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The Rocket Record Company | |
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Parent company | Universal Music Group [1] |
Founded | 1973 [2] |
Defunct | 2007 |
Distributor(s) | US: MCA Records (1973–1978) RCA Records (1978–1982) Geffen Records (1982–1989) Island/Mercury (1989–present) UK: Island (1973–1978) Phonogram Inc. (1978–1995) Mercury Records (1995–1998) Island/Mercury (1998–2013) Virgin EMI (2013–2020) EMI (2020–present) |
Genre | Rock |
Country of origin | UK, US |
Official website | www |
The Rocket Record Company is a record label founded by Elton John, along with Bernie Taupin, Gus Dudgeon, Steve Brown and others, in 1973. The company was named after John's hit song "Rocket Man". The label was originally distributed in the UK by Island and in the US by MCA Records, both of which John was also signed to (after 1976).
The first artists who signed to the label were the group Stackridge, who completed two albums for The Rocket Record Company after moving from MCA. It also became the home of Cliff Richard, Neil Sedaka (whose three most successful U.S. mid-1970s albums were on Rocket), Colin Blunstone, the Hudson Brothers, Blue, Kiki Dee, Judie Tzuke, The Lambrettas, Junior Campbell, Brian & Brenda Russell, and the Dutch band Solution. John offered to sign Iggy Pop & The Stooges to the label, but they declined. After John left his British label, DJM, in 1976, his records were also released by The Rocket Record Company on both sides of the Atlantic. The label also attempted to attract talent from all over the UK and submitted an advertisement to Melody Maker for bands to record their sound of today and get it out tomorrow. With an album called "499 2139" (which incidentally was the studio's telephone number) they turned to the talents of Pete Waterman (of Stock Aitken Waterman fame). Waterman and his then assistant Tony Keys recorded and produced a unique mixture of music which, although it only grazed the bottom of the album charts, managed to capture a mixture of genres including a track from The Lambrettas called "Go Steady".
In the US and Canada, John's residency on his own label was short-lived. After only one album, Blue Moves , and a couple of singles (including the hits "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" and "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"), he returned to MCA. At this time, The Rocket Record Company switched distribution to RCA after being dropped from MCA. The label was discontinued in the US in the early 1980s, then relaunched in 1995 with John's Made in England album, distributed by Island Records. 1997's The Big Picture and "Candle in the Wind 1997" were distributed in the US by stepsister A&M Records.
In the UK, John's records were released by The Rocket Record Company from 1976 onward. In 1978 the distribution moved to Phonogram Inc., then to Mercury Records in 1995. By this time, John was the only artist on the label.
Worldwide distribution rights to Elton John's music were consolidated when MCA Records' then-parent Seagram acquired PolyGram, the owner of Island, Mercury, and A&M, in 1998. Universal Music Group, which oversaw Seagram's recording operations, now co-owns the Elton John catalogue with the singer himself, continuing to distribute it worldwide.
In 1999, The Rocket Record Company was absorbed by The Island Def Jam Music Group, and it operated under IDJ's Mercury Records division. [1] However, the logo was still used on all new Elton John releases until 2007. The name was also resurrected in 2006 for the eponymous Platinum Weird album. In 2011, John formed a company named Rocket Music Entertainment Group. [3]
The label still exists today, with just three artists signed to it, as John himself has not released a studio album on Rocket since 2004's Peachtree Road , although the 2010 one-off collaboration with Leon Russell, The Union has the Rocket logo from that time. Otherwise, Rocket is primarily a management company handling established artists such as Ed Sheeran and Squeeze's Chris Difford along with upcoming artists including Anne-Marie and Jake Issac.
Geffen Records is an American record label, founded in 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the now-defunct Geffen Pictures, it is owned by the Interscope Geffen A&M (IGA) faction of Universal Music Group (UMG).
