Indigo Records was a California record label that was formed in 1960. The address of the company was 3330 Barham Boulevard, Hollywood, California. The A&R Director was Jim Lee. The Indigo label was short lived, as it went out of business in 1962, but during that time managed to issue almost 50 singles and five LPs.

By far the most prolific of the Indigo artists were the Innocents, who appeared on almost a third of the Indigo singles. The Innocents were Al Candelaria, guitarist Darron Stankey, and Jim West. They had a recognizable and unusual (slightly off-key?) sound based on three voices almost harmonizing, backed by a reverb-drenched guitar playing arpeggios and clutch chords. They had been recording as a quartet for Keen/Andex as the Echoes, but when Keen folded in 1960, one of the members quit and the remaining three renamed themselves for their car club. In looking around the Los Angeles/Hollywood area for a new label, they happened upon Gary Paxton and Kim Fowley, who had just set up shop. Paxton and Fowley liked their odd ballad "Honest I Do" and signed them, recorded them, then sold the masters to Indigo.

"Honest I Do" became a legitimate national top-30 record, and Jim Lee took the group on tour of gigs in the area. After one of their performances, a 15-year-old girl approached them with her mother in tow. The girl, Kathy Young, wanted to sing. An appointment was set up for the next week, and the group did an old Rivileers number, "A Thousand Stars," with Kathy doing lead vocal with the Innocents' inimitable sound in the background. The song rocketed to #3, starting a dual career for the group as both Kathy Young's backers and with their own releases. Young had two more chart records, "Happy Birthday Blues" and "Magic Is The Night" for Indigo, backed by the Innocents. After Indigo folded, Kathy hooked up with Chris Montez for a minor hit "All You Had To Do (Was Tell Me)" on the Monogram label in 1964, and eventually married a member of the Walker Brothers.

About the same time as "A Thousand Stars" was on the charts, the Innocents' second offering, "Gee Whiz" was also charting, giving the group their chance for two records on the top-30 simultaneously. (If the opening line of the record sounds vaguely familiar, it may be because the line was immortalized by Dickie Goodman in his novelty cut-in "The Touchables," where after Mugs Moron's boys were gunned down, all he could say was, "gee whiz...") The Innocents signed with Warner Bros./Reprise after Indigo went under, but although they were stars in L.A., it didn't translate into further chart hits, and they disbanded in 1964.

The only other minor chart brush for Indigo was the 1961 purchased master of "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down" by Pat Zill, which made #92 nationally. The most collectable Indigo records are the two Innocents-related albums, both with and without Kathy Young. The Kathy Young material has been bootlegged on CD. The Innocents album has been legitimately reissued on CD, along with much studio chatter, by Ace (UK). Just the studio talk on "Honest I Do" is worth the price of the CD, as one gets a sense of what it was like back in the days of Paxton and Fowley trying to record while people were opening doors and making noise, and while the singers were attempting to remain on-key through several false starts.

The Indigo label was black with silver printing. "indigo" in purple and "records" in blue above the center hole.

We would appreciate any additions or corrections to this discography. Just send them to us via e-mail. Both Sides Now Publications is an information web page. We are not a catalog, nor can we provide the records listed below. We have no association with Indigo Records. Should you be interested in acquiring albums listed in this discography (which are all out of print), we suggest you see our Frequently Asked Questions page and follow the instructions found there. This story and discography are copyright 1998 by Mike Callahan.