Minit Records was a record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

 originally based in New Orleans and founded by Joe Banashak. After making a distribution deal with Imperial Records

Imperial Records

Imperial Records is a United States based label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd and reactivated in 2006 by label owner EMI.- The independent and Liberty Records years :...

, the label released its biggest hit, the #1 Mother-in Law

Mother-in-Law (song)

"Mother-in-Law" is the name of a hit 1961 single by Ernie K-Doe. The song was a number-one hit in the U.S. on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts.. The song was written and produced by Allen Toussaint who also played the piano solo. It was issued by Minit Records...

by Ernie K-Doe

Ernie K-Doe

Ernie K-Doe , born Ernest Kador, Jr., was an African American rhythm and blues singer best known for his 1961 hit single "Mother-in-Law" which went to #1 on the Billboard pop chart in the U.S.-Early career:...

. A number of Allen Toussaint

Allen Toussaint

Allen Toussaint is an American musician, composer, record producer, and influential figure in New Orleans R&B.Many of Toussaint's songs have become familiar through numerous cover versions, including "Working in the Coalmine", "Ride Your Pony", "Fortune Teller", "Play Something Sweet ", "Southern...

 productions were issued on Minit, including hits by Irma Thomas

Irma Thomas

Irma Thomas is an American Grammy Award-winning soul and rhythm and blues singer from New Orleans. She is known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans"....

. After the hits dried up, the label was sold to Imperial Records

Imperial Records

Imperial Records is a United States based label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd and reactivated in 2006 by label owner EMI.- The independent and Liberty Records years :...

. Banashak also owned Instant Records

Instant Records

Instant Records was a record label based in New Orleans, Louisiana which was founded in 1961 by Joe Banashak and Irving Smith. It was originally called Valiant Records until another Valiant Records threatened to sue and forced the label's renaming to Instant Records. The most successful artist on...

 which he kept. Minit was acquired by Liberty Records

Liberty Records

Liberty Records was a United States-based record label. It was started by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revivals.-1950s:...

 in 1963

1963 in music

-Events:*January 1 – The Beatles start a 5-day tour in Scotland to support the release of their new single, "Love Me Do".*January 4 – At Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy, Dalida receives a Juke Box Global Oscar for the year's most-played artist on juke boxes....

 as part of its acquisition of Imperial Records. Later its records were re-issued between 1966 and 1970 by Sunset Records

Sunset Records

Sunset Records was a record label started in 1966 as the budget album subsidiary of Liberty Records to reissue the Liberty, Imperial, and Minit material.The label stopped operating around 1974....

 and the label was active during the same time period as a soul music

Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

 label.
The Minit catalog is currently owned by EMI

EMI

The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

.

Label variations

• 1961-1963: Orange with black print and disclaimer indicating "C/O Imperial Records, Hollywood, Calif."
• 1964-1968: Black label with silver print, multi-color logo on left side with "MINIT" inside the logo and "A PRODUCT OF LIBERTY RECORDS" under MINIT. Disclaimer at bottom of label reads "A DIVISION OF LIBERTY RECORDS"
• 1969-1970: Same as black label mentioned above but with the "PRODUCT" disclaimer removed under "MINIT" inside the logo. Disclaimer at bottom of label now reads "LIBERTY/UA, INC."