Tales Behind The Label - De-Lite Records

The founders started De-Lite Records with the goal of creating a label that would showcase the talents of African-American musicians, who were often overlooked by the mainstream music industry.

It was in the 1970s that De-Lite Records found its greatest success. The label signed a number of acts that would become legends in the disco and funk music genres, including Kool & The Gang, The Dynamics, and The Raisins.

Kool & The Gang was one of the label’s biggest success stories. The band had been around since the 1960s, but it wasn’t until they signed with De-Lite Records in 1969 that they achieved mainstream success.

Their hits “Jungle Boogie” and “Hollywood Swinging” helped to popularise the funk music genre, and they went on to become one of the most successful bands of the 1970s. Despite its success, De-Lite Records faced financial difficulties in the 1980s and was eventually absorbed by Mercury Records in 1985, with Kool & The Gang and all of their other signed artists following suit.

However, the label’s legacy lives on through the many hits it produced and the influence it had on the disco and funk music genres throughout the ‘70s. One of the main reasons behind the company’s downfall and need for absorbance was the rise of digital audio technology, which allowed consumers to make high-quality copies of music without purchasing it. This of course eventually led to a decline in record sales and revenue for the label.

In addition, the music industry was changing rapidly during this time. The popularity of disco and funk music was waning, and new genres like hip-hop and electronic dance music were emerging. De-Lite Records, which had built its success on disco and funk, 

struggled to adapt to these changing trends.

Shortly before the company’s absorption, founding member Fred Vigorito went on to create ‘Vigor Records’. The label was most known for the album Soul On Your Side by The Rhythm Makers. The band would then go on to rebrand as ‘GQ’.

De-Lite generated a few more subsidiaries during its time, including ‘Gang Records’ which was named after and run by the members of Kool & The Gang. The label failed to gain traction however, as only two artists signed - The Kay Gees and a band named Tomorrow’s Edition.

The other label that associated with De-Lite was ‘Red Coach Records’. This label had previously been owned by parent company Chess Records, however this changed when De-Lite purchased their distribution rights.

In an interesting turn of events, it later transpired that the long time De-Lite mascots Kool & The Gang had actually released their first single under Red Coach Records, before any association with De-Lite had even been considered.