Record Label Socks
Description: India Navigation was an American record company and independent record label that specialized in avant-garde jazz in the 1970s and 1980s. It was founded by Bob Cummins, a corporate lawyer who helped jazz musicians with legal matters. Its catalogue included Arthur Blythe, Pharoah Sanders, Hamiet Bluiett, Chico Freeman, Cecil McBee, and the Revolutionary Ensemble. In addition to this, some recordings of minimal music, such as Arnold Dreyblatt, Phill Niblock and Joseph Celli, or Tom Johnson, also appeared.
Description: Meritt Records was an American jazz and blues record company and label that existed from 1925 to 1929. It was founded in Kansas City by Winston Holmes, the owner of a music store. Records were made in his studio and sold only in his store. Holmes produced about 20 double-sided acoustically recorded phonograph records in the mid and late 1920s. Most of the sides are of locally based jazz and blues performers, plus some gospel music and sermons.
Description: Xanadu Records was a jazz record label founded in 1975 by Don Schlitten. It was most active during the 1970s and 1980s and stopped recording in the 1990s. The catalogue was bought by emusic in 1999, but no new music was produced. In 2007, the catalogue was bought by The Orchard, which entered an agreement in 2015 with Elemental Music to reissue some of the catalog as the Xanadu Master Edition Series. The partnership planned to include albums by Kenny Barron, Bob Berg, Al Cohn, Sonny Criss, Joe Farrell, Barry Harris, Dexter Gordon, Albert Heath, Jimmy Heath, Duke Jordan, Charles McPherson, and Cecil Payne.
Description: Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola Express, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomerate Sony Music Entertainment.
Description: Mammoth Records was an independent record label founded in 1989 by Jay Faires in the Carrboro area of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The majority of the acts on Mammoth were executive-produced by Faires and the label's general manager, Steve Balcom. The label was the first independent to produce two platinum records. Mammoth's roster included Antenna, The Backsliders, Bandit Queen, The Bats, Blake Babies, Chainsaw Kittens, Clarissa. Dash Rip Rock, Dillon Fence, Frente!, Fu Manchu, Fun-Da-Mental, Jason & the Scorchers, Jocelyn Montgomery, Joe Henry, Juliana Hatfield, Kill Creek, Machines of Loving Grace, Mark Lizotte, My Friend Steve, Pure, Seven Mary Three, Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Hope Blister, The Melvins, The Sidewinders.
Description: Roc-La-Familia was an American record label founded by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. This sub-label focused on signing international artists, including reggaeton artists, much like Bad Boy Latino. "OG" Juan Perez was appointed the president of the label Robert Castillo EVP and Cipha Sounds was the senior vice president of A&R (until he got a job at MTV in 2006). Roc-La-Familia was an extension of Roc-A-Fella Records and headquartered in New York City. Roc-La-Familia featured a broad array of artists encompassing such musical genres as Latin hip hop, reggae, reggaeton, pop, rock and more.
Description: Laurie Records was an American record label established in New York City in 1958, by brothers Robert and Gene Schwartz, and Allan I. Sussel. Among the recording artists on Laurie's roster were Dion and the Belmonts (both together and as separate acts), The Chiffons, The Jarmels, The Mystics, Bobby Goldsboro, and The Royal Guardsmen.
Description: BluesWay Records was an American subsidiary label of ABC-Paramount Records, begun by Bob Thiele in 1966. Artists such as John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Reed, Jimmy Rushing, Otis Spann, and T-Bone Walker were among those who signed for the label. BluesWay released B. B. King's 1969 Live and Well and Completely Well albums, the latter containing his hit "The Thrill is Gone". The label also released the James Gang's first album, 1969's Yer' Album.
Description: Mega Records was a Danish record label established in 1983. It was renamed Edel-Mega Records when it was acquired by Edel Music in 2001. Mega's catalogue is now managed by Playground Music Scandinavia, which was spun off from Edel in 2010. Their most internationally successful artist is the Swedish pop group Ace of Base, who have to date sold over 30 million records worldwide. Nicki French also released a single under their label.
Description: Happy Tiger Records was an independent American record label that was owned by the Flying Tiger Line air freight company. Happy Tiger operated from 1969 to 1971. During this time the label produced more than two dozen albums by Count Basie, Mason Proffit, Red Rhodes, Priscilla Paris, Paul Kelly, and the Anita Kerr Singers. They released two albums by the post-Van Morrison Them band.
Description: LaFace Records was an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 to 2011 and was historically a part of Bertelsmann Music Group from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achieved its greatest commercial success during the 1990s, dealing largely in the field of urban music. It was originally distributed by its co-creator Arista Records from 1989 through 2001, after which it was shuttered and absorbed into Arista. In 2004, the label was rebooted, and it began operating through Jive Records until both were absorbed into RCA Records in 2011. Today, the label's back catalog and reissues are managed by Legacy Recordings.
Description: American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres formed a records division, incorporating the Am-Par Record Corporation on June 14, 1955 with Samuel H. Clark as its first president. By August 1955, the unit was organized with AMPCO (ASCAP) and PAMCO (BMI) as subsidiary publishing units. Though the record label was established as Am-Par, no records were released until after the division's name was changed to ABC-Paramount in September 1955.
Description: Relativity Records was an American record label founded by Barry Kobrin at the site of his vinyl record shop, Important Record Distributors (IRD) in metropolitan New York City. The IRD distribution name was later known as RED Distribution and again as RED Music. Relativity released music that covered a wide variety of musical genres. When it entered into a deal with Sony Music Entertainment, it became more known for its heavy metal and hip hop releases.
Description: Downey Records was an American record label owned by Bill Wetzel (July 26, 1912 – November 20, 1999) in Downey, California, and distributed at times by Dot Records. Wetzel worked as a sound engineer for MGM studios and in 1958, opened Wetzel's Music Town in Downey, California. In 1959, he began the Jack Bee label which he eventually turned into the Downey label with a studio in the back of the record store.
Description: LaFace Records was an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 to 2011 and was historically a part of Bertelsmann Music Group from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achieved its greatest commercial success during the 1990s, dealing largely in the field of urban music. It was originally distributed by its co-creator Arista Records from 1989 through 2001, after which it was shuttered and absorbed into Arista. In 2004, the label was rebooted, and it began operating through Jive Records until both were absorbed into RCA Records in 2011. Today, the label's back catalog and reissues are managed by Legacy Recordings.
Description: Gone Records was a record label founded in 1957 by George Goldner, along with music publishing arm Real Gone Music,that was active in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Among the artists that recorded for the label were Bill Haley & His Comets, Ral Donner, Jo-Ann Campbell, Eddie Platt, Johnny Rivers, and The Four Seasons. It was acquired by Morris Levy and incorporated into Roulette Records in 1962.
Description: Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's founding. Buddah handled a variety of music genres, including bubblegum pop (the Ohio Express and the 1910 Fruitgum Company), folk rock (Melanie), experimental music (Captain Beefheart), and soul (Gladys Knight & the Pips).
Description: Refuge Records was a contemporary Christian music record label founded in 1980 by Greg Nelson, Jack Hafer and Ray Nenow. One imprint of Refuge was Pure Metal Records, although Star Song Communications bought out that branch in 1990. The label had Doug Mann, future founder of R.E.X. Records, as an employee.
