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Liberty Records was a United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
-based record label
Record label

In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of recorded sound and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the Record producer, manufacturing, distribution , marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protec...
. It was started by chairman Simon Waronker
Simon Waronker

Simon "Si" Waronker was a violinist and record producer from Los Angeles, California. Graduating from high school at 13 years old, he won a scholarship to study music in France....
 in 1955 with Alvin Bennett
Alvin Bennett

Alvin S. "Al" Bennett , from Joiner, Arkansas, was a record company executive who worked at Dot Records, then Liberty Records. He was president of Liberty until 1968....
 as president and Theodore Keep
Theodore Keep

Theodore "Ted" Keep was a co-founder of Liberty Records. In his role as chief of engineering at the label and afterward, Keep introduced a number of innovations to commercial sound recording....
 as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 and had two previous revivals.

957, Liberty acquired the jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 label, Pacific Jazz Records
Pacific Jazz Records

Pacific Jazz Records was a Los Angeles based record label best known for releasing cool jazz or West coast jazz. It was founded by Richard Bock and drummer Roy Harte in 1952 in music....
. In 1963, the Liberty Records label was sold to Avnet
Avnet

Avnet, Inc. is a technology Business-to-business B2B distributor headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Electronics Supply & Manufacturing magazine reports that Avnet Inc., a Fortune 500 company, may be the world's largest franchised distributor of electronic components and subsystems....
 (an electronics
Electronics

Electronics refers to the flow of charge through nonmetal electrical conductor , whereas electrical refers to the flow of charge through metal electrical conductor....
 corporation) for $12 million. Avnet also bought Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records

Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards....
, Imperial Records
Imperial Records

Imperial Records is a United States based label started in 1947 in music by Lew Chudd and reactivated in 2006 in music by label owner EMI....
, Dolton Records
Dolton Records

Dolton Records was a record label based in Seattle which was originally known as Dolphin Records. It was owned by Bob Reisdorf and Bonnie Guitar....
, Aladdin Records
Aladdin Records

Aladdin Records may refer to:* Aladdin Records * Aladdin Records ...
 and Minit Records
Minit Records

Minit Records was a record label originally based in New Orleans and founded by Joe Banashak. After making a distribution deal with Imperial Records, the label released its biggest hit, the #1 Mother-in-Law by Ernie K-Doe....
.






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Liberty Records was a United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
-based record label
Record label

In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of recorded sound and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the Record producer, manufacturing, distribution , marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protec...
. It was started by chairman Simon Waronker
Simon Waronker

Simon "Si" Waronker was a violinist and record producer from Los Angeles, California. Graduating from high school at 13 years old, he won a scholarship to study music in France....
 in 1955 with Alvin Bennett
Alvin Bennett

Alvin S. "Al" Bennett , from Joiner, Arkansas, was a record company executive who worked at Dot Records, then Liberty Records. He was president of Liberty until 1968....
 as president and Theodore Keep
Theodore Keep

Theodore "Ted" Keep was a co-founder of Liberty Records. In his role as chief of engineering at the label and afterward, Keep introduced a number of innovations to commercial sound recording....
 as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 and had two previous revivals.

History

In 1957, Liberty acquired the jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 label, Pacific Jazz Records
Pacific Jazz Records

Pacific Jazz Records was a Los Angeles based record label best known for releasing cool jazz or West coast jazz. It was founded by Richard Bock and drummer Roy Harte in 1952 in music....
. In 1963, the Liberty Records label was sold to Avnet
Avnet

Avnet, Inc. is a technology Business-to-business B2B distributor headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Electronics Supply & Manufacturing magazine reports that Avnet Inc., a Fortune 500 company, may be the world's largest franchised distributor of electronic components and subsystems....
 (an electronics
Electronics

Electronics refers to the flow of charge through nonmetal electrical conductor , whereas electrical refers to the flow of charge through metal electrical conductor....
 corporation) for $12 million. Avnet also bought Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records

Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards....
, Imperial Records
Imperial Records

Imperial Records is a United States based label started in 1947 in music by Lew Chudd and reactivated in 2006 in music by label owner EMI....
, Dolton Records
Dolton Records

Dolton Records was a record label based in Seattle which was originally known as Dolphin Records. It was owned by Bob Reisdorf and Bonnie Guitar....
, Aladdin Records
Aladdin Records

Aladdin Records may refer to:* Aladdin Records * Aladdin Records ...
 and Minit Records
Minit Records

Minit Records was a record label originally based in New Orleans and founded by Joe Banashak. After making a distribution deal with Imperial Records, the label released its biggest hit, the #1 Mother-in-Law by Ernie K-Doe....
. After two years of losses, Avnet sold the labels back to Al Bennett for $8 million. In 1966, a reissue label, Sunset Records
Sunset Records

Sunset Records was a record label started in 1966 in music as the budget subsidiary of Liberty Records to reissue the Liberty, Imperial Records, and Minit Records material....
, was started to deal with previously issued records from the new labels. Liberty recordings were first distributed in England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 by Decca Records
Decca Records

Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 in music by Edward Lewis . Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; later the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
 on London Records
London Records

London Records is a record label headquartered in the United Kingdom, originally marketing records in the United States, Canada and Latin America from 1947 in music through 1979 in music, then becoming a semi-independent label....
, then by EMI
EMI

The EMI Group is a United Kingdom music company comprising the major record label EMI Music ? which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in London, England, United Kingdom ? and EMI Music Publishing, based in New York City....
, which released the recordings on the Liberty label. Liberty established a branch office in London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
, which signed acts such as the Bonzo Dog Band, Idle Race
Idle Race

