American, out of Springfield, Missouri. Column One was owned by Country artist Box Car Willie. In the States it issued records from 1976 to at least 1983, but over here its output was far more restricted. The only British-pressed Column One record I have been able to trace is the single shown above, Box Car Willie's own 'I Love The Sound Of A Whistle' b/w 'I Came So Close To Calling You Last Night' (S-C-1009), which came out in 1978. As the label indicates, it was distributed by a Scottish company, Big Country Music of Biggar, Lanarkshire. The single kept its original American catalogue number. Big Country Music was run by fiddler / promoter / agent Drew Taylor, who spotted Box Car Willie while on a scouting trip to Nashville in 1977. According to 'Record Business' of the 6th of April 1981, Taylor was so impressed that he bought up 8,000 copies of the singer's album that were being stored in the garage of Jim Martin, the man who produced it, brought them back to the UK and sold them at gigs when Box Car Willie came over to tour. Taylor's faith was well founded, as Box Car Willie caught on with UK Country fans. As a result his popularity eventually spread to America.
Drew Taylor was responsible for a 1970s UK record label, but sadly not one which released singles in that decade. 'Music Week' of the 13th of November 1976 raised the possibility of his building a studio and launching a record label in partnership with Tommy Jennings, Waylon's brother, who was to produce material for the new venture. A week later 'MW' of the 20th of November added that the studio was to be near Biggar. Neither the label nor the studio seem to have materialized at the time, but Taylor did however launch his own record company, 'Big R Records', in 1979, with its associated label. Big R's first release was a reissue of the very same Box Car Willie LP that Taylor had imported a couple of years earlier. The label first dipped a toe into the singles market in 1981, and thus it hasn't got a page on this site. 'I Love The Sound Of A Whistle' reappeared on the album 'Daddy Was A Railroad Man' (BRA-1004; 1979), one of several Box Car Willie LPs that were licensed from Column One by Big R and issued over here.
Copyright 2008 Robert Lyons.