The artists
The artist whose name appears on the greatest number of Embassy recordings is Paul Rich, a singer with the Lou Preager Orchestra, who recorded for Embassy between 1957 and 1965.[7] However, the artist who actually recorded the most songs for Embassy was Ray Pilgrim.[7] Between 1960 and 1965 he recorded almost 150 songs for the Embassy label using the pseudonyms Bobby Stevens, the Typhoons, the Jaybirds, and the Starlings.[8]
Mike Redway, who had been a singer with the Oscar Rabin Band, recorded for Embassy under the pseudonym Redd Wayne, in addition to appearing on many of the Typhoons, Jaybirds and Starlings recordings for the label between 1962 and 1965.[7] Redway later sang the vocal version of the "Casino Royale Theme" over the closing credits of the 1967 Casino Royale film.[9] Ken Barrie, who later became the voice of Postman Pat, recorded for Embassy under the name of Les Carle.[3]
The female singers who made the most recordings for the label were Jean Campbell, Joan Baxter, Maureen Evans and Barbara Kay, with all but the latter recording for Embassy under their own names.[10] Maureen Evans went on to have a hit for Oriole with "Like I Do" and Barbara Kay was one of the members of the Carefrees, who released the novelty record "We Love You Beatles" in 1964.[11] Barbara Kay, who was yet another singer who had previously been with the Oscar Rabin Band, was usually credited as Kay Barry on Embassy releases.[8]
Instrumental recordings would feature whatever session musicians were booked for that day, so the names used for the label, such as Bud Ashton, the Beatmen and the Happy Knights, did not imply any particular participants.[7] Similarly, the group names such as the Typhoons, the Jaybirds, and the Starlings did not imply any consistent membership and were generally made up of any musicians who were available on that particular day.[7] Additionally, backing vocals on many Embassy releases were provided by the Mike Sammes Singers but usually went uncredited.[12]
