Swan Song Records

Last updated

Swan Song Records
Swan Song label.jpg
Parent company Warner Music Group
Founded1974 (1974)
Founder Led Zeppelin
Defunct1983 (1983)
StatusDefunct
Distributor(s) Atlantic Records
Genre Rock
Country of origin UK
Location London, England
New York City

Swan Song Records was a record label that was launched by the English rock band Led Zeppelin on 10 May 1974; however, its first record releases (in UK and US, respectively) were Silk Torpedo by another English rock band, The Pretty Things, and the self-titled album, Bad Company. It was overseen by Led Zeppelin's manager Peter Grant and was a vehicle for the band to promote its own products as well as sign artists who found it difficult to win contracts with other major labels. The decision to launch the label came after Led Zeppelin's five-year contract with Atlantic Records expired at the end of 1973, although Atlantic ultimately distributed the label's product.

Contents

Artists that released material on the Swan Song label included Led Zeppelin itself, solo releases by Led Zeppelin band members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, Bad Company, Pretty Things, Dave Edmunds, Mirabai, Maggie Bell (and the short-lived band she fronted, Midnight Flyer), Detective, and Sad Café. In addition to these artists, two other noted recording acts (though not signed to the label) were credited artists on Swan Song singles, both of which were UK hits in 1981: BA Robertson sang a duet with Maggie Bell on the single "Hold Me", and Stray Cats backed Dave Edmunds on his 1981 single "The Race Is On".

Swan Song ceased active operations in 1983 and now exists only to reissue previously released material.

History

In January 1974, Led Zeppelin negotiated an agreement with Atlantic Records to set up Swan Song Records. [1] The label was launched with parties in New York and Los Angeles. [1] A lavish media party was also held at Chislehurst Caves in Kent on 31 October 1974, to celebrate the label's first UK release by the Pretty Things, Silk Torpedo (the first US release for Swan Song was the self-titled debut album from Bad Company in June 1974). The company logo, designed by Hipgnosis and illustrated by Joe Petagno, was based on Evening also called The Fall of Day (1869) by painter William Rimmer. [2]

By April 1975, Swan Song had four albums (Bad Company, Silk Torpedo , Physical Graffiti , and Suicide Sal ) in the Billboard Top 200 chart. [3] The recording label also partly funded film projects such as Monty Python and the Holy Grail in 1975. In an interview he gave in January of that year, Page offered his perspective on the label:

We've got some good things lined up. I think the Pretty Things LP is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. We're [record] executives and all that crap, but I'll tell you one thing the label was never right from the top Led Zeppelin records. It's designed to bring in other groups and promote acts that have had raw deals in the past. It's a vehicle for them and not for us to just make a few extra pennies over the top. [4]

Two years later, he elaborated on Led Zeppelin's intention to found the label:

We'd been thinking about it for a while and we knew if we formed a label there wouldn't be the kind of fuss and bother we'd been going through over album covers and things like that. Having gone through, ourselves, what appeared to be an interference, or at least an aggravation, on the artistic side by record companies, we wanted to form a label where the artists would be able to fulfill themselves without all of that hassle. Consequently the people we were looking for the label would be people who knew where they were going themselves. We didn't really want to get bogged down in having to develop artists, we wanted people who were together enough to handle that type of thing themselves, like the Pretty Things. Even though they didn't happen, the records they made were very, very good. [5]

Artists who signed with the label but did not produce any releases included Metropolis (which featured members from the Pretty Things), The Message (which featured future Bon Jovi members Alec John Such and Richie Sambora), and Itchy Brother (which featured future members of The Kentucky Headhunters). Artists that Swan Song Records wanted to sign but who bowed out to other labels were Roy Harper and blues guitarist Bobby Parker. When Swan Song's offices were cleared out in 1983, early demos from Iron Maiden, Heart and Paul Young's band Q-Tips were among those found, unplayed and stored, on the shelves. [6]

In the original cut of the 1974 film Phantom of the Paradise, the name of a media conglomerate owned by the antagonist Swan was "Swan Song Enterprises". The name had to be deleted from the film prior to release due to objections from Swan Song Records. Although most references were removed, "Swan Song" remains visible in several scenes. [7]

Swan Song ceased operations in October 1983 due to the break-up of Led Zeppelin and Peter Grant's health problems. An attempt to save the label by Atlantic Records executive Phil Carson proved fruitless.[ citation needed ] Robert Plant started his own label, Es Paranza Records, in the wake of the closure of Swan Song, while Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones returned to Atlantic Records. Bad Company moved over to both Atlantic and its subsidiary Atco when they resumed in the late 1980s. Today, the label is strictly used for reissues of albums that were released by the label when it was active except in 2012 the label was resurrected when Led Zeppelin released the live Celebration Day document of their 2007 one-off reunion concert.

