Description: Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll, and jazz and comedy recordings, released on the Chess and its subsidiary labels Checker and Argo/Cadet. The Chess catalogue is owned by Universal Music Group and managed by Geffen Records and Universal Music Enterprises.
Description: Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll, and jazz and comedy recordings, released on the Chess and its subsidiary labels Checker and Argo/Cadet. The Chess catalogue is owned by Universal Music Group and managed by Geffen Records and Universal Music Enterprises.
Description: One-derful Records was an independent R&B and soul label based in Chicago. Founded by George Leaner (June 1, 1917 – September 18, 1983) in 1962, One-derful was one of the few black-owned labels in Chicago until its demise in 1968. The label is most known for the release of "Shake a Tail Feather" by the Five Du-Tones in 1963. Other artist on the label included the Sharpees, McKinley Mitchell, Alvin Cash, and Harold Burrage. A few subsidiary labels were launched: Mar-V-Lus, M-Pac, Halo, and Midas Records.
Description: Moon Ska Records was one of the most influential ska record labels of the 1980s and 1990s. The label operated from 1983 until 2000, and during those seventeen years, only released ska and ska-influenced music. Originally named Moon Records, as a tribute to Sun Records, the label changed its name to Moon Ska Records because another label owned the copyright to the Moon Records name. The label was started by Robert "Bucket" Hingley, founding member of The Toasters as a means to distribute albums by The Toasters. The label became an American source for many British ska import albums.
Description: Hardcore punk label formed in 1995 by former WEGL 91.1 FM radio DJ, Maximum Rock & Roll columnist and reviewer, former 924 Gilman Street booker and long time Mordam Records employee Ken Sanderson. Modeling the label after classic 1980's punk labels like Pusmort and Over The Top Records, the label focuses not only on its local San Francisco Bay Area punk scene, but also bands from the owner's native Southeast and additional points around the globe.
Description: New Alliance Records was an independent record label founded by American musicians D. Boon and Mike Watt (of The Minutemen) and longtime friend and associate Martin Tamburovich. They were inspired by the example of their friends in southern California band Black Flag who had earlier formed SST Records. The existence of SST led Watt to understand, according to a 1987 interview he gave to Musician magazine, how easy it was to get a record made: "All you had to do was pay the record plant man."
Description: Fonotipia Records, or Dischi Fonotipia, was an Italian gramophone record label established in 1904 with a charter to record the art of leading opera singers and some other celebrity musicians, chiefly violinists. Fonotipia continued to operate into the electrical recording era, which commenced in 1925–26, by which time the company had been absorbed into Odeon records. The records made by Fonotipia are prized by collectors and musicologists for their high technical quality, and for the high artistic merit and interest of much of what was captured for posterity.
Description: Period Records was an American record label that was founded in 1949. Period Records was the label of Period Music Company. Period had a large catalog of classical and operetta recordings, as well as jazz and popular music. In 1956, Period sold its jazz LP catalog (10 disks) to Bethlehem Records. Production of all its jazz recordings were supervised by Leonard Feather. Several of the Period recordings had been previously released by Jazztone for mail-order club release.
Description: Jumbo Records was a record label set up in Britain in 1908 as a subsidiary of the Italian company Fonotipia. The 10-inch 78 rpm records were initially manufactured in Frankfurt for marketing in the UK, and then in Tonbridge, Kent, but in 1913 manufacturing moved to a new factory at Hertford. The label released popular recordings by military bands, orchestras, solo singers, and many music hall performers of the time, including George Formby Sr., Ella Retford, Billy Williams, and Vesta Tilley.
Description: Neptune Records was a record label founded by Philadelphia writer-producers, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff in 1969. The label, distributed by Chess Records, lasted for only two years, releasing 20 singles and three albums. It was the precursor to the pair's Philadelphia International label, which they started in 1971 with Columbia Records. Neptune featured releases by artists such as Jeanette "Baby" Washington, The O'Jays, The Three Degrees and Billy Paul, all who later appeared on Philadelphia International. The biggest hit was the label's first release, "One Night Affair" by the O'Jays.
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: Varsity Records was one of two labels that comprised the United States Record Company; Royale Records was the other. Eli Oberstein created the USRC in the summer of 1939, shortly after he left an executive position at RCA Victor. Varsity was considered a "budget" label, specializing in popular music and selling records for 35 cents each. Royale was more expensive, at 75 cents a record, and specialized in classical music.
