Tops Records was a Los Angeles–based record label owned by Tops Music Enterprises, both founded in 1947 by Carl L. Doshay and Sam Dickerman. After a prolific and profitable run, Tops merged with PRI Records in 1958, which in turn, sold to a group of investors in 1960, then went bankrupt in about 1962. Its assets—which included a huge library of recordings—were sold to Pickwick Records, a label that had been its main competitor throughout the 1950s.[1] Pickwick's assets were purchased by PolyGram Records in the late 1970s.
Selected staff
Carl L. Doshay (1917–2010), founder and president
Sam Dickerman (1915–2000), founder and vice president
Corky Carpenter (pseudonym of Amos Randolph Carpenter; 1922–1986), A&R
^Tops/Mayfair Story, by Mike Callahan, David Edwards, and Patrice Eyries, Both Sides Now (newsletter of Michael A. Callahan; born 1945), McKinney, Texas (article last updated April 15, 2007)
