Ric-Tic Records

Ric-Tic Records was a record label set up in the 1960s in Detroit, Michigan, United States by Joanne Bratton and Ed Wingate. Twinned with the Golden World label Ric-Tic featured many soul music artists and was seen as an early competitor for fellow Detroit label Motown.^[1] Motown's owner, Berry Gordy was unhappy with the success of Ric-Tic and in 1968 paid $1 million for the signature of many of the label's artists.^[2]

The label was named for the recently deceased son of label executive Bratton and her then husband Johnny Bratton, the boxer. The boy, named Derek, was known to his family as Ricky, Ric, or Ric-Tic. He died in 1962, aged 11.^[3]

Recording artists

Many early recordings on the Ric-Tic label by artists such as Freddie Gorman, Edwin Starr, and J. J. Barnes were re-released in the 1970s by Motown to coincide with the popularity of the Northern soul music scene in the UK.^[1] The group The Fantastic Four were also signed to the Ric-Tic, and became the label's best-selling act, outselling Edwin Starr in the United States. Much like Starr, they continued to record under Motown when Ric-Tic was absorbed by the record company. The Detroit Emeralds (having just moved to Detroit and added the word "Detroit" to their group name) recorded briefly for Ric-Tic, achieving their first R&B Chart (#22) success with "Show Time", released in 1967. They then joined Westbound Records in 1970 (which The Fantastic Four would also do later on).

References