Description: Tetrapod Spools was an Encinitas, California, USA based independent record label founded in Oak Park, Illinois in 1969 by Louie Easley Hanley and Mark Tucker. The label originally released music on reel-to-reel and cassette, later producing limited edition vinyl records. The best known release on Tetrapod Spools is undoubtedly Tucker's 1975 album "Batstew" which has achieved cult status and become a highly sought-after collectible. Tetrapod Spools relocated to Encinitas, California in 1980. The company stopped releasing vinyl records in 1983 but continued to produce albums on CD throughout the late 1990s.
Description: Prelude Records was a New York–based independent record label that was active from 1976 to 1986. At one time, François Kevorkian held an A&R position at Prelude. The label's owner was Marvin Schlachter. Prelude was first launched in 1976, renamed from Pye International Records, a US division of UK-based Pye Records which had begun in 1974. The name was derived from the music group Prelude, which recorded for Pye at the time.
Description: Nothing Records was an American record label specializing in industrial rock and electronic music, founded by John Malm Jr. and Trent Reznor in 1992. It is considered an example of a vanity label, where an artist is able to run a label with some small degree of independence within a larger parent company, in this case the larger company being Interscope Records.
Description: Pablo Records was a jazz record company and label founded by Norman Granz in 1973, more than a decade after he had sold his earlier catalog (including Verve Records) to MGM Records. Pablo initially featured recordings by acts that Granz managed: Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, and Joe Pass. Later, the label issued recordings by Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Milt Jackson, and Paulinho da Costa. The label also re-released 1950s recordings by Art Tatum, which Granz reacquired, and released unissued European live recordings of John Coltrane and his groups.
Description: Red Rooster is an "only on vinyl" records label founded by D’Arabia in 2016 with the help of his partner Dj Rou. The label was born in Bologna and it's strictly focused on raw samples and cuts with disco/funk/hiphop/house influences, giving a miscellaneous trick between old and new grooves.
Description: Ode Records (also known as Ode Sounds and Visuals) was an American record label, started by Lou Adler in 1967 after he sold Dunhill Records to ABC Records. It was distributed by CBS's Epic Records except between 1970 and 1976, when the label was distributed by A&M Records. The original incarnation was closed in 1978 and CBS took over most of catalog, often with Epic logos replacing Ode logos on reissues. Ode has the distinction of being the first non-CBS label to be distributed by CBS Records.
Description: Onyx Records, Inc., was a small, independent American record label based in Manhattan, New York, co-founded on July 15, 1971, by Joe Fields (1929–2017) and Don Schlitten (born 1932) and managed by Gentry McCreary (born 1941). Its address was at 160 West 71st Street on the Upper West Side. Other labels with a similar name Onyx Records, an American rockabilly label from the late 1950s, owned by Jerry Winston. The label was known for having recorded The Velours. Onyx International Records, a gospel label
Description: Black Swan Records was an American jazz and blues record label founded in 1921 in Harlem, New York. It was the first widely distributed label to be owned, operated, and marketed to African Americans. Founded by Harry Pace with W.C. Handy, Black Swan Records was established to give African Americans more creative liberties. Eighteen months earlier, in 1919, the Broome Special Phonograph Records was the earliest label owned and operated by African American George W. Broome in Medford, Massachusetts, featuring Black classical musicians including Harry T. Burleigh and Edward Boatner. Black Swan was revived in the 1990s for CD reissues of its historic jazz and blues recordings.
Description: Tetragrammaton Records was an American record label founded in 1968 by music industry executives Roy Silver, Bruce Post Campbell, Marvin Deane, and comedian Bill Cosby. Silver, at the time, was also Cosby's manager. The term "Tetragrammaton" refers to the Hebrew name of God considered by some to be unspeakable (YHWH, or "Yahweh", translated as "Jehovah" in English). The label's most successful act was rock band Deep Purple.
Description: The United States version of Tiger Lily Records was a record label that was run by Roulette Records founder Morris Levy. Purportedly it was a tax scam created by Levy and was never intended to make a profit. Tiger Lily's primary modus operandi was to acquire demo tapes from artists or studios and then release them without the artists consent and sometimes without even the artist's knowledge. Other albums released by Tiger Lily have been identified as bootlegs of albums released in the early 1970s by Artie Ripp's Family Productions and two cases of performers who were actually signed to Tiger Lily Records have been identified.
