, it moved from disco to funk and scored more hits. Instant Funk’s “Got My Mind Made Up” topped the R&B chart and reached No. 20 on the pop chart in 1979; it was a million-seller and helped the group’s next album go gold, produced by Bunny Sigler.
Salsoul released the first commercially released 12-inch single, Double Exposure’s “Ten Percent,” in 1976. The disco backlash of 1979 affected many labels, but Salsoul survived longer than most and kept releasing music into 1984.
In 1984, the Cayre brothers shut down their recorded-music operations to focus on home video projects like GoodTimes Entertainment.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 00:09 (CET).