M & K Records (Eddie Quinteros)

 

M & K Records is listed at RCS (location unknown). 

Eddie Quinteros: 

I think I was 13 or 14 when I joined the musician union at 14. I got busted playing a union house at 14 and after that I had to join, they were very powerful in those days! About 1956 I had another little group - we did a TV stint in San Francisco on KPIX...  after I joined the union there was a singer bamed Bobby Freeman, and his manager saw me and wanted to know if I wanted to play guitar with them. He just had his song out "Do you Wanna Dance?"  They were going to tour in Hawaii and they needed a guitar player who could read music and I auditioned and got the job at 15.     

I was getting a solo spot playing the dances and stuff and eventually we went down to LA and we cut some songs and that was a hit record I had "Come Dance With Me".  So the manager went to New York, he knew Bobby Shad, from Time/Brent/Shad Records. They gave me a contract and released the record. On the East Coast it hit really big, top ten; on The West Coast, it was just under the top 40, That station KYA was playing it - in those days the DJs were Tom Donahue and Bob Mitchell.     

When that record came out I was touring back there with Alan Freed on the Easter tour. That was a series of one nighters, they filled the bus up with all the performers. You would perform that night, drive all night to next venue - it was grueling. That's kind of I started. I was on Dick Clark's show four times, including the Saturday Night Beechnut show. The bad part I wasn't getting royalties - my father checked into it. I was 17 at the time. What he found out was that Dick Clark sent us a letter saying the payments (for appearing on the show) had been made but the checks were endorsed and cashed by my manager who didn’t have power of  attorney. The record company - all of your expenses to promote and record came out of royalties. Studio time, all expenses... We lived quite well, very well, but found there was nothing left.     

After that experience I was pretty bummed about it.  With nothing for your future but one nighters. I decided to go back to school,

Upon returning home to Dale City in California, Eddie launched his own label, Ed-Dar Records, with his manager.  "Come On, Little Girl / Waited For You" were issued on Ed-Dar 102 in September or October 1960.

Soon, the songs had a second issue on M & K Records. While who was M isn't known for sure, but K was Bob Krasnow, who ran the King Records branch office in San Francisco from 1958 to 1964.  It doesn't seems obvious, but the M & K release is the same label as MK 101 issued in October 1960. See Winkly and Nutty (two KYA DJ's : Jim Stag and Bob Mitchell).

Location found : San Francisco, Calif