Personnel

Label discography

LPs

Singles

Some of Swan Song's more notable singles include:

Promo discs

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Led Zeppelin</span> English rock band (1968–1980)

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised Robert Plant (vocals), Jimmy Page (guitar), John Paul Jones and John Bonham (drums). With a heavy, guitar-driven sound and drawing from influences including blues and folk music, Led Zeppelin are cited as a progenitor of hard rock and heavy metal. They significantly influenced the music industry, particularly in the development of album-oriented rock and stadium rock.

<i>Physical Graffiti</i> 1975 studio album by Led Zeppelin

Physical Graffiti is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. Released as a double album on 24 February 1975 in the United States and on 28 February 1975 in the United Kingdom, it was the group's first album to be released under their new label, Swan Song Records. The band wrote and recorded eight new songs for the album in early 1974 at Headley Grange, a country house in Hampshire, which gave them ample time to improvise arrangements and experiment with recording. The total playing time covered just under three sides of an LP, so they decided to expand it into a double album by including previously unreleased tracks from the sessions for the band's earlier albums Led Zeppelin III (1970), Led Zeppelin IV (1971) and Houses of the Holy (1973). The album covered a range of styles including hard rock, progressive rock, rock 'n' roll and folk. The album was then mixed over summer 1974 and planned for an end-of-year release; however, its release was delayed because the Peter Corriston-designed die-cut album cover proved difficult to manufacture.

<i>Presence</i> (album) 1976 studio album by Led Zeppelin

Presence is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released by the band's own label Swan Song Records on 31 March 1976 in the United States and on 2 April 1976 in the United Kingdom. While the record was commercially successful, reaching the top of both the British and American album charts, and achieving a triple-platinum certification in the United States by the RIAA, it received mixed reviews from critics and is the lowest-selling album by the band.

<i>Bad Company</i> (album) 1974 studio album by Bad Company

Bad Company is the debut studio album by Bad Company, a 1970s English hard rock supergroup. The album was recorded at Headley Grange with Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio in November 1973, and it was the first album released on Led Zeppelin's Swan Song Records label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bad Company</span> British rock band

Bad Company were an English rock supergroup that was formed in London in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers, drummer Simon Kirke, guitarist Mick Ralphs and bassist Boz Burrell. Kirke was the only member to remain throughout the band's entire run, while he and Ralphs were the only members to appear on every studio album. Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, also managed Bad Company until 1982.

<i>Death Wish II</i> (album) Album by Jimmy Page

Death Wish II: The Original Soundtrack – Music by Jimmy Page is a soundtrack album by Jimmy Page, released by Swan Song Records on 15 February 1982, to accompany the film Death Wish II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pretty Things</span> English rock band

Pretty Things were an English rock band formed in September 1963 in Sidcup, Kent, taking their name from Bo Diddley's 1955 song "Pretty Thing", and active in their first incarnation until 1971. They released five studio albums, including the debut The Pretty Things and S. F. Sorrow, four EPs and 15 UK singles, including the Top 20 UK Singles Chart "Don't Bring Me Down" and "Honey I Need". They reformed later in 1971 and continued through to 1976 issuing three more studio albums, and reformed once again from 1979 to 2020 releasing another five studio albums finalising with Bare as Bone, Bright as Blood.

"Kashmir" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. Featured on their sixth studio album Physical Graffiti (1975), it was written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant with contributions from John Bonham over a period of three years with lyrics dating to 1973. John Paul Jones was late arriving to the studio for the recording sessions, so did not receive a writers credit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whole Lotta Love</span> 1969 single by Led Zeppelin

"Whole Lotta Love" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is the opening track on the band's second album, Led Zeppelin II, and was released as a single in 1969 in several countries; as with other Led Zeppelin songs, no single was released in the United Kingdom. In the United States, it became their first hit and was certified gold. Parts of the song's lyrics were adapted from Willie Dixon's "You Need Love", recorded by Muddy Waters in 1962; originally uncredited to Dixon, a lawsuit in 1985 was settled with a payment to Dixon and credit on subsequent releases.

