Certron Album Discography

Aubrey Mayhew established the Little Darlin' label while he was working for Pickwick in New York in the 1960s. He heard about a Nashville singer named Donald Lytle, and prevailed upon Pickwick to record several songs by the singer. He suggested that Lytle's name be changed to something more edgy, like Johnny Paycheck (formerly the name of one of Joe Louis' boxing opponents, spelled Paychek). When two of the records Pickwick recorded charted, he quit Pickwick and along with Paycheck and steel guitarist Lloyd Green, started Little Darlin' Records. Mayhew moved the operation from New York to Nashville and produced most of Paycheck's early hits, and co-wrote many of them (Mayhew wrote several country hits for other artists, also).

When Little Darlin' ran out of money and had to close in late 1969, Mayhew wasted little time in setting up shop under a different label. Mayhew struck a deal with Certron Corporation, a manufacturer of magnetic tape, to start a Music Division in Nashville. As might be expected, Certron Records was primarily a country label. The label was located at 1226 16th Avenue South in Nashville.

Johnny Paycheck stuck with the new Certron label. Even with Paycheck, Bobby Helms, the Pozo-Seco Singers (now a duo with the shortened name Pozo Seco, but still with future country star Don Williams), and Tex-Mex stars Rene & Rene, Mayhew still couldn't get any hits.

When Certron bought the master tapes for the pop/R&B Diamond label out of New York in early 1970, it was not the easiest of fits, either. Certron released an album of Ronnie Dove's Greatest Hits and a couple of singles from the Diamond catalog, but that was about it.

After about thirty albums and a couple of dozen singles, and little in the way of cash coming in from record sales, Certron pulled the plug on the operation in early 1971. Certron, in business to stay in business, probably made the right choice to get rid of the red ink of a record label. As proof, today they are still in business, making computer media.

After the demise of Certron, Johnny Paycheck signed with Epic and became a bigger star than he was at Little Darlin', mainly because Billy Sherrill had some suggestions to change his "outlaw" musical style, if not his image. Paycheck is still best known for his 1977 #1 hit "Take This Job and Shove It," and spent a couple of years behind bars as a result of a barroom fight. Paycheck died in 2003 after a long battle with emphysema.

Aubrey Mayhew tried a revival of the Little Darlin' label in the late 1970s, when he leased several albums to Columbia Special Products, but this was short-lived. In 2005, Koch Records issued a series of CDs taken from the Little Darlin'/Certron masters. Mayhew spent much of his spare time collecting memorabilia from the JFK assassination, including buying the Texas School Book Depository in Dallas in 1970 (which he lost in 1973 through loan default). Mayhew died in Nashville at the age of 81 on March 22, 2009.

The certron label was black with silver print. The red, blue and yellow Certron logo was at the top of the label. Around the bottom of the label in red caps was "A PRODUCT OF CERTRON CORPORATION MUSIC DIVISION."

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. We are not a catalog, nor can we provide the records listed below. We have no association with Certron 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 2010 by Mike Callahan.

