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In 1975, Brunswick suffered two major setbacks that signaled a turning point to its remarkable run. On the evening of September 29th, 1975, Jackie Wilson suffered a massive heart attack and stroke while performing at the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill, New Jersey with Dick Clark. As a result of the attack, Wilson remained incapacitated for more than eight years, until his death on January 21st, 1984. Though Wilson had no longer been a hit-making artist, the impact of the tragedy shook the entire label.

Legally, Brunswick was fighting federal charges stemming from a government investigation of payola in the recording industry. While other record executives in the scandal such as Columbia's Clive Davis and Kenny Gamble of Philadelphia International took pleas, Brunswick went to considerable expense to fight the charges in court. The legal battle ended in December of 1977, when a U.S. appellate court acquitted all Brunswick executives.

Despite the victory, Brunswick's legal fees had exhausted all of its financial resources and virtually destroyed the label's ability to produce and promote records. To make matters worse, the government claimed to have lost all of Brunswick's books and records during the investigation, which made it almost impossible for the label to continue in business. Tarnopol attributed the entire matter to MCA's influence and vendetta towards him for the 1970 split up.

The final straw and the end of any chance for the label to stay together and regain it's prominence in R&B music resulted from a power struggle between Tarnopol and the management of Brunswick's key artists and producers. Naturally, the major record companies took the opportunity to take Brunswick's top recording artists for themselves. As a result, Barbara Acklin had been signed to Capitol records, Tyrone Davis was signed to Columbia Records, Eugene Record signed a solo deal with Warner Brothers Records and the remaining Chi-Lites went to Mercury along with Carl Davis, who was given his own label called Chi-Sound. Unfortunately, none of these immensely talented artists or producers were able to obtain the same success with the majors that they once had with Tarnopol at Brunswick.

Tarnopol was partially able to rebuild the label during the late disco era with hit records by Vaughan Mason and Young & Company from 1979 to 1981. However, by 1982 the dismal condition of the entire record industry forced many of the independent companies, like Casablanca, De-Lite, and Prelude to either sell out to one of the major labels or to simply close their doors, as Brunswick did.
 

Tarnopol was only 56 and essentially broke when he passed away from heart failure in December of 1987. However, the legacy of Brunswick Records continues to echo throughout the music world today. In addition to the music's popularity in films, commercials and on compact discs, the classic bass lines, horn licks and drum beats are continuously being re-used today through sampling by artists such as Beyonce, Jay-Z, Jaheim, Joss Stone Paul Wall, Common, and American Idol's Fantasia, to name only a few.

Billboard magazine has ranked three of Brunswick's artists - Tyrone Davis, The Chi-Lites and Jackie Wilson - in their top 50 most charted R&B artists of all time. All together, Brunswick artists have reached the Billboard R&B singles chart an astonishing 150 times. However, the most enjoyable way to evaluate the greatness of the music is to sit back and listen to it. Once you hear it, you'll understand why Brunswick holds such an important place in music history.

Vaughan Mason & Crew

Nat Tarnopol
1931-1987