The Idle Race were an England cult rock group from Birmingham in the late 1960s and early '70s. In addition to being the springboard for Jeff Lynne, the band holds a place of significance in British Midlands' rock history as a link between Electric Light Orchestra, The Move, the Steve Gibbons Band and Mike Sheridan and The Nightriders....
 and The Anysley Dunbar Retaliation
Aynsley Dunbar

Aynsley Thomas Dunbar is an England drummer. He has worked with some of the top names in rock and roll, including John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Ian Hunter, Lou Reed, Jefferson Starship, Jeff Beck, David Bowie, Whitesnake, Sammy Hagar, UFO , and Journey ....
. Liberty also signed The Searchers
The Searchers (band)

The Searchers are a United Kingdom rock music band who emerged as part of the 1960s merseybeat scene along with The Beatles, The Swinging Blue Jeans, and Gerry & The Pacemakers....
 for a short time in 1968 and in 1967 they issued the first single by Family
Family (band)

Family were an England rock band that formed in 1967 and disbanded in 1973. Their style has been characterised as progressive rock, although their sound often explores other genres, incorporating elements of such styles as folk music, psychedelic music, acid rock, jazz fusion and basic rock 'n' roll....
. Ron Kass
Ron Kass

Sophie Ron Kass was an United States businessman, recording executive, and film producer. Born Ronald Stanley Kashinoff in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, his family changed the name to Kass when they moved to California....
, onetime president of Liberty Records, later became the head of the Beatles' record label, Apple Records
Apple Records

Apple Records is a record label founded by The Beatles in 1968, as a division of Apple Corps. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger, and Billy Preston....
.

In 1968, Liberty was bought for $38 million by Transamerica Corporation
Transamerica Corporation

Transamerica Corporation is a holding company for various life insurance companies and investment firms doing business primarily in the United States....
 (an insurance company) and combined with their other label United Artists Records
United Artists Records

United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1958 initially to distribute Soundtrack from its movies, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres....
. The company shut down Dolton and transferred Dolton's artists to Liberty; later they shut down Imperial and Minit and transferred their artists to Liberty. Finally, in 1971, all releases were shifted to United Artists Records and Liberty Records was no more.

In 1978, Artie Mogull and Jerry Rubinstein acquired United Artists and Liberty Records (with money they borrowed from Capitol Records
Capitol Records

Capitol Records is a major United States-based record label owned by EMI and located in Hollywood, California and New York City as part of Capitol Music Group....
, which ironically was originally going to be named Liberty Records before changing names prior to incorporation). In February 1979, Capitol's parent company EMI
EMI

The EMI Group is a United Kingdom music company comprising the major record label EMI Music ? which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in London, England, United Kingdom ? and EMI Music Publishing, based in New York City....
 foreclosed
Foreclosure

Foreclosure is the legal and professional proceeding in which a Mortgage#Mortgage lender, or other lienholder, usually a lender, obtains a court ordered termination of a Mortgage#Borrower's equity right of Redemption_value....
 on them and has owned
Ownership

Ownership is the state or fact of exclusive rights and control over property, which may be an personal property, land ownership, or some other kind of property ....
 the rights of the Liberty labels since then.

1980s


In 1980, EMI dropped the United Artists name and revived the Liberty name. Initially, EMI used Liberty to reissue the United Artists, Liberty and Imperial catalogues. From 1980 until 1984, Capitol used Liberty as a country label
Country music

Country music is a blend of popular American music forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. It has roots in Traditional music, Celtic music, gospel music, and old-time music and evolved rapidly in the 1920s....
, featuring such artists as Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers

Kenneth Ray "Kenny" Rogers is an United States country music singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor and entrepreneur.He has been very successful, charting more than 70 hit singles across various music genres and topping the country and pop album charts for more than 420 individual weeks in the United States alone....
. In 1992, EMI renamed its Capitol Nashville Records label to Liberty Records, before switching back to the Capitol Nashville name three years later. A sister label, Patriot Records, was also operated for a brief period in the mid 1990s. Capitol manages the catalogues of Liberty and its associated labels today.

Liberty Records in the 2000s in the United Kingdom

After releasing many late-1990s Europop
Europop

Europop refers to a style of pop music that first developed in today's form in Europe, throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and ?90s....
 records like the Hermes House Band
Hermes House Band

The Hermes House Band is a Netherlands party band established in 1984 in music by members of the Hermes student society in Rotterdam, The Netherlands....
, EMI reformatted the label in 2001 to focus on 'heritage acts'. The label, now operating in a similar sphere to that of rival Sanctuary
Sanctuary Records

Sanctuary Records is a record label based in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest independent music management company in the world....
, signed a number of acts, such as The Alarm MMVI
The Alarm

The Alarm are an alternative rock band that emerged from Wales in the early 1980s. They started as a local punk band with a spirited, energetic acoustic/folk influence and stayed together for ten years....
 and Prefab Sprout
Prefab Sprout

Prefab Sprout are an England pop music musical ensemble from Witton Gilbert, County Durham, who rose to fame during the 1980s. Seven of their albums reached the Top 40 in the UK Albums Chart, and one of their single , "The King of Rock 'N' Roll", peaked at No....
.

Liberty Records artists


See also

  • List of record labels
    List of record labels

    This is a list of notable record labels.Owing to the large number of entries, the list has been divided by the first letter of the label's name, with labels starting with a number added to this page:...


External links