"Achilles Last Stand" is a song by the English rock group Led Zeppelin released as the opening track on their seventh studio album, Presence (1976). Guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant began writing the song during the summer of 1975 and were influenced by Eastern music, mythology, and exposure to diverse cultures during their travels. At roughly ten-and-a-half minutes, it is one of the group's longest studio recordings and one of their most complex, with interwoven sections and multiple, overdubbed guitar parts.

"Ten Years Gone" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin from their 1975 album Physical Graffiti. Record producer Rick Rubin has described the song as, "A deep, reflective piece with hypnotic, interweaving riffs. Light and dark, shadow and glare. It sounds like nature coming through the speakers."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockpile</span> British rock and roll band

Rockpile were a British rock and roll group of the late 1970s and early 1980s, noted for their strong pub rock, rockabilly and power pop influences, and as a foundational influence on new wave. The band consisted of Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Billy Bremner and Terry Williams (drums).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maggie Bell</span> Scottish singer

Margaret Bell is a Scottish vocalist. She came to fame as co-lead vocalist of the blues rock group Stone the Crows, and was described as the UK's closest counterpart to American singer Janis Joplin. Bell was also prominently featured as a guest vocalist on the song "Every Picture Tells a Story" (1971) by Rod Stewart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musicland Studios</span> Recording studio in Munich established by Giorgio Moroder

Musicland Studios was a recording studio located in Munich, Germany established by Italian record producer, songwriter and musician Giorgio Moroder in the early 1970s. The studios were known for their work with artists such as Donna Summer, Electric Light Orchestra, and Queen, among others.

This is an Atlantic Records Discography, albums released on the Atlantic Records label from its founding up until 1982, ordered by catalog number. Two of the major series of LP recordings were the "1200" and "8000" series, started by Nesuhi Ertegun. The "1200" series was reserved for jazz albums. The "8000" and subsequent series, started shortly after the 1200 in 1956, featured Atlantic's R&B and pop albums; when the "1200" series was discontinued in the 1970s, the jazz albums were mixed with the R&B and pop albums in their respective series. This list includes albums using Atlantic's numbering system that were released under their numerous subsidiary labels. There is a section containing albums related to the label as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's Nobody's Fault but Mine</span> 1927–1928 single by Blind Willie Johnson

"It's Nobody's Fault but Mine" or "Nobody's Fault but Mine" is a song first recorded by gospel blues artist Blind Willie Johnson in 1927. It is a solo performance with Johnson singing and playing slide guitar. The song has been interpreted and recorded by numerous musicians in a variety of styles, including Led Zeppelin on their 1976 album Presence.

<i>In Through the Out Door</i> 1979 studio album by Led Zeppelin

In Through the Out Door is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was recorded in three weeks in November and December 1978 at ABBA's Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, and released by their label Swan Song Records on 22 August 1979 in the US and 24 August 1979 in the UK. Unlike earlier Led Zeppelin albums, In Through the Out Door was dominated musically by bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones. It was the band's last release before the death of their drummer John Bonham in September 1980 and their disbandment three months later.

<i>Rock and Roll Queen</i> 1972 greatest hits album by Mott the Hoople

Rock and Roll Queen is a compilation album by the British rock band Mott the Hoople. The album predominantly features selections from the four albums Mott recorded for Island Records in the UK, which were subsequently issued in the US by Atlantic Records. In Canada, the first three were released by Polydor, while Brain Capers was released in Canada by Island.

References

  1. 1 2 Chris Welch (1994) Led Zeppelin, London: Orion Books. ISBN   1-85797-930-3, p. 71.
  2. "Famous Rimmers Artist: William Rimmer". September 2006. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  3. Cabison, Rosalie (2 January 2013). "Billboard 200". Billboard.com. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  4. "Cameron Crowe interview Led Zeppelin". 18 March 1975. Archived from the original on 29 April 2007. Retrieved 7 November 2007.
  5. Dave Schulps, Interview with Jimmy Page Archived 20 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine , Trouser Press , October 1977.
  6. Uncut Magazine #166, March 2011, page 50.
  7. "The Swan Archives - Production". swanarchives.org. 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2018.