In 1964,when the Flames where still together, James Brown and Bobby Byrd formed their own production company, Fair Deal, in an attempt to promote their recordings to a crossover audience. As a result, Brown signed a contract with Smash Records, a subsidiary of Mercury to distribute the records and Brown released 8 albums from Smash Records.
During the Flames' heyday in 1964, James Brown and Bobby Byrd founded Fair Deal Productions to reach a wider audience. This led to Brown signing a deal with Smash Records, a Mercury subsidiary, which released eight albums by Brown.