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1970s, often by acquiring other record labels, from ABC to Motown to Geffen. MCA Inc. became Universal Studios, Inc., in 1996, and the MCA record label was folded into Universal Music Group's Geffen Records in 2003, but Universal's MCA Nashville continues to use the moniker.
Judie Tzuke is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 1979 hit "Stay with Me till Dawn", which reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart.
Pauline Matthews better known by her stage name Kiki Dee, is an English pop singer. Known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown's Tamla Records.
Love Songs is a compilation album by English musician Elton John. It was released on 6 November 1995 by John's own label The Rocket Record Company, in conjunction with Mercury Records, and in North America by MCA Records on 24 September 1996. In the US, it was certified gold in December 1996, platinum in March 1997, double platinum in December 1998 and triple platinum in August 2000 by the RIAA.
Raymond Cooper is an English musician who has worked as a session and road-tour percussionist. During his career, Cooper has worked and toured with numerous musically diverse bands and artists including Elton John, Harry Nilsson, Billy Joel, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, David Gilmour, Roger Waters and Art Garfunkel. Cooper absorbed the influence of rock drummers from the 1960s and 1970s such as Ginger Baker, Carmine Appice and John Bonham.
Nigel Olsson is an English rock drummer best known for his long-time affiliation with Elton John. A dynamic drummer and backing vocalist, Olsson helped establish the Elton John sound as a member of the Elton John Band alongside bassist Dee Murray.
David William Logan Johnstone is a Scottish rock guitarist and vocalist, best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band.
David Murray Oates, known as Dee Murray, was an English bass guitarist. He was best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band.
Stackridge were a British rock group which had their greatest success in the early 1970s.
John Charles Morgan is an English musician, singer and songwriter.
I Am the Phoenix is the title of the third album by the British singer-songwriter Judie Tzuke, released in 1981. It peaked at no.17 on the UK Album Chart.
Shoot the Moon is the fourth album to be recorded by English singer-songwriter Judie Tzuke. It was released in April 1982 and was Tzuke's first album for Chrysalis Records after leaving Elton John's label The Rocket Record Company, which released her first three albums. The album peaked at number 19 on the UK Album Chart.
Greatest Hits 1976–1986 is a collection of hits by Elton John released in the United States only by MCA Records in 1992. It replaced an earlier compilation, Geffen's 1987 release Elton John's Greatest Hits Vol. 3. This was necessitated because of a shift in the control of copyrights and a resulting reshuffling of compilation albums.
"Island Girl" is a 1975 song by English musician Elton John. It was written by John and his songwriting collaborator Bernie Taupin and released as the first single from the album Rock of the Westies (1975). It reached number one for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S., selling over one million copies, and also reached the top twenty in Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the UK.
"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" is a 1976 duet by English musician Elton John and English singer Kiki Dee, released by The Rocket Record Company on 25 June 1976. It was written by John with Bernie Taupin under the pseudonyms "Ann Orson" and "Carte Blanche", respectively, and intended as an affectionate pastiche of the Motown style, notably the various duets recorded by Marvin Gaye and singers such as Tammi Terrell and Kim Weston. John and Taupin originally intended to record the song with Dusty Springfield, but ultimately withdrew the offer; Springfield's partner Sue Cameron later said this was because she was too ill at the time.
Love Hurts is the fifth solo album by English singer Elaine Paige, released in 1985, on the Warner Music label. The album peaked at number eight in the UK Albums Chart. Originally released on vinyl record and cassette, the album was later released on CD.
"Stay with Me till Dawn" is a 1979 single by Judie Tzuke from her debut album Welcome to the Cruise. Written by Tzuke and Mike Paxman and produced by John Punter, the song was Tzuke's only Australian and UK top 40 single, charting at number 8 and 16 respectively.
Somehow, Elton even had time in 1973 to launch his own record label, The Rocket Record Company, which, after a faltering start, soon became home to his protégée Kiki Dee and MOR favourite Neil Sedaka.