| ABC Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parent company | American Broadcasting Company |
| Founded | 1955; 70 years ago (1955) |
| Defunct | 1979; 46 years ago (1979) |
| Status | Sold toMCA Records: Defunct |
| Distributor(s) | Self-distributed (US),EMI (international),Anchor Records (UK),Sparton Records (Canada),Polydor Records (Canada),GRT (Canada) |
| Genre | Various |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | New York City |
ABC Records was an American record label founded inNew York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created theImpulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels before ABC was sold toMCA Records in 1979. ABC produced music in a variety of genres:pop,rock,jazz,country,rhythm and blues,soundtrack,gospel, andpolka. In addition to producing records, ABC licensed masters from independent record producers, and purchased regionally released records for national distribution.
The label was initially calledAm-Par Records (1955), but quickly changed toABC-Paramount Records (1955–1966), and then renamedABC Records in 1966.[1][2]
In the 1940s and early 1950s, theFederal Communications Commission took action against theAnti-competitive practices of movie studios and broadcasting companies, forcing theRadio Corporation of America (RCA) to sell theBlue Network, the sister network ofNBC Red Network, in 1943. The Blue Network was purchased byEdward J. Noble, who changed the company's name to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in 1946. In 1953, ABC merged withUnited Paramount Theatres, the divested former exhibition/cinema division ofParamount Pictures, with the newly-merged corporation,American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres (AB-PT) chaired by former Paramount Theaters executiveLeonard Goldenson and headquartered at1501 Broadway in New York City, above the Paramount Theater inTimes Square.[3][4]
American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres formed a records division, incorporating the Am-Par Record Corporation onJune 14, 1955 with Samuel H. Clark as its first president.[5][6] By August 1955, the unit was organized with AMPCO (ASCAP) and PAMCO (BMI) as subsidiary publishing units.[7] 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.[1]
Eydie Gorme was the company's first signed artist. The company recorded its first single record, "Sincerely Yours" and "Come Home", both by Gorme. Alec Templeton's "Smart Alec" was the company's first LP recorded, also in September 1955.[7]
One of Gorme's singles was its first release in January 1956.[7][8] "Chain Gang" by Bobby Scott in February 1956 was the company's first national hit. George Hamilton IV's "A Rose and a Baby Ruth" single was Am-Paramount's first million-selling single in October 1956.[7]
In 1957, the company had two million-selling singles: in June with "Diana" by Paul Anka and in October with "At the Hop" by Danny & the Juniors. Am-Paramount Records in May 1958 debuted the Apt subsidiary label with its first million-selling single, "Little Star" by the Elegants, released the same month.[7]
Chancellor Records had Am-Par Record Corporation handle its distribution starting in 1957 and started a trend. Chancellor had its first million-selling single in October 1958 with Lloyd Price's "Stagger Lee".[9][7]
Am-Par purchasedGrand Award Records including the newly formedCommand Records label, in 1959.[7] The company started a second label for jazz,Impulse! Records, in November 1960.[7][10] Impulse released its first four records in January 1961.[7]
The company had artists that earned three Grammy Awards in 1960.[7] While in January 1961, the company purchased Westminster Records, a classical label. Thus Am-Par Record had a label for each music genre.[7]
Am-Par Record Corporation was renamed to ABC-Paramount Records, Inc. on December 7, 1961.[6] The company opened a Los Angeles office in January 1962.Ray Charles formed Tangerine Records in March 1962 and arranged for ABC-Paramount to distribute Tangerine's records. The company formed Jet Record Distributors based in Long Island City, N.Y. as its local distributor. Also in 1962, the company had acquired Music Guild label and library for Westminster Records.[7]
In 1965, Clark was promoted to vice-president in charge of AB-PT's non-broadcast operations. National sales managerLarry Newton was named ABC-Paramount president.[5] On January 4, 1965, vice-president in charge of sales Larry Newton was promoted to president of ABC-Paramount Records. The previous president, Sam Clark was promoted to director of theater operations for American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres. Newton's first action as president was to restart Apt Records as a teen-oriented West Coast base label under Irwin Garr.[11]
In June 1966, the label was renamed ABC Records,[2] and the company acquired New Deal Record Service Corp., a rack-jobbing and record distribution company, along with its affiliates.[12]
