Little David Records

Little David Records was a record label started in 1969 by up-and-coming comedian Flip Wilson and his manager, veteran jazz producer Monte Kay. The label focused mainly on comedy albums, with some jazz and soft rock releases. Little David was independently distributed for its first year but was picked up by Atlantic Records for most of its existence, except for a year under Warner Bros. Records.

The label's logo depicted biblical David wielding a sling, ready to fight Goliath.

The small label produced two Grammy Award-winning comedy albums, and five Gold records to become highly profitable. Kay and Wilson parted ways in 1977. The label was sold to comedian George Carlin, who folded the catalog into Eardrum Records in the 1980s.

Comedian Flip Wilson hired Monte Kay as his manager in 1963 when Wilson was 30 and Kay was 39. Kay was known for founding the jazz club Birdland in 1949. He had been producing jazz records, and managing jazz musicians ever since. Kay booked Wilson at comedy clubs in New York City and Los Angeles, and in 1965 he arranged for Wilson to appear on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Wilson had already released a few comedy albums, the last two with Atlantic Records, but he was interested in taking greater control. In 1969, Kay and Wilson co-founded Little David Records to release new albums, starting with The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress (named for a comedy line spoken by Wilson's character Geraldine), and to sign other comedians and musicians. Released in February 1970, The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress won the 1970 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording at the 13th Annual Grammy Awards held in March 1971. The album was certified Gold on July 22, 1970.

The name "Little David" referred to Wilson's son David, who was named for the biblical David, the giantkiller. Wilson had been using a reference to David and Goliath for a couple of years in his comedy routines, jokingly describing the ancient David as "Little David", a pop singer and a teen heartthrob. The Little David label releases featured a logo capturing a moment in the Bible story: David winding up with his sling to make the fatal blow. Kay's daughter said years later that the logo fit Kay very well because he "loved to help people who he thought were outside the mainstream." A pink background was used on some label series; green on others.

Kay and Wilson put together a television special in 1969, called The Flip Wilson Special. The special led to NBC signing Wilson to a comedy and variety series called The Flip Wilson Show. Kay served as executive producer on the popular show, which rated number 2 in its time slot for two of its four years.

Also in 1970, Kay and Wilson met comedian George Carlin in the course of Carlin appearing on The Flip Wilson Show. Carlin was subsequently hired to write for the show, and then he was signed to Little David. The label recorded Carlin's live performances at Washington DC's The Cellar Door over two nights in July 1971—this collection was released as FM & AM in January 1972. The album won the 1972 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording at the 15th Annual Grammy Awards held in March 1973, and its sales were strong. Eight months after its release, the album was certified Gold. Carlin also changed his artist management to Little David general manager Jack Lewis, who matched Carlin's wild personality.

Initially, the label was distributed over a network of independent labels. In December 1971, Atlantic Records signed a distribution deal with Little David. The artist roster at that time consisted of comedians Wilson and Carlin, and singers Kenny Rankin and Dan Cassidy. Rankin and Cassidy first met at Phoenix House, a drug rehabilitation community in Manhattan. Cassidy had been a copy writer and seaman but learned to play guitar while staying at Phoenix House.