| Imperial Records | |
|---|---|
| Parent company | EMI |
| Founded | 1947 |
| Founder | Lew Chudd |
| Distributor(s) | Capitol Music Group (In the US) |
| Genre | (historic) various (current) Urban |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Official Website | http://www.imperialrecords.com/ http://www.myspace.com/imperialrecords |
Imperial Records is a United States based label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd and reactivated in 2006 by label owner EMI.
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Imperial was formed in 1947, originally releasing Mexican music and rhythm & blues, was famous for recordings of Fats Domino, Frankie Ford, Ricky Nelson, and yodelling country singer Slim Whitman. Imperial was licensed to London Records in the UK. In 1960 Lew Chudd bought Aladdin Records. Minit Records was acquired in 1963 (after Imperial had distributed the independent label since 1960). Throughout the 1950s, Imperial was one of the primary labels issuing a vast quantity of R&B from New Orleans, though their involvement with producer, writer Dave Bartholomew, and later in the 1960s with their distribution and of the independent Minit Records (and purchase, a few years later).
Later in 1963, after Imperial lost Fats Domino and Ricky Nelson to rival labels, Chudd sold the label to Liberty Records. Under Liberty's management, the label enjoyed success from such artists as holdover Irma Thomas as well as Johnny Rivers, Jackie DeShannon, Classics IV and Cher.
During the British Invasion years, Liberty (whose recordings were distributed by EMI in the UK) licensed artists including The Hollies, Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas and The Swinging Blue Jeans from EMI for release on the Imperial label. Recordings by Liberty UK act The Bonzo Dog Band and Kim Fowley were issued in the USA on the Imperial label.
By 1970 the label became part of Liberty's merger with United Artists, but was phased out shortly thereafter with its artists being transferred to United Artists. EMI now owns the Imperial Records catalogue.
This is not the same Imperial currently in Japan or that was a division of EMI's Dutch arm.
Throughout the 1990s, EMI released various CD compilations of Imperial artists. For nostalgia, the compact discs featured the various Imperial labels.
In June 2006, EMI re-activated the Imperial Records imprint and announced that it will be the full-service Urban Music division of Caroline Distribution, part of Virgin Records, spearheaded by urban music veteran Neil Levine.
The first signing to the imprint is Raptivism Records. Fat Joe has signed with Virgin Records and Imperial Records.
The revived Imperial is a full service label group that offers promotions, marketing and digital services for the independent urban music market. Imperial also provides additional resources for developing urban artists within EMI's major labels including Capitol Records and Virgin Records which were merged on January 2007 into the Capitol Music Group.