Challenge Records was formed in 1957, in Hollywood California by cowboy movie star Gene Autry, Joe Johnson, Johnny Thompson and Bernie Solomon. The A&R Director for the label was Joe Johnson, and Johnny Thompson served as General Manager. Autry's involvement with the label was short lived as he sold his interest to the remaining partners in October 1958.

The label recorded pop, country and jazz. They had there most success with an instrumental group named the Champs. Their biggest hit was "Tequila" in 1958, but they continued to chart into 1962. Although not with the group initially, Jimmy Seals replaced the original sax player Chuck Rio, and Dash Crofts replaced the original drummer Glen Alden. Of course, Seals and Crofts went on to considerable success as a duo in the 1970's. The Champs had four albums for Challenge.

Another success for Challenge was pop/country singer Jerry Wallace, who had his first hit for Challenge with "How the Time Flies" in 1958. He scored his biggest hit for the label with "Primrose Lane" in 1959. Wallace continued to record and have modest hits for Challenge until 1964, when he switched labels to Liberty, then later to MGM. Jerry Wallace had five albums issued on the Challenge label.

Perhaps the mystique of this label was in the songs that didn't make it to LPs by the artists themselves. This included a few sides by Jan & Dean (including "Heart And Soul"), a number of songs by Jerry Fuller, a couple of wild novelties by El Clod (including "Tijuana Border," a takeoff on "Wolverton Mountain"), and a number of "car songs" by Gary Usher and his groups such as the Four Speeds.

As with many companies in the 1950s, Challenge didn't quite know what to do with stereo as far as record numbers went. Their first stereo LP was Everybody's Rockin' by the Champs, which was mono number CHL-605. The stereo counterpart was numbered CHS-2500, starting a new series. CHL- 607 was the next album to also be issued in stereo, and this became CHS-2501, and CHL-608 became CHS-2502, and CHL-610 became CHS-2503. Madness ensued as the multiple catalog numbers drove everybody nuts, especially since there was no correspondence in the numbers whatever. By the time CHL-613 rolled around in 1962, it was apparent that stereo was here to stay, and Challenge began numbering the stereo issues to correspond to the mono issues, with CHL-613 becoming CHS-2513. Whew. We have listed both the mono and stereo numbers where known.

Challenge Records and Four Star Records joined forces in the 1970s and put out a slew of reissue albums with overlapping material. Four Star was an old country label started in the 1940s and headquartered in Pasadena, California. They were most famous for label president William McCall's ability to find and sign talent. Hank Locklin, Ferlin Husky, Webb Pierce, Jimmy Dean, and Patsy Cline all made their debut on Four Star. Later, these recordings found their way onto seemingly every budget labels' product, with titles like "Jimmy Dean Sings" in big letters, and underneath in small print the unknown studio artist who sings most of the album. Four Star did not issue albums in the 1950s or 1960s.

We would appreciate any additions or corrections to this discography. Just send them to us via e-mail. Both Sides Now Publications is an information web page, and we have no association with Challenge/4 Star Records. Should you be interested in acquiring albums listed in this discography (which are all out of print), we suggest you see our "Frequently Asked Questions" page and follow the instructions found there. This story and discography are copyright 1998, 1999, 2005 by Mike Callahan.