Happy Tiger Records

Happy Tiger Records was an independent American record label that was owned by the Flying Tiger Line air freight company. Happy Tiger operated from 1969 to 1971. During this time the label produced more than two dozen albums by Count Basie, Mason Proffit, Red Rhodes, Priscilla Paris, Paul Kelly, and the Anita Kerr Singers. They released two albums by the post-Van Morrison Them band.

History
Happy Tiger's offices were located at 1801 Avenue of the Stars in Century City, Los Angeles, California. The staff included engineer and producer Ray Ruff, who had previously worked for ABC-Paramount Records. During its short existence Happy Tiger issued twenty-seven albums and more than eighty singles, all distributed by Era Records. The label also issued eight albums of oldies under the joint Happy Tiger/Era label, including works by Phil Baugh, Dorsey Burnette and some early Beach Boys recordings. They also recorded singles by such veteran performers as Kay Starr, Roberta Sherwood and Joanie Sommers. By the end of October 1971, Happy Tiger's national promo chief, Dave Chackler had left to join up to Ray Ruff's record label Oak as its vice-president and man in charge of promotion merchandising. Happy Tiger's final album in 1971 was Mason Proffit's Movin' Toward Happiness. The label's final single in 1972 was Richard Berry performing a song he had written and that the Kingsmen had made famous in 1963, "Louie Louie." After Happy Tiger folded, Warner Bros. Records reissued Paul Kelly's Stealin' in the Name of the Lord in 1972, retitled Dirt. Warner also reissued the two Mason Proffit albums as a double LP, Come and Gone, in 1974.

Notable artists

 * Count Basie
 * Richard Berry
 * Donnie Brooks
 * Gib Guilbeau
 * Paul Kelly
 * Anita Kerr Singers
 * Baker Knight
 * Priscilla Paris
 * Keith Green
 * Dan Penn
 * Mason Proffit
 * Red Rhodes
 * Roberta Sherwood
 * Joanie Sommers
 * Kay Starr
 * Them