The Excello Records Story

  Among fans of blues and R&B the Excello label has attained legendary status. The music of Slim Harpo, Lightnin' Slim and Lazy Lester have entered the cannon of blues classics and defined the swamp blues sound that Excello became famous for. All this for a company that had just one number one hit in it's twenty plus years in the business.

  Excello was launched in 1952 as a subsidiary of Nashboro Records by Ernie Young. Like other small Southern labels he planned to cash in on his audiences strong demand for gospel and blues recordings. The key to Excello's success was consistently turning out fine recordings geared towards the Southern market often turning into regional hits. Often these regional hits would be picked up by larger distributors.

  Excello's first hit came in 1953 with Kid King's Combo recording of  "Banana Split" which had broken in the South and even began selling on the West Coast. The first big hit came in 1954 with the influential "Baby Let's Play House" by Arthur Gunter which reach No. 12 on the R&B charts. The record achieved fame when it was recorded by Elvis as his fourth Sun single. The subsequent royalties helped finance much of Excello's business operations. During this period Excello was primarily an R&B label but they still recorded gospel as well as blues and country. The following years saw hits by The Marigolds, Louis Brooks and His Hi-Toppers (featuring Earl Gaines), and Larry Birdsong.

  In the mid 50's Ernie Young met up with record producer J.D. Miller from Crowley, Louisiana setting up one of the most famous partnerships in blues history. In June 1956 the first Jay Miller production was released by Excello. The song "Congo Mambo" by Guitar Gable became a strong regional seller. In 1957 swamp blues was in full stride with consistent recordings by Lightnin' Slim and Lazy Lester emanating from the Crowley studios. Shortly afterward came recordings by Lonesome Sundown and Slim Harpo. Aided by a strong stable of artists and consistent airplay over 50,000 watt WLAC radio, Excello flourished. By the early 60's they were issuing as many as twenty singles a year plus long playing albums. Chart success was consistent with such hits as Slim Harpo's "Rainin' In My Heart', Lightnin' Slim's "Rooster Blues" and Guitar Gable's "This Should Go on Forever." 

   In 1966 Ernie Young retired at the age of 73 selling the Nashboro Record Company to the Crescent. Company for $250,000. The company changed with the times putting out quality soul music and having a few minor hits. The final blow to Excello was the changing to a Top 40 format by WLAC that strongly impacted sales. Excello released  their final release in 1975.

  Essential Listening

  The Excello catalog was owned by AVI Entertainment who did an excellent job of reissuing the catalog with a number of single artist collections and compilations. AVI no longer owns the rights to the catalog hence their records or no longer stocked. You can still find these collections if you search. Essential ones to look for are: "Lazy Lester: I Hear You Knockin'!!!-The Singles", "Slim Harpo: Hip Shakin" (2CD), "Lonesome Sundown: I'm a Mojo Man the Best of the Excello Singles", "Jerry McCain: That's What They Want" plus some very good compilations of rare and unissued stuff.

  Ace Records, an import label, has done what is probably the most extensive Excello reissue program to date releasing more than thirty titles. You can find these records at several of the online stores but they are a bit more expensive.

  Currently Hip-O Records, a division of MCA, owns the Excello catalog. They have just started to put out their Excello reissue program. Since these are in stock that is what we have based are picks on.