An American label, operating out of New York. 'Billboard' of the 10th of June 1978 described Hilltak as a new label and said that it was being formed by Hillery Johnson, previously vice president and director of special projects at Atlantic, and Tom Takayoshi, formerly president of Playboy Records. According to the article the two men had previously been together at both Capitol and Playboy. The new label was initially to be devoted to R&B, though there was a possibility that it might expand to cover mainstream Pop as well. Distribution was to be by Atlantic, and the first single was expected to be released in June. That first single duly appeared, on time. 'BB' of the 10th of March 1979 indicated that Hilltak was leaning towards Disco, but it also had Rock band The Guess Who on its roster - 'BB' of the 24th of March carried an advert for that band's LP. The link with Atlantic lasted for little over a year; 'BB' of the 8th of September 1979 reported that Hilltak would in future be handled by independent distributors. At that point, the article said, its roster consisted of five artists: The Guess Who, Dalton & Dubarri, Broadway, the 9th Creation, and Lynne Hamilton. Whatever new arrangement was made, it proved short-lived - the final American Hilltak single of a dozen or so came out in November 1979.
In Britain Hilltak's output was far more modest, being restricted to an album (possibly) and a single by Dalton & Dubarri. The single, 'I Can Dance All By Myself' b/w 'There Is Love In Everybody', came out in October 1979, via DJM. The 7" version, which was numbered DJS-10924, appears to have been available only in promotional form, though it was listed in 'The New Singles' at the time; the issue was a 12" (DJR-18007) of which the 7" was an edited version. The album from which the single was taken was called 'Choice'; MW of the 17th of November 1979 included it among its 'New Releases' as DJF-20565, but there's no sign of it online and it may well have been cancelled. According to 'Music Week' of the 1st of September 1979 the agreement between DJM and Hilltak was intended to be a three-year one and The Guess Who's LP was supposed to come out in the new year, but there's no trace of a UK release of that record at all. Hilltak may well have ceased to be viable before either album release could take place. Pressing and distribution were by CBS, as they were for DJM's other records at the time. Thanks to Robert Bowes for bringing the label to my attention.
Copyright 2008 Robert Lyons.