From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Mon Dec 16, 2002  6:17 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Shelby Singleton
 
SHELBY SINGLETON (By Shaun Mather)

Born 16 December 1931, Waskom, Texas

Although Shelby Singleton had a long, distinguished career in other
avenues of the music industry, he will forever be known/envied as the
lucky bugger who bought the Sun catalogue from Sam Phillips.
His career began in Shreveport where he worked as a record plugger
for the Mercury label, and in this capacity did a lot to kick start the
careers of the Big Bopper and Johnny Preston. He also became a
producer and worked with Brook Benton, Clyde McPhatter and Dinah
Washington, eventually becoming head honcho of the label's subsidiary,
Smash roster. One of the artists that Singleton brought to Smash was
Jerry Lee Lewis.
He left the label in 1967 and acquired the Sun catalogue in July 1969.
His timing was uncanny and no sooner had he got hours and hours of
unheard Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee than they hit purple patches in their
career. Not wanting to miss the boat, he began releasing singles (cut
over a decade before) in direct competition with Columbia and Mercury.
It worked a treat, and no sooner had this activity become stale, than a
rockabilly revival was underway. No end of Sun sessions became available
and Singleton must have been pinching himself when people wanted him
to start leasing stuff from the likes of Sonny Burgess and Warren Smith.

He also started two new companies, SSS International for soul/blues artists
like Johnny Adams and Plantation for country. The latter enjoyed a major
success when Harper Valley PTA hit for Jeannie C. Riley (# 1 pop and
country in 1968). Today, Singleton is able to make a living courtesy of his
massive catalogue.