Niche Biz: ’50s Music

The Times Tribune:

At first, he was relegated to the classical canon. Quickly, though, he turned his attention to this newfangled thing called rock ’n’ roll.

Every day after class, he’d head down to the school gymnasium’s upright piano and bang out a new tune he’d just heard on the radio. His friends would gather around him and together they’d harmonize.

He couldn’t get enough of it.

That’s still the case to this day. In addition to being a member of the local doo-wop group The Magics, Mr. Plotkin is the owner of Debra Records, a small label devoted mostly to recording and producing doo-wop artists.

Mr. Plotkin was still in high school when he and his brother, Allan, started Debra (the label’s name was inspired by the actress Deborah Kerr) in 1958 above his family’s business, Plotkin Red Wing Shoes on Penn Avenue in downtown Scranton. Besides The Magics, the label recorded other local artists like The Gales, an all-female vocal group featuring current Magics member Paulette Costa, and the late Tommy Genova.

In later years, Mr. Plotkin owned his own record store and worked as a record wholesaler. Eventually, he devoted himself full time to the family business, but never gave up on Debra.

Today, the label is as active as ever, recording a wide variety of regional artists, from The Magics and The Poets, who are set to release “Evolution,” which commemorates the band’s 45th anniversary, to Tony Costa, the country act Hickory Rose and standards singer Judy Gretzula, who records under the name Judy Jaymes.

And it’s not just locals. Other acts on the label include the Pittsburgh-based The Four Dots and The Aquatones, who formed in New York City but now call Louisville, Ky., home. Debra released a Christmas album by the latter that’s sold more than 1,100 copies and found radio play on stations in Kentucky and California, Mr. Plotkin said. Recently, the Aquatones sang their hit song, “You,” on a PBS doo-wop special hosted by Frankie Valli and Jerry Butler.

Photo by Times Tribune.

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