CERTRON ALBUM DISCOGRAPHY

Cover	Number - Title - Artist - [Release Date] Contents
	Certron CS-7000 Main Series:
	CS-7001 - Life Is Lovin' What You're Made For - Merv Shiner [1970] Life Is Lovin' What You're Made For/The Voice Of Mary/Protest/Love Is So Like A Fine Vintage Wine/Migratin' Time/Especially You/Ain't That Sad/My Worst Is The Best I Can Give/Walkin' The Streets Of The City/Basin Street Mama/You Can Tell The World/Stop And Think
	CS-7002 - Johnny Paycheck Again - Johnny Paycheck [1970] Forever Ended Yesterday/I Feel Like Crying/I Don't Know When That Will Be/Julie/My Sweet Love Ain't Around/I've Got Wine On My Mind/Keeping Up With The Joneses/Sunny Side Of The Mountain/Living The Life Of A Dog/Talk About Me/Honky Tonks And Slow Sad Music/It's For Sure I Can't Go On
	CS-7003 - Greatest Performances - Bobby Helms [1970] You're No Longer The Woman/I Made Her Bad/Lily White/Cherokee Boogie/Fallen Heart/Move A Little Farther Along/I Just Want To Be Alone/Cold Winds Blow/Come Home To My Heart/Mary Goes Round
	CS-7004 - Organ Favorites - Margie Meinert [1970] Flight Of The Bumblebee/Ivory Tower/You're The Cream In My Coffee/On The Trail/Sweetheart Of Sigma Chi/Electronic Boogie/Indian Love Call/Clarinet Polka/Moon Over Miami/Mexican Hat Dance
	CS-7005 - The Steam Calliope: A Rare Musical Instrument - Margie Meinert [1970] Missouri Waltz/Beautiful Ohio/Indiana/Bicycle Built For Two/Tennessee Waltz/Till I Waltz Again With You/Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey/I'm Looking Over A Four Leaf Clover/Peg O' My Heart/Meet Me In St. Louis
	CS-7006 - All Wrapped Up in Cash - Nashville Fiddles [1970] Ring Of Fire/Jackson/I Walk The Line/Folsom Prison Blues/Daddy Sang Bass/Rock Island Line/Guess Things Happen That Way/Ballad Of A Teenage Queen/A Boy Named Sue/Don't Take Your Guns To Town
	CS-7007 - Spend Some Time with Me - Pozo Seco [1970] Strawberry Fields-Something/Spend Some Time With Me/Take My Hand For Awhile/Storybook Children/In My Life/Ruby Tuesday/Comin' Apart/Apt. #9/Always Something There To Remind Me/There's No Angel On My Shoulder/Follow Me Back To Louisville
	CS-7008 - The Magic of Rene & Rene - Rene & Rene [1970] I Could Have Told You/Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow/Good Ole Days/Raining In My Heart/Padre/El Bandito/My Amigo Jose/Everybody's Talkin'/Take A Letter Maria/All I Have To Do Is Dream/Breaking Up Is Hard To Do/Loving You Could Hurt Me So
	CS-7009 - Sol Hurok Does Not Present: The Best of the Worst ... of Henny Youngman - Henny Youngman [1970] Comedy album, recorded live in Nashville, Tennessee.
	CS-7010 - Elton Britt Sings Modern Country - Elton Britt [1970] My World Of Memories/These Things I'm Not/Release Me/Touch My Heart/Tying The Leaves So They Won't Come Down/Don't It Make You Wanna Go Home/Step Into My Soul/I Left My Heart In San Francisco/Born To Lose/Wichita Lineman/Stardust/You Gave Me A Mountain
	CS-7011 - Greatest All-Time Hits - Ronnie Dove [1970] Say You/Right Or Wrong/Hello Pretty Girl/Keep It A Secret/Add Love/Let's Start All Over Again/Happy Summer Days/That's My Desire/There's No One Out There For Me/No One Ever Lost More/The Minute You're Gone/To Each His Own
	CS-7012 - Greatest Christmas Kiddie Hits - Merv Shiner [1970] Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer/Little Drummer Boy/Oh, Little Town Of Bethlehem/Here Comes Santa Claus/'Twas The Night Before Christmas/Frosty The Snowman//Santa Claus Is Coming To Town/White Christmas/Pancho's Snowball/Jingle Bells/Away In A Manger/I Saw Mommie Kissing Santa Claus
	CS-7013 - Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms [1970] Jingle Bell Rock/Jingle Bells/Here Comes Santa Claus/White Christmas/Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer/Winter Wonderland/Silver Bells/I Saw Mommie Kissing Santa Claus/Christmas Time In My Home Town/Old Year Is Gone/I Wanna Go To Santa Claus Land/Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
