I.R.C. (International Recording Co.) Discography

I.R.C. (International Recording Co.) Discography
By Mike Callahan, Harry Young, David Edwards, and Patrice Eyries
Last update: June 23, 2012

first single The International Recording Company (IRC) was founded in Chicago as an offshoot of the IRC Studios at 5619 W. Division St. Apparently they pressed records for people who wanted records out but were not signed to a particular label, or for production companies who recorded at IRC Studios. One such production team formed in 1961 was Peter H. Wright (of Peter H. Wright Associates, Inc.) and Don Caron (Dominic Carone, of Carone Productions). This team managed, produced, and promoted acts and used several Chicago labels for their ventures. Caron's orchestra was behind many of the early singles on IRC. Several of these singles made the Chicago charts. One that didn't was WLS deejay Dick Biondi's "Pizza Song" [IRC 6904], a takeoff on "On Top of Old Smoky" that he had been singing for months on his show every night when he finally got around to recording it. A year or so later, Tom Glazer took essentially the same parody and had a hit with "On Top of Spaghetti."

IRC was known primarily as a singles label, but they also put out albums in limited numbers. Most IRC albums are hard to find today. As a custom pressing label, the albums (or singles) were likely to be anything, from music, to spoken word, to international recordings, to novelties like albums by the Cubs ballpark organist. Perhaps the best known, at least in Chicago, are the two albums by late-night WGN deejay Franklyn MacCormack. In the wee hours of any given morning, MacCormack could be heard reading romantic poetry over instrumental backgrounds. His most famous was "Why Do I Love You?" over the backing of Billy Vaughn's "Melody of Love." The two albums featured this same shtick, backed by organist Adele Scott.

IRC also put out many albums of "world music," particularly German, Czech, and Latvian music. The Latvian music was mostly done by a famous Latvian group called Čikāgas Piecīši (the Chicago Five), who were founded in 1961 and made traditional and controversial banned Latvian music available here (and through smuggling on tape into Latvia itself). Latvia was then part of the Soviet Union, who suppressed cultural and nationalistic music within its borders. In 1989, when the Soviet Union fell, Čikāgas Piecīši was finally able to go to Latvia and play in public in front of a crowd numbering tens of thousands. The group was still active on their 50th anniversary in 2011.

The IRC label appeared in various background colors, but the constant was the IRC logo at the top, consisting of a world map projection with the letters "IRC" on it.

As might be expected from a custom label, album labels were optional colors, depending on what the customer wanted. We have noted the various label colors where known in the discography below.

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 I.R.C. 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 2012 by Mike Callahan.

