The year was 1955, and Henry Stone was in Cincinnati smashing his fists down on the desk in front of Syd Nathan, whose coke bottle glasses were trapping steam from his two coal burning pupils. Their hatred for any errant penny trying to roll out from under his clutches was visceral. The DeLuxe label that Stone and Nathan had launched together was a victim of its own success. “Hearts of Stone” by Otis Williams and The Charms was a million seller, and now it was payday, and Henry Stone wasn’t getting paid. The day nearly ended with blood on the concrete. Instead, Henry took Syd to court and their amicable settlement included Henry’s accrual of nearly 100,000 future pressings from Nathan’s King Records pressing plant. Stone came back to Miami, launched the Chart Records label and it’s still one of the most collected labels out there. From old school blues, to doo wop, to jazz, r&b, and real rock and roll. Some of the releases came from old recordings, many were new cuts from makeshift studios all over South Florida. Henry even cut some sides at his buddy Johnny Otis’s garage in California. Chart Records hails back to the days of 78 RPM records, right as they were phasing out in favor of 45s. Another classic Miami record label from Henry Stone.
From 1946 to 2014, Henry Stone ruled the Florida music industry with an iron fist, a brick of cash, and a warehouse full of vinyl. HSM is the last of over one hundred record labels he personally founded. This record label includes works from every decade in his sixty-five year career right up until today. Licensing available for film, samples, advertising, movies, video games, and more. Family owned and operated.