Del-Fi Records

About

Appears mostly as "Del-Fi" only. Label created by Bob Keene in late 1957, best known for recording Ritchie Valens from 1958 until his death in the February 1959 plane crash that also killed Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper. For the original record company, see Del-Fi Records, Inc.. Del-Fi continued on, recording and licensing surf, pop, novelty and doo wop masters. In 1966, Barry White was hired as an A&R man/producer for Keane's Bronco imprint. Keane also released Ron Holden, Bobby Fuller Four, pre-The Fifth Dimension The Versatiles, and Frank Zappa recordings, until the label—then called Stereo-Fi—closed down in 1967. He also partnered the Keen label. Keane relaunched the Del-Fi label in 1987 and reissued the back catalog as well as signing new artists to the label. In 2003, Keane sold Del-Fi to Warner Music Group whose Rhino Entertainment Company administers its catalog. Bob Keane died on November 28, 2009 of renal failure after a long battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.