To be the second most successful label in town is no bad thing when the town is Detroit and the other label is Motown. And in fact just as Motown moved out of town, Armen Boladian took up the reins and started Westbound Records. Armen had been in the business for quite some time when he started Westbound. As a teenager still at college he had acted as part time promo man for Columbia. Through the 60s he built up a large distribution company, handling many of the big soul labels of the day. By the end of the decade, he had left distribution, and moved to running a full time record company. Over the years he had many small labels, starting with Fascination in the late 50s. He even had a local hit then, but missed on the money when Maurice Levy issued 'Rosie Lee' by the Mello-Tones. He learnt the hard way and when he finally kicked off Westbound he kept it to himself this time. Many of the early releases were very much in the vein of the Detroit vocal group sound. However only eight releases into it and a very strange record appeared by Funkadelic. Let's just say 'Music For Your Mother' was not regular Top 40 fare (in fact it made #50 R&B). Armen's association with the band was as long as it was complex and he gave them free rein creatively. While cutting seven albums as Funkadelic on Westbound their alter ego Parliament turned out more for Casablanca. Funkadelic aside, the label scored Top 40 Pop hits with the Detroit Emeralds, Denise La Salle and the Ohio Players and moved into the LP era with successful albums from all three of these acts. In 10 short years Westbound produced an enduring catalogue of great and at times radical music, all driven by the talent and enthusiasm of one man.

• Single artist albums
• Various artist compilations

Donald Austin

Caesar Frazier

The Detroit Emeralds

King Errisson

The Fantastic Four

Eramus Hall

Junie

Denise La Salle

Bill Mason / Gary Chandler

The Nineteenth Hole

The Ohio Players

U.S. Music With Funkadelic

Albert Washington