ABKCO Records

ABKCO Music & Records, Inc.—short for Allen & Betty Klein Company—is an American independent operation that functions as a record label, music publisher, and film and video production outfit. The company owns or administers the rights to music by Sam Cooke, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, Herman’s Hermits, Marianne Faithfull, Dishwalla, and the Kinks, as well as the Cameo-Parkway catalog, which features Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, the Orlons, the Dovells, Question Mark & the Mysterians, the Tymes, and Dee Dee Sharp. In 2009, ABKCO acquired the Philles Records catalog, including its master recordings—featuring hits by the Righteous Brothers, the Ronettes, and the Crystals—while EMI Music Publishing retained the publishing rights and handled administration. The label is widely known for the aggressive management contracts and lawsuits pursued by its founder, Allen Klein, which continued until his death.

The company traces back to 1961, when Klein started Allen Klein & Co. as a business management firm for music clients like Bobby Darin and Sam Cooke; he later managed the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. In 1968, ABKCO Industries was formed as an umbrella company covering management, music publishing, film, TV, and theater. That same year, it bought the Cameo-Parkway Records catalog, and separately acquired a manufacturing plant, which it used to press records for artists including the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. For years, fans criticized ABKCO for keeping the Cameo-Parkway material unavailable until the 1990s, when the label began reissuing it on CD; its licensing policies prevented original versions of songs from appearing on compilations.

Artists like Bobby Rydell and Chubby Checker saw their hits locked away; Checker had to re-record tracks such as “The Twist” for budget oldies albums. Under president Jody Klein, ABKCO eventually released the Cameo-Parkway recordings and oversaw extensive remastering of work by the Rolling Stones, the Animals, Herman’s Hermits, and Sam Cooke. Allen Klein died in 2009.

Lawsuits

ABKCO has been involved in several high-profile lawsuits. In January 1970, the Beatles signed a music publishing management contract with ABKCO; after it was terminated, ABKCO sued the group, and the case was resolved in 1977 with the Beatles paying $4.2 million. Additional Beatles-related lawsuits dragged on for at least another decade.