Fraternity Records was started in 1954 by songwriter Harry Carlson in Cincinnati, Ohio. The label had a few hits in the 1950s and 1960s by artists such as Lonnie Mack, Jimmy Dorsey or Cathy Carr, but never had a lasting impact, but the label managed to survive for decades, well into the 1980s. Shad O'Shea purchased the company from Carlson in 1975.