Line #89 Creator/LibertyRecords


1	[[quoteright:321:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/liberty_records.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:321:As opposed to a product of someone else?]]
3
4	->''"Liberty: The First Family of Recorded Entertainment"''
5	-->--Slogan of Liberty Records during TheSixties
6
7	Launched in 1955, Liberty Records took its logo from the Art/StatueOfLiberty. It evolved into one of the biggest independent labels of TheSixties.
8
9	One of Liberty's earliest signings, chanteuse Julie London, had a Top 10 hit with "Cry Me A River". The label also got into the new RockAndRoll scene with performers such as hitmaker Music/EddieCochran. Despite these successes, the fledgling company was on the verge of bankruptcy by 1958. However, it came back from the brink thanks to songwriter Ross Bagdasarian, aka David Seville, whose smash novelty hit "Witch Doctor" used sped-up vocals. Bagdasarian soon spun off this gimmick into Music/AlvinAndTheChipmunks, a trio of singing cartoon rodents named after Liberty's top executives: Alvin (after label president Al Bennett), Simon (vice president Si Waronker), and Theodore (chief engineer Ted Keep). The Chipmunks became the stars of [[Franchise/AlvinAndTheChipmunks a multimedia franchise]] that still continues today.
10
11	Liberty prospered in TheSixties, with acts such as TeenIdol Bobby Vee, {{Surf Rock}}ers Music/JanAndDean, {{Soul}} singer Gene [=McDaniels=], {{Pop}} band Gary Lewis and the Playboys, and [[UsefulNotes/TheBritishInvasion British Invasion]] group Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas keeping it on the charts. The company also bought several smaller labels, including Blue Note, Imperial, Minit and World Pacific, among others. However, Liberty largely fell behind during the hippie era, despite popular "underground" signings such as proto-Americana group the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and {{Blues Rock}}ers Canned Heat, whose releases included collaborations with both Music/JohnLeeHooker and The Chipmunks ([[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer yes, really]]). Liberty's British and German subsidiaries were more closely attuned with the counterculture; they signed groups such as Music/TheBonzoDogBand, Brinsley Schwarz (featuring a young Music/NickLowe), The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation, The Groundhogs, Music/{{Hawkwind}}, The Idle Race (featuring a young [[Music/TheMove Jeff]] [[Music/ElectricLightOrchestra Lynne]]), Music/AmonDuulII and Music/{{Can}}, while licensing Music/CreedenceClearwaterRevival[[note]]as part of a deal with their US label, Fantasy Records[[/note]] and Music/CaptainBeefheart for European releases.
12
13	In 1968, Liberty (including all of its sublabels) was bought by Transamerica Corporation, which had acquired the Creator/UnitedArtists film studio and [[Creator/UnitedArtistsRecords its associated record company]] the previous year. After running both labels concurrently for three years, in 1971 Transamerica shut Liberty down[[note]]although the label endured for a few years in Japan[[/note]] and transferred its roster and catalog to United Artists...
14
15	...which is where things start to get complicated. First, UA released both new records and reissues by former Liberty artists. Then, in 1979, Creator/{{EMI}} bought the United Artists label, eventually changing its name back to Liberty since it was no longer associated with the studio, as well as resurrecting the Statue of Liberty logo while using the gray label background and rainbow logo font of [[Creator/EMIAmericaRecords EMI America]] releases of the era. Stateside, Capitol used the Liberty imprint mainly for country music, but outside the U.S. EMI used Liberty for new releases and reissues of artists originally on UA, regardless of genre. Therefore, some Liberty releases were reissued on United Artists, and some United Artists releases were reissued on Liberty! And ''then'', EMI America started using its imprint for further reissues from the UA/Liberty catalog, meaning that many artists wound up having releases on all three labels! Liberty was then merged with EMI America, which in turn was merged with Manhattan Records to form EMI-Manhattan. The Liberty/UA catalog was naturally reissued under this new name in turn. If all this seems confusing, the record company seemed to have trouble keeping all this straight as well: the cover might refer to EMI America, EMI-Manhattan or just EMI on the cover, but use Liberty or one of the other imprints on the label. In 1997, American EMI would be absorbed into Creator/VirginRecords and Creator/CapitolRecords.