In 1967,Dunhill Records was purchased fromLou Adler.[13] In 1970, ABC and Dunhill moved its headquarters to Los Angeles. Newton was promoted to vice-president in charge ofABC Pictures. Dunhill co-owner Jay Lasker was named president and referred to the combined operations as ABC/Dunhill. At that time ABC had another five labels: Westminster, Command, Probe, Impulse!, and Bluesway.[14]
At the August 29, 1970 Directors Guild meeting, ABC/Dunhill launched a number of marketing initiatives. The company planned to have writers create a broader music for the catalog market. ImprintsProbe and Apt were relaunched, Probe as a label which held the international rights to ABC's albums and Apt as a label which released budget cassettes and 8-track tapes. Jazz dropped from Impulse!'s cover for a new slogan: "University Series of Fine Recordings" and two new series were launched: Audio Treasury and Westminster Gold for classic and youth fare, respectively.[15]
By May 1972, ABC formed the ABC Leisure Group, which included ABC Records, Anchor Records, and ABC Records and Tape Sales, plus a new retail record-store division.[16] Lasker left ABC to joinAriola America Records in 1975.[17] He was succeeded by Jerry Rubinstein, who served as company head until 1977.[18] In November 1972, ABC bought country music company Cartwheel Records.[19]
In 1974, ABC switched British distribution fromEMI to the EMI-distributedAnchor Records, allowing ABC recordings to be issued on the ABC label in the UK, and Anchor records to be distributed by ABC on the Anchor label in the US.[20] Also in 1974, ABC acquiredFamous Music Records Group including Nashville based Dot Records[21] then began releasing ABC country music under the ABC/Dot label until January 1979.[22]
In December 1977,Don Biederman was appointed vice president of legal affairs and administration and Richard Green was appointed vice president of business affairs at ABC Records.[23]
As a cost-cutting measure, ABC Records discarded many master tapes in the 1970s to save storage space. When these recordings were reissued oncompact disc in the 1980s, CD versions were often taken from master copies which had less than optimal sound quality.[24] The company's last president, Steve Diener, was named to that job in 1977 after serving as head of ABC Records' international division.[25] Because of financial problems except for its Nashville office, ABC Records was sold on January 31, 1979 to MCA Records with ABC Records being its third label likely under a different name.[22] Instead, MCA discontinued ABC Records on March 5, 1979 and[26] albums in the ABC catalog still selling well were reissued on MCA.[27]
Diener died in April 2019, aged 80.[28]
ABC Records sub-labeled Apt to release singles. In the early 1960s, it boughtWestminster, a classical music label. For jazz it createdImpulse!. Led byCreed Taylor andBob Thiele, Impulse! developed a reputation for innovative releases, including albums byJohn Coltrane from 1961 until his death in 1967. ABC createdBluesway for blues music.Tangerine was formed byRay Charles to produce his albums and those he produced.
ABC Records bought Dunhill in the summer of 1967, forming ABC Dunhill Records. It also boughtDon Robey's record labels, includingDuke,Peacock,Back Beat, andSong Bird on May 23, 1973.
In 1974 ABC bought theFamous Music record labels fromGulf and Western, the parent company of Paramount. This acquisition gave ABCDot,Blue Thumb, and a distribution deal with Sire, which released the first album from theRamones.
ABC purchased all labels fromEnoch Light in October 1959. It acquiredAudition,Command,[29]Colortone, andWaldorf Music Hall.[30]
In 1979, ABC was acquired byMCA for $30 million.[3] It operated briefly as a separate division. MCA was absorbed by theUniversal Music Group, which currently distributes recordings for ABC's current sister company,Disney Music Group, worldwide except for Russia.
This is not the same ABC Records that operates in Australia, which is run by theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation, although the Ampar label was distributed in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s, first byW&G Records (1955–60) and then byFestival.[31][32] Nor is it the sub-label ofVoiceprint.
The catalogs of ABC Records and its sub-labels are now controlled by Universal Music Group. UMG also distributes Disney Music Group, which is owned by ABC's current parent,The Walt Disney Company, with the following exceptions:
The following labels manage different genres:
These labels also produce releases from labels absorbed into ABC. For example, MCA Nashville's catalog includes country releases on Dot Records. Deutsche Grammophon's catalog includes the Westminster Records catalog, as well as soundtracks released by Dot and Paramount Records.
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