	CS-7014 - His Brother's Children - His Brother's Children [1970] Freedom Star/All My Trials/Molly Dee/Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head/Get Together/El Matador/Raise A Ruckus Tonight/Mark Twain/This Land Is Your Land/Come And Go With Me/The Song Of The Pious Itinerant/Aquarius
	CS-7015 - Songs from Sesame Street - (Artists Not Identified) [1970] Sesame Street (Theme)/People In Your Neighborhood/I've Got Two/A Face/Up And Down/I Love Trash//Rubber Duckie/Number 5/Five People In My Family/Somebody Come And Play/One Of These Things (Is Not Like The Other)/Stop And Go/Rub Your Tummy
	CS-7016 - Esperanza Encantada - Esperanza Encantada [1970] Sea Asi (Let It Be)/Si You Fuera Carpintero (If I Were A Carpenter)/Dame Abrigo (Gimme Shelter)/Adios My Love (Goodbye My Love)/Manna/Hey Jude/Brillara La Luz (Will The Light Ever Shine)/Labrador De Tierra Negra (Black Land Farmer)/Turba Sollazante (Sobbing Crowd)/Buenos Tiempos Vendran (Good Times Are Coming)
	CS-7017 - Country Giants - Nashville Fiddles [1970] Orange Blossom Special/Black Mountain Rag/Galveston/Touch My Heart/In The Ghetto/Norwegian Wood/Days Of Sand And Shovels/Gentle On My Mind/Folsom Prison Blues/Kawliga/Rocky Top/Apartment #9
	Certron CIS-4000 International Series:
	CIS-4001 - Besame Otra Vez (Kiss Me One More Time) - Rene & Rene [1970] Love Is For The Two Of Us (El Amor Es Para Nostros Dos)/Kiss Me One More Time (Besame Otra Vez)/My Dream (Crei)/My Cherie Amour/Sally Tosis/No No No/If You Ever Leave Me (Cuando Tu Te Me Vayas)/Ya Volvi/Yellow Days (La Mentira)/Doing My Own Thing/El Doctor Jeringa
	CIS-4002 - The Walls Came Tumbling Down (The Six Day War) - Ilka Raveh [1970] Biblical Cities/The Ballad Of The Druz/Oath To Jerusalem/The Wailing Wall/The Red Rock/The Straits Of Tiran/The Cowboy Song/My Field/Twilight/Sunset/Shepherd Moods/Mountain Landscape
	CIS-4003 -
	CIS-4004 - Please Call Me Baby - Joe Bravo [1970] Please Call Me Baby/Tomando Mil Copas/Yo/Muneca Triste/Amor Necio/Think It Over/It's Okay/Does He Remind Me Of You/Again/La Boa/Un Mal Recuerdo/If You Don't Love Me
	CIS-4005 - Que Hago Mi Amigo - Rudy "Tee" Gonzalez y Sus Reno Bops [1970] Que Hago Mi Amigo/Que No Me Entiendes/Amor De Pobre/Amor De Dios/El Cable/Diez Dias Diez Noches//Sock It To Me/Una Ilusion/Vuelve Conmigo/La Chuchis/El Rosalito/Con Tierrita Del Panteon
	CIS-4006 - Prisonero de Tus - Augustine Ramirez & Su Orquesta [1970]
	CIS-4007 - Por Un Amor/Tres Cachetadas - Little Joe and the Latinaires/Roy Montolongo [1970] Por Un Amor - Little Joe & Latinaires/Someday - Little Joe & Latinaires/ Tres Cachetadas - Roy Montolongo/Confidential - Little Joe & Latinaires/Con Tus Miradas - Roy Montolongo/Buena Suerte Corazón - Roy Montolongo//Cartucho Quemado - Little Joe & Latinaires/No Destruyas El Nido - Little Joe & Latinaires/Hace Un Año - Roy Montolongo/Echale Un Cinco Al Piano - Little Joe & Latinaires/La Yerba Mala - Roy Montolongo/Cuatro Velas - Roy Montolongo
	CIS-4008 - Mañanitas a Mi Madre - Various Artists [1970] Artists include Alegres de Teran, Freddie Gomez, and Lydia Mendoza. Mañanitas A Mi Madre/Amor De Madre/El Huerfano/En Tu Dia/Limosna De Un Hijo/Todo Por Ti/Madrecita/De Mi Cariñ A Mi Madre/Mama/Cariñ Sin Condicion
	CIS-4009 - El Pastorcito - Josue Piensa Morena [1970]
	CIS-4010 -
	CIS-4011 -
	CIS-4012 -
	CIS-4013 -
	CIS-4014 -
	CIS-4015 - Cariño del Cariño - Joe Bravo and the Sunglows [1971?] Cariño Del Cariño/Si No Te Vas/Amplifique Tu Retrato/Te Regaña Tu Señora/Rudy, El Millonario/Ojitos Traicioneros//Toma Esta Flor/Esta Noche La Paso Contigo/Please Call Me Baby/Dos Amores/Ante Un Cristo/Tres Flores
Certron CCS-2000 Documentary Series:
	CSS2-2001 - Gagged and Chained: The Sentencing of Bobby Seale for Contempt - Documentary [1970] 2-LP set. Documentary recording containing a live interview with Bobby Seale, recorded during his imprisonment in New Haven, Connecticut, and a dramatic re-enactment of that portion of the transcript of the 1969 Chicago Conspiracy Trial relating to his sentencing for contempt.

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