A&M Records

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A&M Records
Image:a_and_m_records.gif
Parent company Universal Music Group
Founded 1962
Founder(s) Herb Alpert
Jerry Moss
Distributing label Interscope Records (US)
Polydor Records (UK)
Genre(s) Various
Country of Origin US
Location Santa Monica, California
Website Official site of A&M Records

A&M Records is a record label formed in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss. Their first choice for a name was Carnival Records and they released two singles under that name before they learned another label had taken the Carnival name first. Alpert and Moss changed the name to "A&M."

Over the years, A&M added specialty imprints: Almo International for middle of the road; Omen Records (1964–1966) for soul; Horizon Records for jazz (1974–1978); AyM Discos Latin American division; Vendetta Records (1988–1990) as a dance record imprint; Perspective Records (which A&M created through a joint venture with producing team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, 1991–1998); Tuff Break Records for hiphop music (1994-1995).

A&M releases were issued in the United Kingdom by Pye Records until 1967. A&M Records, Ltd. was established in 1970 and distribution was still handled by other labels with a presence in Europe. In 1970 A&M Records of Canada, Ltd. was formed and A&M Records of Europe in 1977.

A&M has a long history of manufacturing and distributing records for other labels, including:


A&M also distributed Shelter Records in Great Britain in the early 1970s. Since the middle 1990s, A&M has distributed its sister label, Polydor Records. In spite of Polydor's US operations being folded in 1999, distribution of Polydor's UK releases remains funneled through A&M in North America—while Polydor distributes A&M's international releases.

A&M was sold to PolyGram in 1989 for about half a billion dollars. In 1998, PolyGram was bought out by Seagrams and folded into its Universal Music Group. Subsequently, A&M was made part of the Interscope Records division, which also includes Geffen Records.

From 1966 to 1999, A&M Records was headquartered on the grounds of the historic Charlie Chaplin Studio at 1416 N. La Brea Avenue, near Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. (The A&M lot is now the home of Jim Henson Productions and the recording studio is now Henson Recording Studios).

Alpert and Moss sued PolyGram in 1998 and added Universal Music Group to the suit in 2000, claiming that they had violated a contractual agreement that A&M Records would be allowed to retain its corporate culture.

[edit] Noteworthy artists

The label was synonymous with the leading performers of light pop music in the 1960s and 1970s. Examples of these singers and instrumentalists were Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Burt Bacharach, Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, the Carpenters, Captain and Tennille, and Paul Williams. A&M and its affiliated labels included every music genre. Ode Records offered Carole King and the comedy duo Cheech and Chong. Folk music legend Joan Baez was an artist from 1972-1977 at the same time Rita Coolidge was enjoying a 12-year tenure with the label. The label's biggest rock acts included Styx, The Police, Supertramp, Bryan Adams and Peter Frampton and 60 other top draws. The Sex Pistols were signed and dropped from the label within 10 days without releasing any recordings. The label also had a strong R&B presence in the 1980's, thanks to John McClain and David C. Levy who teamed Alpert with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, (who had their Perspective Records label distributed by the label), on his album Keep Your Eye On Me. The album's title-track, "Diamonds" (a song that featured A&M's biggest superstar at the time,Janet Jackson,and "Making Love in The Rain" (with Lisa Keith and Jackson), enjoyed major success on the R&B charts. Janet Jackson also hit it big on the R&B charts with her last two A&M albums Control and Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814. Barry White was another big name in R&B who enjoyed tremendous success with the company, scoring hits like "Practice What You Preach" (from his 1994 album, The Icon is Love) and the title track from his 1991 album Put Me in Your Mix. A&M also produced material for Soundgarden, often considered one of the "big four" Seattle bands of the era, along with Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Pearl Jam, all of which helped define the sound of grunge.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

  • On A&M Records - search every artist and recording from A&M Records and its affiliates
  • A&M Corner - Since 1995: the internet's original A&M Records free collector/listener resource
  • MySpace A&M Records - Find A&M Records on MySpace
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