I.R.C. ALBUM DISCOGRAPHY

Cover	Number - Title - Artist - [Release Date] (Chart) Contents
	IRC 7100 Series:
	7101 - Sveicina - Čikāgas Piecīši [1963] Latvian music.
	Note: Main Series changes to IRC 3300 Series:
	3306 - More Music from the Upright - Jess Sutton & Marty Grosz [1964] Manufactured as a promo disc for the Clark Equipment company, who made forklifts and other industrial equipment. Sutton played keyboards while Grosz played banjo. Pretty Baby/Somebody Stole My Gal/Margie/The Sheik Of Araby/Charleston//Tea For Two/Five-Foot-Two, Eyes Of Blue/Sweet Georgia Brown/Varsity Drag/Ain't She Sweet
	3307 -
	3308 - Mēs Puisēni Juan' Būdami - Čikāgas Piecīši [1964] Label is blue with silver print.
	3309 - Pick-Up on the Ballad Man - Jay Turner [1964]
	IRC-3310 - Command Performance - 4 Renegades [1965] Label is red with black print. The 4 Renegades were a Chicago-area barbershop quartet. Members were Warren "Buzz" Haeger (tenor), Ben Williams (lead), Jim Foley (baritone), and Tom Felgen (bass). Produced by Verner Ruvalds, executive engineer for IRC. Pressing and packaging by Mercury Records Custom. George M. Cohan Medley/Lili Marlene/Save A Little Sunbeam/I Lost My Heart In San Francisco/Daddy's Little Girl/Hard Hearted hannah//Wait Til The Sun Shines Nellie/When I Leave The World Behind/Because/Send The Girls Over There/Old Folks/The Lord's Prayer
	3311/S-3311 - An Evening with Franklyn MacCormack - Franklyn MacCormack [1965] Label is blue-grey with silver print. Poetry read over instrumental background accompaniment provided by organist Adele Scott. Titles in parentheses are the musical pieces. Why Do I Love You? (Melody Of Love)/Because You Love Me (Dream Of Love)/Alone (Only The Sad Of Heart)/Good Night Son (Brahms' Lullaby & Sonny Boy)/My Lonely Heart (There Is No Greater Love)/Beyond The Brightest Star (Star Dust)//I Cannot Be Alone (Nocturne)/The Time To Remember (Memory Lane)/Dreams (Among My Souvenirs)/When The World Was Young (The Apple Trees)/This Is All I Ask/September Song
	3312 - Amerikā - Čikāgas Piecīši [1965] Latvian music.
	3313 - Latvian Folk Songs and Dances - Antons Kivlenieks & His Kolke [1965] Nineteen Latvian folk tunes played on the Kolke.
	3314 -
	3315/S-3315 - Another Evening with Franklyn MacCormack - Franklyn MacCormack [1965] Label is grey with silver print. Background accompaniment provided by organist Adele Scott. Once Upon A Time/Autumn Leaves/As Time Goes By/Are You Lonesome Tonite?/Lonesome, That's All/You're Nobody Until Somebody Loves You/I Remember You//Last Gift/A Father's Prayer/You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To/The Face On The Barroom Floor/For All We Know
	3316 -
	3317 -
	3318/S-3318 - Percussion Personified - Musical Wades [1965] Label is blue with silver print. Time Was/More/September Song/King of the Road/That's a Plenty/Battle Hymn-Dixie//Foolish One/Peanut Vendor/Malaguena/Over the Rainbow/Havah Nagila/Cherokee
	3319 -
	3320 -
	3321 -
	3322 -
	3323 -
	3324 - Above and Beyond - Richard Pick [1967] 2-LP set.
	3325 -
	3326/S-3326 - Einen Abend mit Die Goldene 3 - Goldene 3 [1967] Label is blue with silver print. Eine Kleine Träne/Johnny Hat Sehnsucht/Du Bist Nicht Allein/Muchacha/Hello Mary-Lou/Nach Meiner Heimat/Loana-O//Santo Domingo/Ganz In Weiss/My Sunny Sunshine/Bella Maria/Honeymoon In St. Tropez/Wenn Erst Der Abend Kommt
	3327/S-3327 - Musikalisches Allerlei mit der Goldenen 3 - Goldenen 3 [1967] Label is orange with black print. Blue Hawaii/Wenn Du Einsam Bist/Minn Die Stunden [with Heimatquartett]/Leg Dein Herz In Meine Hände/Im Grünen Wald-Waldeslust/Drei Wiesse Birken//Hohe Tannen [with Heimatquartett]/Lass Die Sonne Wieder Scheinen/Du Hast Zwei Wunderschöne Blaue Augen/So Wie Es Früher Einmal War (Sweet Maria)/Schöne Mädchen Muss Man Lieben/Ich Bin So Gern Zuhause/Was Frauen Träumen
	3328 - Mit Jugendlichem Klang - Das Heimatquartett [1967]
	S-3329 - Elk Grove Festival Chorus Presents The Sound of Ecumenism - Various Artists [1967] Label is blue with silver print.
	3330 - The One and Only Mr. Sound Effects - Wes Harrison [1969] Label is maroon with silver print.
	3331 (?) - Electronic Fingers - Frank Pellico [1972] Album is erroneously numbered 3326. Pellico is the Chicago Cubs organist at Wrigley Field.
	3332 - Swinging Melodies of Selected German-American Favorites - Hans Rager Duo [1972] Colonel Bogey/Blue Spanish Eyes/Wunderbar/Wenn Erst Der Abend Kommt/Lili Marlen/Baby, Baby-Balla, Balla//Happy Wanderer/Zwei Gutd Freunde/Que Sera Sera/Morgen/Ueber Berg Und Tal/Muss Ich Denn (Wooden Heart)
	3333 - Childrens Songs of Joy - Diane Hartman Smith [1973] Orange label with brown print.
	3334 - Touching - Frank Pellico & Gingerbread [1974] Label is light blue with black print. Sweet Caroline/For The Good Times/2001 Space Odyssey/Speak Softly Love (from "The Godfather")/Playground In My Mind/You've Got A Friend//Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'Round The Ole Oak Tree/Meditation/If/Bad, Bad Leroy Brown/My Love/Sing
	S-7832 - Memories of the Three Bears - The Three Bears (Joe, Rudy and Laddie) [197?] Label is red with silver print. Czech music. Sly Panenky Silnici (Damsel's March)/V Nedeli Odpoledne (One Sunday Afternoon)/Ale Ne (Oh No)/Pomalu Kamaradi (Friend's Memories)/Anicka (Ann's Polka)/Roztouzena (Yearnful)//Harmonika (Crying Accordion)/Nakonci Vesnice (End Of The Village)/Smutna Milenka (Sad Lover)/Bile Skaly (White Cliffs)/Strahovacek (Monk Of Strahov)/Vzpominka Na Domov (Memories Of Home)
	9931 - We the People - We the People [1976] Chicago based folk group featuring vocalist Penny Burns. Gotta Travel On/Hey Good Lookin'/The Sunshine Brought Me Here/Mountain Dew/Streets Of London//Rider/Jumbalaya/If You Have A Dream/Nova Scotia Farewell/Irene Good Night

IRC SINGLES

		The first IRC single (far left) had "International Recording Co." beneath the logo. This was soon dropped in favor of just the logo itself (near left). Most of the early singles used a light blue label with dark blue print.
		Examples of yellow and maroon labels.
		Examples of dark blue and red labels.
		A gold label is also known (far left). Some singles also had picture sleeves (near left).

