Colossus Album Discography
Collossus Records was started in 1970 by Jerry Ross, a promoter and producer who had
some success producing minor hits in the early 1960s, especially on his Heritage label. The Colossus
Records office was located at 1855 Broadway, Suite 702, in New York City. Although it started
independently, Ross soon sold the label to MGM. Ross had set up a distribution deal with MGM in 1968
to distribute his Heritage label. Even in 1968, the Heritage records all bore the statement, "Produced by
Jerry Ross Productions, Inc. in association with Colossus Promotions, Inc." By 1970, Ross went
independent and started the Colossus label, which hit big with several Dutch import hits such as "Venus"
by Shocking Blue and "Ma Belle Amie" by the Tee Set. After those two albums, Ross sold the label to
MGM. Starting with Colossus CS-1003 and CGS- 5001, the back cover of the albums all bore the
statement, "Colossus Record Corporation, a division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc., A presentation of
Jerry Ross Productions, Inc., 1855 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10023."
The Shocking Blue, while only having one real hit here in the United States, had several hits and six albums in Europe. The Shocking Blue had been formed in 1967 by guitarist/sitarist Robby van Leeuwen, formerly of the Dutch band The Motions. He added Mariska Veres, the dark-haired woman singer with the husky voice, Klaasje van der Wal on bass, and drummer Cornelius van der Beek. They signed with the Pink Elephant label in Holland, and recorded "Venus" in 1969. The Shocking Blue album on Colossus acknowledges Pink Elephant.
Jerry Ross was running Heritage Records in 1969 when he went to Europe to check on how the latest
Bill Deal record was doing. While in Zurich, Switzerland, he went to a club and heard the Tee Set, a
Dutch group playing there. He heard another Dutch group, the Shocking Blue, when he visited
Hamburg. A little later, he heard the George Baker Selection, another Dutch group, and decided to sign
them all to a new label and distribute their records in the United States.
All three groups enjoyed immediate success in the United States, and their simultaneous success started people talking about a "Dutch Invasion," like the "British Invasion" of six years earlier. The Dutch Invasion was no match for the British Invasion, however, as after a few hits, the groups disappeared from the American scene, for the most part. The Shocking Blue hit with a huge splash, as their single "Venus" [Colossus 108] made it to #1. From there, it was straight down, as the followup "Mighty Joe" [Colossus 111] just missed the top-40 at #43, and the third single, "Long and Lonesome Road" [Colossus 116], only reached #75. The next try, "Never Marry a Railroad Man" [Colossus 123], only made #102. That was it for the group on Colossus. The Tee Set's "Ma Belle Amie" [Colossus 107] reached #5, but the followup, "If You Do Believe in Love" [Colossus 114], reached only as high as #81, which was their chart swan song here. The George Baker Selection hit #21 with "Little Green Bag" [Colossus 112], but like their labelmates, followups were difficult, as "Dear Ann" [Colossus 117] only climbed to #93. Unlike the others, however, the George Baker Selection had a subsequent hit five years later, with "Paloma Blanca" [Warner 8115, #26]. The George Baker Selection was Johannes Bouwens (George Baker), Jan Hop, Jacobus Anthonius Greuter, Jan Gerbrand, and George The.
After the Dutch boomlet, Jerry Ross decided to put out an orchestral album and a couple of singles by
none other than himself. The album didn't chart, but "Let Me Love You One More Time (Un Pequito
Mas)" [Colossus 119] scraped the bottom of the "Bubbling Under" charts at #123 for one week before
everyone came to their senses. Albums by a German group known as Die Anderen, renamed
Apocalypse (Kannibal Komix) and a twosome going by the name Danks likewise failed to chart.
Albums by a Baltimore group that actually moved to Holland, called Maypole, and an album by Paul
Sylvan also missed the charts. Even a Duprees "greatest hits" compilation and a various artists
collection called Colossus Gold failed.
The only other chart success for the label was from a Chicago-based group called the Mob, a seven-piece "show band" that had been playing around the Windy City for years. In fact, the leaders of the group, Jimmy Holvay and Gary Biesbier, go all the way back to 1964 with the Chicago chart instrumental "Beatle Time" as the Livers on Constellation. The Mob was formed in the mid-1960s and was one of the early rock bands that featured brass in the lineup. They were still charting records in the mid-1970s, and were quite influencial on the Chicago scene. For Colossus, they charted "I Dig Everything About You" [Colossus 130, #83] and "Give It to Me" [Colossus 134, #71] in early 1971, the last chart hits for Colossus. Their album charted at #204. Holvay and Biesbier were accomplished songwriters, having penned most of the hits of fellow-Chicago band the Buckinghams. Other members of the Mob were Al Herrero (lead vocals), Tony Nedza, Bobby Ruffino, James Franz, and Michael Sistak.
