Red Bird Records was founded by American songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1964. Before Red Bird, Leiber and Stoller owned Spark Records in the 1950s, then worked for Atlantic (1955–1961) and United Artists (1961–1963). Much of the Red Bird catalogue was filled with girl bands as The Dixie Cups and The Shangri-Las.
When Leiber and Stoller brought in George Goldner, this marked the beginning of the end for Red Bird Records. The label was sold in 1966 as Leiber and Stoller preferred to write and produce rather than manage the business of running a label, and after they had a falling-out with Goldner whose gambling debts caused Red Bird to be taken over by the Mafia. Leiber and Stoller sold Red Bird to Goldner for one dollar. Goldner then sold the Red Bird catalogue to raise money.