IRC SINGLES DISCOGRAPHY

Number - Artist - Content (Chicago Chart)

1961:

6901 - Bob Vegas & Don Caron Orchestra - Playboy (11-61, #36)/I Need You
6902 - Don Caron & His Orchestra - Choo-Choo/Loser's Weepers
6903 -
6904 - Dick Biondi - The Pizza Song/Knock Knock
6905 - Don Caron - Don't Wait Up For Me, Mom/Hiccups
6906 -
6907 -
6908 - Percy Haid & His Orchestra - Rendezvous At The Beach/Traffic Jam Blues
6909 - Jimmy Keane - Linda's Cha Cha/Miami Beach Cha Cha
6910 - Ronnie Rice - Over The Mountain (Across The Sea) (12-61, #27)/T.N.T.

1962:

6911 - Freddie Lark & the Blue Knights - Angel From Above/St. Louis Woman
6912 - Ronnie Rice - Maybe It's Because I Love You (6-62, #33)/The Lonely
6913 - Wes Harrison (Mr. Sound Effects) - Speaking Of Sounds (Side 1)/Speaking Of Sounds (Side 2)
6914 - Don Caron - Work Song (8-62, #26)/Twist Cha Cha
6915 -
6916 - Bela LaGoldstein - Old Boris/Why Do I Love You

1963-65:

6917 - Ronnie Rice - Come Back Little Girl (1-63, #20)/Who's The New Girl
6918 - Buddy & Citations - Juvenile Delinquent/Girl
6919 -
6920 - Moonglows - Comin' Home Baby/Rock'n with Mr. "E"
6921 - Rudy Mineo Trio - My Heart Reminds Me/Nightingale
6922 -
6923 - Wes Harrison (Mr. Sound Effects) - Fun With Sound (Side 1)/Fun With Sound (Side 2)
6924 -
6925 -
6926 -

1966:

6927/8 - Little Boy Blues - Look At The Sun/Love For A Day
6929 - Little Boy Blues - Look At The Sun/Love For A Day
6930 - Wes Harrison - Fun With Sound, Part 1/Fun With Sound, Part 2
6931 - Ronnie Rice & Gents - Tell Her/I Want You I Need You I Love You
6932 -
6933 -
6934 -
6935 - Danny's Reasons - Little Diane/Believe Me
6936 - Little Boy Blues - I'm Ready/Little Boy Blues' Blues
6937 - Phantoms - My Generation/Summertime Blues

1967:

6938 -
6939 - Little Boy Blues - I Can Only Give You Everything/You Don't Love Me
6940 -
6941 - Twilights - The Wolf/I'll Be Back
6942 - Hobbits - You Must Believe Me/It Just Isn't Fair
6943 - Tamar's New Generation - Just Flowers/Traffic
6944 - Sue Burke - When Will It Be Over/Mood Inside

Unknown Year:

1827 - Max Holland - Coquette/Woodchopper's Ball
2088 - Leonard at the Thomas Organ - Crosseyed Little Santa Claus/Jingle Jam
3310 - Jessie & Eddie with the Blue Chips - Please Mr. President/After the War
3426 - Peggy Dawn & South Winds - A Wedding Band (Now Broken In Two)/What A Fool
4501 - Herold Steinbach Orchestra - Texarkana Polka/Tinkabell Waltz
4502 - Herold Steinbach Orchestra - If You Got The Coffee Polka/Margo's Oberek
4515 - Sensational Harmoneers - Since I Met Jesus/Joy Over There
7571 - Bill Carr - For Freedom For All/I Want To Be At The Ballgame
9869 - Tommy Satan & Backups - Three Lonely People/Kissy Face
10,333 - P. Willie Buck - Disco Blues

Thanks to Ken Clee for filling in a few holes in this list.

Back to the Discography Listings Page

Back to the Both Sides Now Home Page

		The IRC label appeared in various background colors, but the constant was the IRC logo at the top, consisting of a world map projection with the letters "IRC" on it.
		As might be expected from a custom label, album labels were optional colors, depending on what the customer wanted. We have noted the various label colors where known in the discography below.