Gateway Records
1960s-1990s label from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, founded by Robert W. Schachner in 1961.
Also appears as "Gateway" only, "Gateway Recordings", "Gateway Recording, Inc." or "Gateway Recordings, Inc.".
Gateway Records recorded and released jazz, rock, folk, and polka music. On the Gateway roster were Harold Betters, Slide Hampton, Walt Harper, Charles Bell, Jerry Betters, the Human Beinz, Jon Walton, The Del Vikings, Norman Charles, The Classmen, Marie La Donna, Donnie Elbert, Liz Seneff, the Duquesne University Tamburitzans and many polka bands. The Gateway recording studio was located above the main National Record Mart store on Forbes Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh. Several hit songs recorded at Gateway Studios were released by other labels including songs from Louis Armstrong, the Vogues, and Lou Christie. Gateway operated the subsidiary labels Scotty Records and the polka label Gateway Dyna. At its peak in 1967 Gateway had 9 employees which included two sound engineers. Gateway played an important role in Pittsburgh's 1960s music scene providing a recording studio and helping to launch the recording careers of several artists.
The last Pittsburgh releases from Gateway Recordings, Inc were in 1967. Disappointed in the low sales of Gateway's pop music releases, the Shapiros sold their share of the company to Bob Schachner. Schachner moved to New York City in 1970 where he recorded and marketed educational records. He released a three jazz recordings by Theonius Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, and Kai Winding on the Gateway Recordings label in 1977. Around 1980 he signed a contract with the British Broadcasting Corp.giving him exclusive U.S. record distribution rights. Freed from the New York music market he moved in 1980 to Davie in the Fort Lauderdale area of Florida. In 1980 he produced and released the aerobic dancing instruction record "Barbara Ann Auer's Aerobic Dancing" that sold 1 million copies. Schachner produced a comedy album titled "Professor Irwin Corey's Stories Out Of School" at his Gencom Studios in Fort Lauderdale that was released in 1982. Schachner told the Miami Herald in 1985 that Gemcom would achieve $2 million in sales on 500 album and tape titles. He produced a series of live jazz recordings from performances at the Fort Lauderdale nightclub Bubba's with singer Carmen McCrae , pianist Ahmad Jamal and other artists. He's staged jazz concerts in Cannes, France. He also released live recordings of B.B. King, guitarist Pat Metheny and pianist Dave Brubeck. Gateway's signature series, "Who's Who in Jazz" included recordings of Chick Corea and saxophonist Sonny Stitt.
Also appears as "Gateway" only, "Gateway Recordings", "Gateway Recording, Inc." or "Gateway Recordings, Inc.".
Gateway Records recorded and released jazz, rock, folk, and polka music. On the Gateway roster were Harold Betters, Slide Hampton, Walt Harper, Charles Bell, Jerry Betters, the Human Beinz, Jon Walton, The Del Vikings, Norman Charles, The Classmen, Marie La Donna, Donnie Elbert, Liz Seneff, the Duquesne University Tamburitzans and many polka bands. The Gateway recording studio was located above the main National Record Mart store on Forbes Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh. Several hit songs recorded at Gateway Studios were released by other labels including songs from Louis Armstrong, the Vogues, and Lou Christie. Gateway operated the subsidiary labels Scotty Records and the polka label Gateway Dyna. At its peak in 1967 Gateway had 9 employees which included two sound engineers. Gateway played an important role in Pittsburgh's 1960s music scene providing a recording studio and helping to launch the recording careers of several artists.
The last Pittsburgh releases from Gateway Recordings, Inc were in 1967. Disappointed in the low sales of Gateway's pop music releases, the Shapiros sold their share of the company to Bob Schachner. Schachner moved to New York City in 1970 where he recorded and marketed educational records. He released a three jazz recordings by Theonius Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, and Kai Winding on the Gateway Recordings label in 1977. Around 1980 he signed a contract with the British Broadcasting Corp.giving him exclusive U.S. record distribution rights. Freed from the New York music market he moved in 1980 to Davie in the Fort Lauderdale area of Florida. In 1980 he produced and released the aerobic dancing instruction record "Barbara Ann Auer's Aerobic Dancing" that sold 1 million copies. Schachner produced a comedy album titled "Professor Irwin Corey's Stories Out Of School" at his Gencom Studios in Fort Lauderdale that was released in 1982. Schachner told the Miami Herald in 1985 that Gemcom would achieve $2 million in sales on 500 album and tape titles. He produced a series of live jazz recordings from performances at the Fort Lauderdale nightclub Bubba's with singer Carmen McCrae , pianist Ahmad Jamal and other artists. He's staged jazz concerts in Cannes, France. He also released live recordings of B.B. King, guitarist Pat Metheny and pianist Dave Brubeck. Gateway's signature series, "Who's Who in Jazz" included recordings of Chick Corea and saxophonist Sonny Stitt.