publicly traded US entity, K-tel International, to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1984. In 1986, the Bank of Montreal foreclosed on the K-tel Canadian subsidiary at the same time as the US Chapter 11 filing. Advised by Minneapolis-based Sullivan Associates, K-tel negotiated settlements with banks and other preferred and unsecured creditors. Six years later, after all the legal battles, a settlement was reached with the Bank of Montreal, and in 1991, Kives got his Canadian company back. In 1993, K-tel earned a $2.7 million profit on sales of $56 million, and in 1994, ranked #7 on BusinessWeeks annual Hot Growth List. Mickey Elfenbein, Kives' nephew, was appointed CEO of the K-tel International division in 1993 and served until the late 1990s. Elfenbein's son, Mark, produced the company's highest selling music products of the 1990s with the creation of the "Club Mix" series which reached RIAA gold and platinum sales success. K-tel increased its worldwide sales, primarily of music-related products, and had a successful NASDAQ IPO trading under the symbol KTEL. Music business In 1966, Philip Kives released the company's first compilation album, a collection of 25 country songs entitled 25 Country Hits. Every copy was sold. The idea of compilation albums was new, and the venture's unexpected success led to further releases. K-Tel's second release, 25 Polka Greats, sold 1.5 million copies in the United States K-tel recruited Australian Don Reedman (twin brother of Peter Reedman, who was already working in the Australian office) to set up the UK-based division of K-Tel Records in the early 1970s. The company built the business of releasing compilation albums that combined material from a number of popular artists onto a single theme album using the tag line "20 Original Hits! 20 Original Stars!". The company negotiated directly with artists and labels for the rights to reproduce their original recordings, in the process also securing a long-term asset through adding those recordings to their catalogue. While most of the compilation albums relied on the pop charts of the day, there were some that focused on hits from a specific genre. Examples include: 20 Power Hits (1973) and Gold Rock (1975), mainly rock-oriented. Super Bad, Super Bad Is Back (both 1973), and Souled Out (1975), soul and R&B hits of the day. Summer Cruisin' (1976) and Rock 'N' Roll Show (1977), mostly 1950s music. Goofy Greats (1975) and Looney Tunes (1976) compiled novelty