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| Colgems Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parent company | Columbia-Screen Gems and RCA Victor |
| Founded | 1966 |
| Defunct | 1971 |
| Status | Defunct |
| Distributor(s) | RCA Victor |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
Colgems Records was a record label that existed from 1966 to 1971.
Colgems was a joint venture between Screen Gems, the television division of Columbia Pictures, and RCA Victor to issue records by The Monkees and other artists affiliated with Columbia/Screen Gems. The label would also issue soundtrack recordings for Screen Gems and Columbia Pictures productions. RCA acted as manufacturer and distributor for Colgems. Outside of the United States, Colgems productions appeared on the RCA Victor label.
An earlier label, Colpix Records, was dissolved to make way for the new company, and nearly all Colpix titles went out of print. Even before the Monkees began, Colpix had signed two future members – Davy Jones, recruited to Screen Gems by Ward Sylvester, and Michael Nesmith, who recorded as "Michael Blessing". The Colpix catalog was sold to Roulette Records. The Colpix catalog is owned by Warner Music Group with its Rhino Records unit holding the rights in North America and its Parlophone unit the rights in the rest of the world.
The non-Monkees Colgems roster included Sally Field, [1] Jewel Akens, [2] Sajid Khan, [1] Paula Wayne, P.K. Limited, the Hung Jury, Fountain of Youth, [3] The Lewis & Clarke Expedition (whose members included Michael Martin Murphey), [4] Hoyt Axton, Alex Keenan and comedian Rich Little.
They also released Soundtracks to Oliver! , In Cold Blood , Head, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner , Casino Royale , Hammerhead , The Professionals , The Night of the Generals , Murderers' Row , Lawrence of Arabia , The Southern Star , The Happening , Interlude and Getting Straight . [5] The Monkees albums released include, "The Monkees", "More of the Monkees", "Headquarters", "Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd." and "The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees". [6]
Colgems Records slumped after the critical and commercial failure of the final Monkees album Changes , which featured only Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz. The label's last release, titled Barrel Full of Monkees and showcasing its flagship act, appeared in 1971 but sold poorly. Colgems then closed, and its master recordings and artists were folded into Bell Records, which, unlike Colgems, was wholly owned by Columbia Pictures. Bell itself was later disbanded and Columbia's music division was reorganized into Arista Records, headed by Clive Davis.
In 1979, Columbia Pictures sold Arista (including the Colgems assets) to BMG-owned Ariola Records. Six years later, Ariola's parent company, BMG, merged with RCA Records.
Today, the assets of Colgems Records (except for the Monkees' output) are controlled by Sony Music Entertainment. The parent company, Sony, acquired Columbia Pictures in 1989. All of The Monkees' recordings are currently owned by Warner Music Group's Rhino Records, which licensed the group's original Colgems LPs from Arista and reissued them in the mid-1980s. Rhino acquired the entire Monkees audio catalog, The Monkees TV series, their 1968 feature film Head , and the rights to The Monkees name and logo, in August 1994.
SME merged Arista into RCA Records in 2011 but revived it in 2018.
A label related to Colgems was SGC (Screen Gems-Columbia) Records. SGC issued albums by Nazz through Atlantic Records in a distribution deal similar to the one Screen Gems held with RCA.
The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of TV series The Monkees, the Monkees were one of the most successful bands of the late 1960s. With international hits, four chart-topping albums and three chart-topping songs, they sold more than 75 million records worldwide.
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation.
Arista Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music Group, the North American division of German conglomerate Bertelsmann. Founded in November 1974 by Clive Davis and deactivated in 2011, Arista was re-established in 2018. Along with RCA Records, Columbia Records, and Epic Records, it is one of Sony Music's four flagship record labels.
Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) was a division of a German media company Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Sony Corporation of America on 1 October 2008.
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Sony Entertainment and managed by the American umbrella division of multinational conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the publishing division, Sony Music Publishing.
Headquarters is the third studio album by the American pop rock band the Monkees, released in 1967 by Colgems Records. It was issued after the first season of their television series had concluded and was the first album on which the group members made substantial songwriting and instrumental contributions, rather than relying on session musicians and professional songwriters. After a struggle for creative autonomy with their record label, the group had been allowed, to a degree, to record by themselves. Headquarters became the group's third consecutive No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified double platinum in the United States with sales of more than two million copies within the first two months of release. It also peaked at No. 2 on the UK charts. It is included in the 2006 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
The Monkees is the debut studio album by the American band the Monkees. It was released on October 10, 1966 by Colgems Records in the United States and RCA Victor in the rest of the world. It was the first of four consecutive U.S. number one albums for the group, taking the top spot on the Billboard 200 for 13 weeks, after which it was displaced by the band's second album. It also topped the UK charts in 1967. The Monkees has been certified quintuple platinum by the RIAA, with sales of over five million copies.
Changes is the ninth studio album by the American pop rock band the Monkees, released in 1970 by Colgems Records. The album was issued after Michael Nesmith's exit from the band, leaving only Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones to fulfill the recording contract they had signed in the mid-1960s. Changes was their last new album for Colgems Records and the group's last album of all new material until Pool It!, released in 1987.
The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees is the fifth studio album by the American pop rock band the Monkees, released in 1968 by Colgems Records. It was the first album released after the cancellation of their TV show and subsequently was their first not to reach No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200, peaking at No. 3, and their first not to chart in the UK, with their four previous efforts all having reached the top ten. The album has sold over a million copies.
Colpix Records was the first recording company for Columbia Pictures–Screen Gems. Colpix got its name from combining Columbia (Col) and Pictures (Pix). CBS, which owned Columbia Records, then sued Columbia Pictures for trademark infringement over the Colpix name.
"Valleri" is a song written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart for the Monkees. The single peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent two weeks at #1 on the Cash Box chart in early 1968, and reached #1 in Canada and #12 in the UK.
Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 in New York City by Arthur Shimkin, the owner of the children's record label Golden Records, and initially a unit of Pocket Books, after the rights to the name were acquired from Benny Bell who used the Bell name to issue risque novelty records. A British branch was also active in the 1960s and 1970s. Bell Records was shut down in late 1974, and its assets were transferred to Columbia Pictures' new label, Arista Records.
The Monkees' discography spans over 50 years, from the release of their first single, "Last Train to Clarksville" in August 1966 to their final live album The Mike and Micky Show in April 2020. Their discography is complicated due to the large volume of unique releases in many international markets, the release of many recordings not credited to the Monkees for lack of rights to the trademark, and the existence of many bootleg, promotional, and novelty recordings that are beyond the scope of this article.
"A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You" is a song written by Neil Diamond, recorded by the Monkees in 1967 and released as a single on the Colgems label. The lead vocal was Davy Jones' first on a Monkees single. The single reached No. 1 on the Cashbox Top 100 chart, while on the Billboard Hot 100 it reached No. 2, with "Somethin' Stupid" by Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra keeping it from the top spot.
The Monkees is an American television musical sitcom that first aired on NBC for two seasons, from September 12, 1966, to March 25, 1968. The series follows the adventures of four young men trying to make a name for themselves as a rock 'n roll band. The show introduced a number of innovative new-wave film techniques to series television and won two Emmy Awards in 1967, including Outstanding Comedy Series. The program ended in 1968 at the finish of its second season and has received a long afterlife through Saturday morning repeats and syndication, as well as overseas broadcasts.
"Listen to the Band" is a song by American pop rock band the Monkees, released on Colgems single 5004 on April 26, 1969. Written by Michael Nesmith, it is the first time Nesmith sang lead vocals on a Monkees single A-side.
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.
