Kayvette Album Discography
Kayvette was a small label co-owned by Brad Shapiro, who did a lot of production for T.K. The Kayvette
label started in 1975, and lasted until 1980 or so. The label distribution was handled by T.K. Productions.
Kayvette issued 19 singles and four albums. The label had an odd success story, as nine of their first
eleven singles charted, then none of the last eight. Fourteen of their 19 singles were by just two artists,
Jackie Moore and the Facts of Life (formerly, Gospel Truth).
Their first artist was Jackie Moore, whose "Make Me Feel Like a Woman" [Kayvette 5122] was the label's first release. It made #6 on the R&B charts in the summer of 1975. She followed that success with four more chart singles, "Puttin' It Down to You" [Kayvette 5124, 12/75, #37 R&B], "It's Harder to Leave" [Kayvette 5125, 6/76, #74 R&B], "Disco Body (Shake It to the East, Shake It to the West)" [Kayvette 5127, 10/76, #36 R&B], and "Make Me Yours" [Kayvette 5129, 4/77, #72 R&B]. At that point, Jackie Moore signed with Columbia, and had several more chart hits. By 1979, when things weren't going so well any more and Jackie Moore was making hits on Columbia, Kayvette put out two more Jackie Moore singles from unreleased material or albums, but both failed.
The second single on Kayvette was "Uphill Peace of Mind"/"If You Can Give You Can Get" by the
Gospel Truth. It didn't chart. The Gospel Truth was a vocal group managed and produced by Millie
Jackson. After the unsuccessful single, all agreed that a change of name was in order, and the group
became the Facts of Life. Their next single, "Caught in the Act (Of Gettin' It On)" [Kayvette 5126], made
#13 on the R&B charts in the spring of 1976. The next single, "Sometimes" [Kayvette 5128] did even
better, making #3 R&B and #31 pop after its release in late 1976. Then four more singles sank without a
trace. The group was Jean Davis (sister of Tyrone Davis), Keith Williams (formerly with the Flamingos
and the Imperials), and Chuck Carter.
By mid-1977, all the singles released on Kayvette had been by either Jackie Moore or the Gospel Truth/Facts of Life, and six of the seven had charted. The next single, Kayvette 5130, was "All Because of Your Love" by veteran Otis Clay, and it, too, charted, making #44 R&B in the summer of 1977. A September release, "I Can't Understand" by the Meadows Brothers [Kayvette 5132], made #76 on the R&B charts, but that was the last chart hit for Kayvette.
The only other artists on Kayvette after 1977 were Brandye, a female vocal trio produced by Brad Shapiro, and the Citizen Band, who had the last single on the label [Kayvette 5141].
