ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. is the successor company to a business that was founded in 1961 as Allen Klein & Co. Allen Klein was then a business manager specializing in music clients including Bobby Darin and Sam Cooke and, later, managed The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. ABKCO Industries was founded in 1968 as an umbrella company involved in management, music publishing, film, TV and theatrical production. (The acronym stood for "Allen & Betty Klein and COmpany," although Klein would often joke that it stood for "A Better Kind of COmpany.") Later that year, Cameo-Parkway Records was acquired by ABKCO, bringing the legendary Philadelphia label’s decade-long run of hits into the fold. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Bobby Cassotto, 14 May 1936-December 20, 1973) was one of the most popular American big band performers and rock and roll teen idols of the late 1950s. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... “Rolling Stones” redirects here. ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... Cameo and its sister label Parkway were a major Philadelphia-based record label. ...

Today, ABKCO is home to catalog assets that include recordings by Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, Herman's Hermits, Marianne Faithfull, The Kinks as well as the Cameo Parkway label, which include the original master recordings of by such artists as Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, The Orlons, The Dovells, ? & The Mysterians, The Tymes and Dee Dee Sharp. ABKCO administers Phil Spector Records and its master recordings including hits by The Righteous Brothers, The Ronettes, The Crystals and others. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... “Rolling Stones” redirects here. ... The US edition of The Animals self-titled debut album. ... Hermans Hermits were an English rock band in the 1960s, formed in Manchester in 1963. ... Marianne Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress whose career spans over four decades. ... The Kinks were an English rock group formed in 1963 by lead singer-songwriter Ray Davies, his brother, lead guitarist and vocalist Dave Davies, and bassist Pete Quaife. ... Chubby Checker is the stage name of Ernest Evans (born October 3, 1941), an American Rock and Roll singer best known for popularizing the dance The Twist with his 1960 song The Twist. He was born in Spring Gulley, South Carolina,[1] and raised in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and attended... Bobby Rydell 1998 Bobby Rydell (born Robert Louis Ridarelli, 26 April 1940 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American teen idol from the early days of Rock and Roll. ... The Orlons were an R&B group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who formed in 1960. ... The Dovells were an American music group formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1957, under the name The Brooktones. ... ? & the Mysterians were an American rock and roll band formed in Flint, Michigan in 1962. ... The Tymes are an American soul vocal group, who enjoyed equal success in Britain as their homeland. ... Dee Dee Sharp (born Dione LaRue, 9 September 1945 in Georgia , United States) is an R&B singer who began her career recording back-up vocals in 1961. ... A master recording is an original recording, from which copies may be made. ... The Righteous Brothers The Righteous Brothers were the musical duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. ... The Ronettes first album The Ronettes were a girl group of the 1960s from New York City, best known for their work with producer Phil Spector. ... The Crystals were one of the most successful girl groups of the 1960s. ...

The company’s music publishing division comprises over two thousand copyrights including songs composed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Sam Cooke, Bobby Womack, Ray Davies, Pete Townshend and other composers. ABKCO also administers several publishing catalogs including Phil Spector's Mother Bertha Music. Michael Phillip Mick Jagger CBE (born July 26, 1943) is an English rock musician, actor, songwriter, record and film producer and businessman. ... Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English guitarist, songwriter, singer and a founding member of The Rolling Stones in 1962. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Robert Dwayne Womack (born in Cleveland, Ohio, USA on March 4, 1944), is an African-American singer, guitarist and songwriter. ... Raymond Douglas Davies, CBE (born June 21, 1944 in Fortis Green, London) is an influential English rock musician, best known as lead singer-songwriter for The Kinks - one of the most influential, prolific and long-lived British Invasion bands - which he led with his younger brother, Dave. ... Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (born May 19, 1945 in Chiswick, London), is an award-winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. ... Harvey Philip Spector (born December 26, 1939) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. ...

Today ABKCO is active in the release of compilations and reissues from its catalogs, film and commercial placement of its master recordings and music publishing properties. As of late 2006, the day-to-day affairs of the company are reportedly being overseen by attorney Jody Klein, due to the ill health of his father, Allen Klein.

Cultural references

"Beware of Darkness" is a song by George Harrison that featured on his first post-Beatles album All Things Must Pass. When he was demoing this song for Phil Spector during 1970 he jokingly changed one line of the lyrics to "Beware of ABKCO". This later became the name of a bootleg LP containing the recordings from that session. Alternate cover Cover of 2001 remaster All Things Must Pass is a triple album by George Harrison recorded and released after the break-up of The Beatles. ... For other persons named George Harrison, see George Harrison (disambiguation). ... Alternate cover Cover of 2001 remaster All Things Must Pass is a triple album by George Harrison recorded and released after the break-up of The Beatles. ...

They are very aggressive in suing musicians, and successfully sued The Verve over their song "Bitter Sweet Symphony". They have protested against music teachers teaching students to play songs they hold copyright to, although as long as the music isn't recorded and marketed, it is not illegal. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Bitter Sweet Symphony is a song by the rock band The Verve, and is the lead track on their third album Urban Hymns. ...

See also

• List of record labels

This is a list of record labels. ...

External links

• ABKCO Official site