Smash Records is an American record label. It was founded in 1961 as a subsidiary of Mercury Records[1] by Mercury executive Shelby Singleton and run by Singleton with Charlie Fach. Fach took over after Singleton left Mercury in 1966. Its recording artists included James Brown, Bruce Channel, Roger Miller, The Left Banke, Bill Justis and Jerry Lee Lewis.
A dispute with King Records led James Brown to release all of his band's instrumental recordings between 1964 and 1967 on Smash. Smash also released three of Brown's vocal recordings, including his 1964 proto-funk single "Out of Sight".[2]
Smash shared the numbering system for their singles with other labels that they distributed. The most important of these was Fontana Records.
PolyGram revived Smash in 1991 as an R&B/dance label imprint, first under their PolyGram Label Group (PLG) umbrella, then under their Independent Label Sales (ILS) umbrella, then under Island Records until the label was retired in 1996. Smash's biggest and first major hit under this period was 1991's "People Are Still Having Sex" by long-time radio personality/actor and then-first time club artist LaTour.
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Label variations
- 1961-1967 -- Red label with SMASH shown vertically on left side
- 1968-1970 -- Red or orange label with SMASH/Mercury logo shown sideways on left side
Smash Records artists
- The Angels
- James Brown
- The Caravelles
- Mother Maybelle Carter
- Bruce Channel
- Dee Jay & The Runaways
- Joe Dowell
- Pete Drake (and his talking Steel Guitar)
- Jay & the Techniques
- Bill Justis
- Dickie Lee
- Left Banke
- Jerry Lee Lewis
- Linda Gail Lewis
- The Mesmerizing Eye
- Roger Miller
- Charlie Rich
- Sir Douglas Quintet
- Millie Small
- Swingin' Medallions
- The Tempests
- Eric Von Schmidt
- The Walker Brothers
See also
References
- ^ Gillett, Charlie (1996). The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll ((2nd Ed.) ed.). New York, N.Y.: Da Capo Press. p. 51. ISBN 0-306-80683-5.
- ^ "James Brown Biography". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE67818DC49A57420EFB11E77FD9856D220F40DD4AB2A3C5253F8E43066B8076AB00DBADBCFAEF875B47FE3F624A55905D2C8FE2781&sql=11:42j97i4jg71r~T1. Retrieved 2006-11-22.
External links
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