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Monument Records was a record label founded in 1958 by Fred Foster and Bob Moore. From a recording studio in the Nashville suburb of Hendersonville, Tennessee, they produced a variety of sounds, including Rock and Roll, Country and Western, and Rhythm and Blues.
At the beginning, Monument was distributed by London. This arrangement didn't last long and by 1960, Monument was an independent label.
The company's first hit recording was by Billy Grammer's "Gotta Travel On." However, it was the signing of the former Sun Records singer, Roy Orbison, that brought phenomenal success, starting with the 1960 hit, "Only the Lonely." In addition to Orbison, over the years the studio was home to a number of successful recording artists, including Robert Knight, Kris Kristofferson, Jeannie Seely, Boots Randolph, Dolly Parton, Ray Stevens, Cindy Walker, Bob Moore, Tony Joe White, Charlie McCoy, Willie Nelson, J.K. Coltrain, Tommy Roe, Billy Ray Cyrus, The Velvets, Dixie Chicks, Connie Smith and Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers.
Monument Records is known for discovering Leona Douglas the First African American Female to record as a Country and Western Singer in the early 1960's. Leona had 2 hits in 1962 called "Too Many Chicks" written by Boudleaux & Felice Bryant and "Jealous Heart" written by Jenny Lou Carson.
With the loss of Monument's key business partner, Bob Moore, followed by the loss of Orbison to MGM Records in 1965, the studio fell into a slow decline with perhaps the biggest success stemming from Ray Stevens who was still a newcomer at the time, issuing singles that bounced from pop to country to novelty, a practice he continued throughout his career. These circumstances, combined with a series of bad investments in the 1980s, led to difficulties that saw Foster lose the company to bankruptcy. CBS Records acquired the Monument catalog and successor company Sony Music reactivated the label in 1987.[1] Today, the catalog of Monument recordings is managed by Sony Music's Legacy Recordings unit.
Fred Foster also started a soul/R&B label called Sound Stage 7 in the 1960s. Its rostrum of artists included Allen Toussaint (recording under another name), Ivory Joe Hunter, the O'Jays, Joe Perkins, Joe Simon and Alvin Cash. Tracks by artists on this label were often produced by Foster, with arrangements by Bill Justis (a saxophonist who was known in rock history for his instrumental hit, "Raunchy"), were generally only available as singles. Arthur Alexander was also one of this label's artists for a time and one deserving a special mention in pop and rock history for his particular influence on the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.[citation needed] In particular, it is believed that John Lennon was heavily influenced in his singing style by Arthur Alexander.
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