Tiger Lily Records

The United States version of Tiger Lily Records' was a record label that was run by Roulette Records founder Morris Levy.[1] Purportedly it was a tax scam created by Levy and was never intended to make a profit.[2][3][4][5] Tiger Lily's primary modus operandi was to acquire demo tapes from artists or studios and then release them without the artists consent and sometimes without even the artist's knowledge.[6] Other albums released by Tiger Lily have been identified as bootlegs of albums released in the early 1970s by Artie Ripp's Family Productions and two cases of performers who were actually signed to Tiger Lily Records have been identified.[1][7]

For the Canadian record label, see Tiger Lily Records (Canada).

The most prominent artists known to have a record released by Tiger Lily were Richard Pryor, whose album L.A. Jail was released by Tiger Lily, and Rod Stewart, who had a live recording of him in performance at the 1973 Reading and Leeds Festivals released by Tiger Lily in 1976 under the title Reading Festival Featuring Rod Stewart. The album credited to Stewart was really a collection of various artists from the Reading Festival, with Rod Stewart and the Faces only appearing on one track.[8] The album Stonewall, credited to a band of the same name, has sold for as much as $14,100.[9][10]

Along with Guinness Records, Tiger Lily was one of the major tax scam labels of the 1970s with around 70 albums being released.

The types of albums released by Tiger Lily fell into several broad categories:

  • Single band/artist albums based on unpublished material. (e.g., "Glenn Faria", "Stonewall")
  • Compilation albums based on unpublished material disguised as the debut album of a single band. (e.g., "Made From Plate")
  • Bootleg re-issues of albums previously published on obscure labels. (e.g., "Sleepy Hollow")
  • Bootleg albums based on live recordings. (e.g., "L.A Jail", "Reading Festival Featuring Rod Stewart")
  • Material recorded by bands/artists signed to Tiger Lily Records. (e.g., "Airborne", "Pressed For Time")

References
  1. Blackerby, Scott. "Tiger Lily Records". BadCat Records. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  2. Bealmear, Bart (Nov 23, 2015). ""Tax Scam Records": R. Stevie Moore, the mysterious 'Hotgun' LP, and the record labels that were born to fail". Night Flight. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  3. Plante, Robert. "Tiger Lily Records Discography". forbiddeneye.com. Archived from the original on March 12, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  4. Nesteroff, Kliph (Mar 17, 2012). "Mobsters, Scoundrels, Comedians and Rat Finks". WFMU's Beware of the Blog. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  5. Carlin, Richard (March 10, 2016). Godfather of the Music Business: Morris Levy. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1496805706. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  6. "Aaron Milenski on Tax Scam Releases". shit-fi.com. July 17, 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  7. Lundborg, Patrick (December 2, 2012). "The Tiger Lily path to rock stardom (Scoggins & Airborne)". Acid Archives Blog. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  8. Blackerby, Scott. "Reading Festival Featuring Rod Stewart (various artists)". BadCat Records. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  9. Major, Paul (Oct 1, 2012). "The Case of the $5000 LP". vice.com. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  10. Kangas, Chaz (Nov 13, 2014). "A Yoko Ono Record Found Outside a Bodega Sold for Nearly $2,000". The Village Voice. Retrieved September 29, 2016.


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