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| Imperial Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parent company |
|
| Founded | 1947 |
| Founder | Lew Chudd |
| Distributor(s) | Republic Records |
| Genre | Various (historic), urban (later) |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
| Location | Hollywood, California |
Imperial Records is an American record company and label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd. [1] The label was reactivated in 2006 by EMI, which owned the label and back catalogue at the time. Imperial is owned by Universal Music Group.
When Imperial was founded in 1947, it concentrated on rhythm and blues (R&B) and country music: Fats Domino, Frankie Ford, Ricky Nelson, and Slim Whitman. [1] In the UK, Imperial was distributed by London Records. [1]
During the 1950s and 1960s, Imperial released jazz albums by Sonny Criss, Charlie Mariano, Papa Celestin, Erskine Hawkins, and Harold Land. [2]
Imperial bought Aladdin in 1961 and Minit Records in 1963, having distributed Minit since 1960. [1] During the 1950s, Imperial was one of the primary labels issuing a vast quantity of R&B from New Orleans through their involvement with producer and writer Dave Bartholomew and in the 1960s with their distribution (and purchase, a few years later) of Minit. [1]
In 1963, after Imperial lost Fats Domino and Ricky Nelson to rival record companies ABC Records and Decca Records, respectively, Chudd sold the label to Liberty Records. [3]
Under Liberty's management, the label enjoyed success with Irma Thomas, Johnny Rivers, Jackie DeShannon, Classics IV, and Cher. [1] During the British Invasion, Liberty (whose recordings were distributed by EMI in the UK) licensed the Hollies, Billy J. Kramer, the Dakotas, and the Swinging Blue Jeans from EMI. [1] Recordings by the Bonzo Dog Band and Kim Fowley were issued in the U.S. by Imperial.
By 1970, the label had become part of Liberty's merger with United Artists Records but was phased out shortly after, with its roster transferred to United Artists. EMI acquired the Imperial Records catalogue with its acquisition of UA Records in 1979. [1]
Throughout the 1990s, EMI released CD compilations of Imperial artists that featured the original Imperial labels.
In June 2006, EMI re-activated the Imperial Records imprint and announced that it would be the urban music division of Caroline Distribution, part of Virgin Records, spearheaded by the urban music veteran Neil Levine. The first signing to the imprint was Raptivism Records. Fat Joe signed with Virgin Records and Imperial Records. Imperial provided resources for developing urban artists with EMI's major labels, including Capitol Records and Virgin Records, which were merged into the Capitol Music Group in January 2007. Universal Music Group acquired the Capitol Music Group as part of its acquisition of the majority of EMI's recorded music operations in 2012. After a few releases, Imperial became dormant again.
In 2021, the Republic Records unit of Universal Music Group revived the Imperial name with the formation of Imperial Music. [4]
Parlophone Records Limited is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parlophone Company Limited, which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a jazz record label. On 5 October 1926, the Columbia Graphophone Company acquired Parlophone's business, name, logo, and release library, and merged with the Gramophone Company on 31 March 1931 to become Electric & Musical Industries Limited (EMI). George Martin joined Parlophone in 1950 as assistant to Oscar Preuss, the label manager, taking over as manager in 1955. Martin produced and released a mix of recordings, including by comedian Peter Sellers, pianist Mrs Mills, and teen idol Adam Faith.
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New Orleans rhythm and blues is a style of rhythm and blues that originated in New Orleans. It was a direct precursor to rock and roll and strongly influenced ska. Instrumentation typically includes drums, bass, piano, horns, electric guitar, and vocals. The style is characterized by syncopated "second line" rhythms, a strong backbeat, and soulful vocals. Artists such as Roy Brown, Dave Bartholomew, and Fats Domino are representative of the New Orleans R&B sound.
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David Louis Bartholomew was an American musician, bandleader, composer, arranger, and record producer. He was prominent in the music of New Orleans throughout the second half of the 20th century. Originally a trumpeter, he was active in many musical genres, including rhythm and blues, big band, swing music, rock and roll, New Orleans jazz, and Dixieland. In his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he was cited as a key figure in the transition from jump blues and swing to R&B and as "one of the Crescent City's greatest musicians and a true pioneer in the rock and roll revolution".
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Capitol Records Nashville is a major United States–based record label located in Nashville, Tennessee, operating as part of the Universal Music Group Nashville. From 1991 to 1995, Capitol Nashville was known as Liberty Records. While under the Liberty name, the label operated short-lived sister label Patriot Records from 1994 to 1995. In 1999, EMI launched Virgin Records Nashville but by 2001, Capitol absorbed the short-lived label. In 2010, the label launched sister label EMI Nashville. On March 23, 2011, Alan Jackson signed with Capitol's EMI Nashville division in conjunction with his own ACR Records label.
Lewis Robert Chudd was an American record label and radio executive who founded Imperial Records in 1946. The record company was influential in the development of rock and roll, with a roster of musicians including Fats Domino, Slim Whitman, Chris Kenner, Sandy Nelson, and Ricky Nelson.
Antoine "Fats" Domino Jr. was an American pianist and singer-songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, more than 65 million records were sold by Domino. He had eleven Top 10 hits between 1955 and 1960.
