The Hull Record label was established in 1955 in New York City. The president of the company was Blanche Casalin. The producers for the label were William Henry Miller and Billy Dawn Smith. The company was located in the Brill Building on Broadway, as so many of the small New York independents were. The label's output was almost exclusively New York street corner singing groups.

Hull Records would have disappeared from most people's memory except for the fine recordings made by the Avons, Shep and the Limelites, and the other groups that appear on the compilation album Hull 1002. The "Your Favorite Singing Groups" album may be the most desirable compilation album ever made because of it's combination of rarity and quality.

James "Shep" Sheppard first recorded for Hull in 1956 as a member of the group the Heartbeats. In late 1956, the Heartbeats had a hit with "A Thousand Miles Away," which in order to get national distribution was switched to George Goldner's label Rama. In 1957 and 1958 the Heartbeats' releases were on Rama or its associated label Gee. In 1961, Sheppard formed a new group called Shep and the Limelites and went back to Hull and recorded "Daddy's Home," an answer song to his own Heartbeats' "A Thousand Miles Away." "Daddy's Home" was released on Hull in March 1961, and became a top-ten national hit. In 1970 James Sheppard was robbed and murdered.

Hull issued singles into 1966, but none after that year. It was absorbed into Roulette, which reissued the Shep and the Limelites album in 1967. The albums on Hull are three of the rarest and most valuable group albums ever issued. A word of warning for collectors, though: the Avons Hull LP-1000 was bootlegged in the 1970s with a copy that is very difficult to distinguish from an original. Let the buyer beware.

LP-1000 has a dark red label with black printing, "HULL" above the center hole in black. Hull LP-1001 has a light blue label with black printing, "HULL" above the center hole in black. Hull LP-1002 has a red label with black printing, "HULL RECORDS INC." in gold above the center hole. All albums were issued in mono only.

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 Hull 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.