Description: The United States version of Tiger Lily Records was a record label that was run by Roulette Records founder Morris Levy. Purportedly it was a tax scam created by Levy and was never intended to make a profit. Tiger Lily's primary modus operandi was to acquire demo tapes from artists or studios and then release them without the artists consent and sometimes without even the artist's knowledge. Other albums released by Tiger Lily have been identified as bootlegs of albums released in the early 1970s by Artie Ripp's Family Productions and two cases of performers who were actually signed to Tiger Lily Records have been identified.
Description: One Day Savior Recordings was an American independent record label founded in 1997 by Christopher Tzompanakis. The record label was most prominent in the hardcore and indie rock communities, releasing metalcore, post-hardcore and emo by such bands as Boys Night Out, Dearly Departed, Embodyment, Hopesfall, The Juliana Theory, The Killing Tree, The Movielife, Onelinedrawing, Paulson, Skycamefalling, The Sleeping and Tabula Rasa. One Day Savior Recordings was originally headquartered in Williston Park, Long Island, New York, where it remained until it was put under hiatus in 2008. The company was eventually sold to Tommy Melissen in 2010, its operations relocating to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Description: Radioactive Records was an American record label. It was formed as a joint venture between talent manager Gary Kurfirst (who managed such acts as the Ramones, Big Audio Dynamite, Deee-Lite and Deborah Harry) and MCA Records, and it is now out of business. Its catalogue is now owned by Geffen Records and licensed through Universal Music Enterprises.
Description: Thelma Records was a record label in Detroit, Michigan from 1962 until 1966. Recordings included Emanuel Laskey, Eddie Hill, Rose Battiste, Richard Street & the Distants, Alberta Adams, The Fabulous Peps and Martha Star. The label was formed by Hazel Coleman, mother of Berry Gordy's first wife Thelma Coleman.
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.
Description: Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. Carter issued his debut album, Reasonable Doubt (1996) as the label's first release, in a joint venture with Priority Records. The label has signed and released albums for acts including Kanye West, Cam'ron, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Juelz Santana, Freeway, Jadakiss, Teairra Marí, State Property, and The Diplomats before its dissolution in 2013.
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: Roto Records was a record label based in Lincoln, Nebraska. The name "Roto" was chosen simply because "it goes round and round." The label's first releases were in 1956 by local artists Bobby Lowell and The Rock-a-Boogie Boys. The label continued releasing recordings by Lowell and other local artists through the mid-1980s.
Description: Ariola Eurodisc GmbH was founded in 1958 as a music outlet of Bertelsmann. It set up several foreign subsidiaries. Leveraging acqusitions by its parent company, Ariola positioned itself to become a strong contender in the German record industry in the mid-1960s. It acquired both Arista Records and German rival label Hansa Records in 1979. It sold 50% of Arista to RCA Records in 1983; after a brief joint venture between RCA and Ariola, RCA (including its record division) was acquired by General Electric who promptly sold RCA's stake in the venture back to Ariola. Ariola America also had a sister label called Ocean Records, which included on its roster actress/entertainer Ann-Margret. It was active 1979 through 1980.
Description: Ariola Eurodisc GmbH was founded in 1958 as a music outlet of Bertelsmann. It set up several foreign subsidiaries. Leveraging acqusitions by its parent company, Ariola positioned itself to become a strong contender in the German record industry in the mid-1960s. It acquired both Arista Records and German rival label Hansa Records in 1979. It sold 50% of Arista to RCA Records in 1983; after a brief joint venture between RCA and Ariola, RCA (including its record division) was acquired by General Electric who promptly sold RCA's stake in the venture back to Ariola. Ariola America also had a sister label called Ocean Records, which included on its roster actress/entertainer Ann-Margret. It was active 1979 through 1980.
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: Parrot Records was an American record label, a division of London Records, which started in 1964. The label usually licensed (or leased) recordings made by Decca Records, England, for release in the United States and Canada, most notably by the Zombies, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, Them, Jonathan King, Hedgehoppers Anonymous, Lulu, Savoy Brown and Alan Price. Other artists included the Detroit-based Frijid Pink, Love Sculpture (reissued from EMI) and Bobby "Boris" Pickett (reissued from Garpax). Parrot's biggest hit was "She's A Lady" by Tom Jones, peaking at #2 on the Billboard charts in early 1971.
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.