16
17	And the story doesn't end there! During TheNineties, Liberty was revived as a CountryMusic label, with a stable including Music/GarthBrooks, Music/{{Shenandoah}}, Music/TanyaTucker, and a single by Creator/DennisQuaid. Eventually, this version of Liberty was deactivated and its artists were transferred to [[Creator/CapitolRecords Capitol Nashville]]. Then, British EMI started another revival, Liberty EMI Records UK, during [[TurnOfTheMillennium the 2000s]]; this time, the lineup included Music/TheAlarm, Music/TheBangles, Music/RayCharles, Music/TheStranglers, and a single by Creator/MinnieDriver.
18
19	Nowadays, Liberty is once again dormant, its name used only for reissues. As with all former EMI labels, its catalog is divided between Creator/UniversalMusicGroup via Capitol (American artists) and Creator/WarnerMusicGroup via [[Creator/ParlophoneRecords Parlophone]] (British and European artists).
20
21	!!Liberty Records performers with Website/TVTropes pages:
22
23	[[foldercontrol]]
24
25	[[folder:Original releases, 1955-71]]
26	[[index]]
27	* Music/AlvinAndTheChipmunks
28	* Music/AmonDuulII*
29	* Music/TheBonzoDogBand* (on Imperial in America)
30	* [[Music/WarBand Eric Burdon and War]]*
31	* Music/{{Can}}*
32	* Music/CaptainBeefheart*
33	* Music/{{Cher}}* (from Imperial Records)
34	* Creator/DickClark
35	* Music/EddieCochran
36	* Creator/MarleneDietrich
37	* Creator/KenDodd (US only)
38	* Music/FatsDomino* (from Imperial Records)
39	* Music/TheFourFreshmen
40	* Music/{{Hawkwind}}
41	* Music/TheHollies (US only)
42	* Music/JanAndDean
43	* UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson (via ''Mr. President'', a 1965 compilation of various speeches)
44	* Music/SpikeJones
45	* Music/HenryMancini
46	* Music/WillieNelson
47	* Willie Nelson (this other Willie, a cousin of Music/RickyNelson who was more commonly credited as "Willy Nelson", released a single on Liberty in 1958 before the more famous Willie joined the label in 1961)
48	* Music/DanSeals
49	* Music/TheSearchers
50	* Music/RaviShankar* (from World Pacific Records)
51	* [[Music/TinaTurner Ike & Tina Turner]]
52	* Creator/RobertWagner
53	* Music/ScottWalker (some early singles under the name Scott Engel)
54	* Creator/JohnWayne
55	* Music/WarrenZevon
56	[[/index]]
57	[[/folder]]
58
59	[[folder:Original releases from the revival eras]]
60	[[index]]
61	* Music/TheAlarm*
62	* Music/TheBangles*
63	* Music/GarthBrooks
64	* Music/KateBush (a US vinyl reissue of ''Music/TheKickInside'')
65	* Music/RayCharles*
66	* Creator/MinnieDriver*
67	* Music/{{Manowar}}
68	* Music/{{Morrissey}}* (he revived the label for the 2012 UK reissue of ''Viva Hate'')
69	* Creator/DennisQuaid (one single in 1983)
70	* Music/{{Shenandoah}}
71	* Music/TheStranglers
72	* Music/TanyaTucker
73	[[/index]]
74	[[/folder]]
75
76
77	[[folder:Transferred or reissued from United Artists]]
78	[[index]]
79	* Music/ShirleyBassey
80	* Music/{{Buzzcocks}} (UK, Australia only)
81	* Creator/{{Gallagher}}
82	* Music/BillieHoliday
83	* Music/GeorgeJones
84	* Music/GordonLightfoot
85	* Music/DonMcLean
86	* Music/{{Motorhead}}
87	* Music/TheOakRidgeBoys
88	* Music/GerryRafferty
89	* Music/KennyRogers
90	* Music/SteeleyeSpan (Japan only)
91	* Music/TheStranglers
92	* Music/{{Traffic\|Band}} (Venezuela only)
93	* Music/{{Whitesnake}}
94	* Music/FrankZappa*
95	[[/index]]
96	[[/folder]]
97
98	[[folder:European releases licensed from Fantasy Records]]
99	[[index]]
100	* Music/CreedenceClearwaterRevival*
101	* Music/MilesDavis*
102	* Music/CharlesMingus*
103	[[/index]]
104	[[/folder]]
105
106	[=*=] UK and Europe only

Context Creator / LibertyRecords