(February 2, 2016) LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Ru-Jac Records, one of the nation’s first African-American owned record labels, was formed in Baltimore in the early 1960s by Rufus Mitchell, who booked East Coast entertainment venues including Carr’s Beach, a segregated summer resort near Annapolis. Ru-Jac was active into the 1970s and featured R&B, soul, funk, jazz and even rock acts. The most frequently recorded Ru-Jac artist was Winfield Parker.
Parker cut 17 recordings for Ru-Jac, the 45s of which have fetched top dollar on the collectors market, as people have hungered for this vintage sound. When Omnivore Recordings acquired Ru-Jac in 2015, even more recordings were discovered. The original singles, along with six previously unissued tracks, are finally available as Mr. Clean: Winfield Parker at Ru-Jac.Omnivore Recordings will release the collection March 25, 2016, on CD and digital. The LP will be available June 10, first limited-edition pressing on orange vinyl.
From “My Love” to “I Love You Just the Same” to the collection’s title track, “Mr. Clean,” this compilation presents Parker at his most soulful, along with alternate takes, demos, backing tracks and songs unheard since they were first laid to tape over five decades ago. With mastering and restoration from Grammy Award-winner Michael Graves, they sound better than ever.
In 2013, the Global Entertainment Media Association honored Winfield with a Golden Mic Honor, alongside contemporaries like Gamble & Huff, the Three Degrees, Barbara Mason, and others. He is celebrating 58 years in the music business in 2016, and the material on Mr. Clean: Winfield Parker at Ru-Jac showcases the root of that legendary career, paving the way for a new generation of appreciation.
The Winfield Parker release is the first to be realized out of Omnivore’s acquisition of Ru-Jac Records and its publishing assets. Omnivore Recordings’ Cheryl Pawelski says, “Omnivore is so pleased to have acquired Ru-Jac Records and its accompanying publishing entities, Diddy Bop and Ru-Jac. Authentic East Coast ’60s soul is impossible to resist, and we’re looking forward to the first release, Winfield Parker’s Mr. Clean: Winfield Parker at Ru-Jac with more to follow. By the end of the year we’re hoping to have at least one additional artist collection available, as well as a label overview. The Ru-Jac story centers around its founder, Rufus Mitchell, a promoter of live shows in the Baltimore area, including one of the first African American-controlled beaches, Carr’s Beach. The 45s that spun out of Ru-Jac offer a tantalizing, never-before told, audio history of a time and place that we can’t wait for everyone to hear.”
